SARNIA – The road to Nationals goes through The Den.
On Saturday afternoon inside the Cestar Group Athletics & Fitness Complex, the Lambton Women’s Basketball Program punched their ticket to the OCAA Final Four with a wire-to-wire win over the visiting Humber Hawks, 74-50.
With the win, the Lions have secured home court advantage for the upcoming OCAA Final Four, which will take place the weekend of March 2-3. It marks the third time that the Lions have knocked off the Hawks during the 2023-24 season as they also swept the regular season series.
After forcing a Humber turnover just seven seconds into the game, the Lions went to work on offense. Legacie Blackbird (Walpole Island, Ont.) hit a three-pointer to get the Lions on the board first, and Morgan Goffar (Stratford, Ont.) hit one of her own two possessions later to give the home side an early 6-2 lead.
The Lions held a 23-7 lead after the first quarter thanks in large part to strong shooting from long distance. They went 5-for-11 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, with three of those makes coming from Maddy Bishop (Windsor, Ont.).
Fast forward to the third quarter, and the Hawks were doing whatever they could to cut into their deficit. Humber got to within 14 points at the 4:13 mark of the third quarter, cutting Lambton’s lead down to 49-35, but layups from Brett Fischer (Wallaceburg, Ont.) and Breanna Pretty (Sarnia, Ont.) extended the lead back to 18 just as quickly as Humber got it down to 14.
The Lions took a 55-38 lead into the fourth quarter, and they quickly stretched their lead to 22 thanks to a 7-0 run to open the final frame. Their lead reached as many as 29 points down the stretch, and the Hawks couldn’t threaten the lead of the Lions the rest of the way.
The Lions never trailed on Saturday afternoon, en route to the 74-50 win and a spot in the 2024 OCAA Final Four.
Balance was key for the Lions on offense once again, as six players finished the game with at least six points in the win. Pretty, the 2024 OCAA Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, led all Lambton players with 15 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Blackbird had 14 points while Bishop and Goffar had nine apiece.
Kia Watt led all scorers in the game with 17 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks.
With the win, the Lions get some post-season revenge on the Hawks from last season’s loss in the Gold Medal Game.
Now, the Lions turn their attention to the OCAA Semifinals, which will take place on Saturday, March 2nd inside the Cestar Group Athletics & Fitness Complex. The Lions will take on the Niagara Knights for the right to play for a Gold Medal, while the Algonquin Wolves will take on either St. Clair or George Brown in the other semi-final.
Game times are still to be determined for the semifinals and finals, and they will be announced on the Lambton Athletics social media pages as soon as they are known.
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