OSHAWA, Ont. – The Durham College women's basketball team ended their regular season on a high note with a 97-94 upset over the St. Lawrence Vikings at home in double overtime.
St. Lawrence entered the game with a perfect 16-0 record and on a 23-game unbeaten streak in regular season play with their last loss coming on December 2, 2015 against Durham.
"I don't know about you guys but when you play your last league home game like that and beat an undefeated team - looks pretty good to me," said Durham College head coach
Heather LaFontaine in her postgame speech prior to honouring six graduating seniors.
Beating the undefeated Vikings was not an easy task and it looked nearly impossible when St. Lawrence held a 25-10 lead early in the second quarter.
The Lords would turn the tables on the Vikes, outscoring them 29-12 over the rest of the quarter to hold a 39-37 lead at the break.
Throughout the second half the teams would battle back-and-forth with seven lead changes and the game tied nine times.
With 14 seconds left and St. Lawrence leading 73-72, Durham's
Lindsay Panchan (Ajax, Ont.) turned over the ball but managed to dive and foul St. Lawrence's Tiffany McNeil with five seconds to go. McNeil would hit her first from the charity stripe but miss her second.
As Panchan went to grab the rebound St. Lawrence made a crucial mistake and fouled the two-time CCAA All-Canadian, sending her all the way down the court for two free-throws. With the game on the line, Panchan nailed both shots to send the game into overtime.
The teams would finish the first overtime period tied at 85-85.
Leading by 93-91 in double overtime, a desperation three-pointer by Panchan with the shot-clock winding down put Durham up by five. St. Lawrence would respond with a three-pointer of their own but Durham would bounce right back with a free throw from Panchan.
With the shot clock turned off, St. Lawrence looked to tie it with another three-point but their attempt came up short and Panchan scooped up the rebound and dribbled out the clock as her teammates stormed the court in celebration.
Panchan finished the night with a season-high 37 points to go along with 12 rebounds and seven steals.
At the conclusion of the regular season on Wednesday night, Panchan will win the OCAA scoring title for the third straight season, the first player in league history to accomplish that feat. She wraps up her career with 1,109 points, second in Durham College all-time scoring and fifth in OCAA all-time scoring, with all other players ahead of her having played five seasons.
Durham freshman
Victoria Brody (Scarborough, Ont.) showed fans that the future of the Lords looks bright as she had a career night with 22 points. Going into the night, Brody was averaging 6.8 points per game.
Brooke Kelly led the way for St. Lawrence with 25 points in over 42 minutes of court time.
Durham finishes the regular season with a 10-7 record, tied with the Algonquin Thunder for third place in the OCAA east region standings.
Durham will host the St. Clair Saints on Saturday, February 25 in an OCAA qualifying game, with the winner advancing to the OCAA championship being hosted by Seneca College.
The Lords will look to turn around their playoff fortunes against the Saints having squared off six times in the qualifying round since 2007 and losing every time including the last two seasons.
Following Tuesday's game, the Lords honoured their 2017 graduating class including Panchan,
Kayla Marshall (Ottawa, Ont.),
Courtney Harley (Cambridge, Ont.),
Samantha Dupont (Brantford, Ont.),
Brittany Walters (Oshawa, Ont.) and
Keisha Arthurworrey (Oshawa, Ont.).
QUICK LOOK AT THE LORDS
Overall Record: 14-9
Conference Record: 10-7
Next game: Saturday, Feb. 25 vs. St. Clair (6 PM – CRWC)
