LLOYDMINSTER, Alta. – Booked our ticket to the national semifinals.
Thanks in large part to a strong finish to the first half and a big third quarter, the Lambton Women’s Basketball Program punched their ticket to Thursday night’s semifinals with a 76-67 win over The King’s University Eagles on Wednesday afternoon at Lakeland College.
With the win, the Lions will play for a spot in Saturday’s Gold Medal Game at 6:00 p.m. MST / 8:00 p.m. EST against the Geants de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, who won their quarter-final game over the Douglas Royals, 67-54.
The Eagles will now look to find their way to the Bronze Medal Game, and they will take on Douglas College in a Bronze Quarter-Final on Thursday afternoon.
Breanna Pretty (Sarnia, Ont.) was named Player of the Game for the Lions after recording a game-high 28 points to go along with three rebounds, two assists, and three steals.
Out of the gates, it was an uncharacteristically slow start for the Lions on the offensive end of the floor. As a team, the Lions shot just 25.0% (4-of-16) from the floor in the first half, and they were out-rebounded by the Eagles by an 11-5 margin. Pretty had five points to lead the Lions in the first, who found themselves down by three after the first frame, 14-11.
In the second, the struggles for the Lions continued. TKU led by as many as seven points on a pair of occasions in the second frame, but the Lions wouldn’t go away. They closed the first half on a mini 6-0 run, capped off by a mid-range jumper from Emily Van Hooft (Sarnia, Ont.) just before the buzzer to send the Lions into the locker room with a 29-27 lead.
To start the second half, the Eagles started to take the momentum back. They took a 37-35 lead early in the frame, but the Lions had an answer once again. Only this time, the answer came on both ends of the floor.
The Lions rattled off a quick 17-0 run, thanks in part to some sharpshooting from beyond the arc and some timely defensive pressure, to take a 52-37 lead of their own. Avery Bathe-Minard (Sarnia, Ont.) and Maddy Bishop (Windsor, Ont.) both had a pair of three pointers in the run, and the Lions rode that momentum to a 16-point lead after three quarters.
In the fourth, the Eagles cut their deficit down to single digits in the closing minutes. But, the Lions never relinquished their lead down the stretch. In their Nationals debut, the Lions punched their ticket to the National Semifinals with a 76-67 win over the Eagles.
Bathe-Minard had 20 points off the bench, on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line. Forward Brett Fischer (Wallaceburg, Ont.) had nine points and seven rebounds of her own in the win.
As a team, the Lions shot 32.9% from the field and 83.3% from the free throw line in the win. The Lions forced the Eagles into 28 turnovers, which they turned into 25 points on offense.
The Lions now turn their attention to the semifinals, with tipoff set for 6:00 p.m. MST / 8:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, March 14th.
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