SARNIA – We’ve got a bit of déjà vu in the Women’s Crossover Game.
For the second season in a row, the Lambton Women’s Basketball Program will play host to the Centennial Colts in their OCAA Crossover Game on Saturday afternoon inside the Cestar Group Athletics & Fitness Complex.
The Lions posted a record of 14-2 in the regular season and are the West Division’s top seed in the playoffs. The Lions are coming off a 2022-23 season that saw the program bring home the OCAA Silver Medal for their first medal at the top level of the OCAA, and they're looking to build on a successful regular season and finish one better this time around.
On the other side, the Colts come in as the East Division’s eighth seed after posting a regular season record of 3-11.
Tipoff on Saturday is set for 2:00 p.m. in Sarnia. You can also find the game on OCAA Live.
How They Got Here
The Lions enter the postseason riding a seven-game winning streak and are 9-1 over their last 10 games. Their last loss came back on December 1st against the Mohawk Mountaineers in Hamilton. Since then, the Lions have won all seven of their games on their recent streak by an average of 29 points per game.
Nationally, the Lions come into the game with the Colts as the ninth-ranked team in the country, and they are one of two OCAA teams in the Top 10 in the country (Algonquin; 2nd).
The Colts come into Saturday’s match-up having lost their last outing and are 3-7 in their last 10 games. A win in their regular season finale against George Brown would have bumped the Colts into the seventh spot in the East Division, but they were seeded eighth by virtue of the tiebreaker against Durham.
How They Stack Up
Here’s a look at how the teams stack up against one another in terms of statistics from the regular season:
| Lambton Lions | Centennial Colts | |
|---|---|---|
| 73.3 | PTS/GM (OFF) | 55.3 |
| 48.9 | PTS/GM (DEF) | 70.6 |
| 37.6 | FG % | 31.6 |
| 28.0 | 3PT % | 22.1 |
| 73.5 | FT % | 49.2 |
| 50.3 | REB/GM | 34.6 |
| 18.1 | AST/GM | 12.9 |
| 16.0 | STL/GM | 12.2 |
Players To Watch
Lambton Lions: Brett Fischer (12.3 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 2.1 apg; 37.6% FG, 71.7% FT)
Fischer, a fifth-year forward from Wallaceburg, quickly established herself as one of the best forwards in the OCAA. The Western University transfer finished the regular season ranked second in the OCAA in rebounding, averaging 10.9 rebounds per game and she had 174 total rebounds. On the offensive glass, there was nobody beter in the league than Fischer, as she pulled down a league 84 offensive rebounds.
As a team, the Lions had a rebounding margin of +10.9 during the regular season, and they led the country in rebounding per game as a unit (50.3). Against a Centennial team that ranked at the bottom of the OCAA in rebounding margin (-11.3), Fischer, who had nine double-doubles to her credit during the regular season, could have herself a big day in the paint against an undersized Colts front court.
Centennial Colts: Mikaela Hawkins (11.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.6 apg; 33.8% FG, 24.2% 3PT)
For the Colts, their offense will need to find a way to keep pace with the Lions, and the bulk of that responsibility will likely fall on the shoulders of Hawkins. The second-year guard from Scarborough led the Colts in scoring this season, averaging 11.0 points per game on 33.8% shooting from the field. She had six games with at least 10 points, including a 20-point outing back on November 10th against Durham.
The Colts will need others to step up around Hawkins offensively, but things will undoubtedly start with her.
Last Meeting
February 25th, 2023: Lions 92 – 52 Colts (OCAA Crossover Game)
For more information, or for any media inquiries within Lambton College Athletics, please contact:
Tyler Bennett
Lambton College Sports Information & Marketing Coordinator
tyler.bennett@lambtoncollege.ca