With the 2006 portion of the season in the books, the defending OCAA Champion Seneca Sting have once again risen to the top of the standings with an undefeated 8-0 record, looking to win their second consecutive Championship in 2007. The remaining teams in the OCAA sit bunched together in the standings, looking to qualify for the post season and an opportunity to knock off the defending champs.

EAST REGION

The Seneca Sting did not miss a beat coming off their first title in 10 years as they have jumped out to an 8-0 record, outscoring their opponents 622-383. 2005-06 OCAA Athlete of the Year Natasha Thombs, who returned for her fourth season with the Sting is making a large impact on and off the court as she is leading the East Region is scoring averaging 19.4 PPG. Trailing Seneca with a 6-1 record is the Algonquin Thunder. A large part of Algonquin’s success this season can be attributed to third year starter Sara Maybee. Averaging 14.9 PPG, Maybee has been a consistent threat from long range, scoring 17 3-pointers this season. In their first match-up of the season, the Sting outlasted the Thunder in a 59-50 victory. Algonquin and Seneca will square off on February 10th in North York, where the East Region title could possibly be up for grabs.

Sitting in third place in the East Region are the perennial Championship contenders the Humber Hawks. After a shaky 0-2 start, Humber is back on track winning five of their last six games, outscoring their opponents 380-298 in that stretch. Trailing Humber by two points with one game in hand are the 4-3 St. Lawrence Vikings. St. Lawrence will be in good shape to finish in the top four spots of the Region as they face only two teams with a record above .500 in their remaining nine games.

Don’t forget about the much improved George Brown Huskies who sit in fifth place with a 4-4 record. After two consecutive five win seasons, the Huskies are looking to finish with their best record since 2003-04, where they ended the season with an 8-4 record. Second year guard Niveal Pastrana leads the Huskies averaging 14.8 PPG, good enough for fifth place in the East Region scoring race.

The sixth and final playoff spot in the East Region is up for grabs as the bottom four teams are still within’ striking distance. The Georgian Grizzles go into 2007 in the driver’s seat, two points ahead of the Loyalist Lancers and Durham Lords. Even though the Lords and Lancers are currently not holding a playoff position, they have featured excellent play from their star players as Durham’s Samantha McConnell and Loyalist’s Kara Muhlhausen sit second and third in the East Region scoring race, averaging 18.4 and 15.5 PPG respectively. The two teams will need to find alternative ways of scoring if they hope to make an impact on the standings in February.

WEST REGION

The Algoma Thunderbirds managed to soar out to a 6-1 start in 2006, good enough for first place in the West Region standings. Even with 2006-07 First Team All-Star Jessica King missing a large part of the season due to an injury, the Algoma Thunderbirds have outscored their West Region opponents by a margin of 441-333. Newcomer to the OCAA Danielle D’Ettorre has baffled her opponents, averaging an astounding 26.6 PPG. Surprisingly enough, their only loss of the season came to the hands of the Niagara Knights, who sit in fourth place with a 2-2 record. Niagara will be busy in the final weeks of the regular season, as they play five games in February.

In their second year back in OCAA Women’s Basketball, the Sheridan Bruins hope to lock up an automatic berth in the OCAA Championships in 2007 as they currently sit in second place with a 4-2 record. Sheridan has relied on their sound defense, only allowing an average of 48.3 PPG. Trailing Sheridan by two points with one game in hand are the Fanshawe Falcons. Fanshawe has looked good in their first five games, with their only losses coming against the first place Thunderbirds.

The St. Clair Saints struggled in 2006, as they sit in fifth place with a 1-2 record. Fans in St. Clair have a reason to be optimistic, with the return of third year guard Lindsay Nield on the horizon. Nield averaged 11.9 PPG in 2005-06, and has only played in one game this season. In their two games without their court leader, St. Clair struggled on the offensive end of the court, averaging a disappointing 45.5 PPG. St. Clair will have plenty of time to get back into the West Region race, as they play nine games in the new year.

After posting their first winning season in four years last season, the Mohawk Mountaineers are in danger of finishing below the .500 mark as they sit in sixth place with a 1-5 record. Although their overall record looks bleak, there is hope for college basketball fans on the Niagara escarpment as the Mountaineers have remained competitive in their final games of 2006 as they posted a 1-2 record, including a disappointing one point loss to the Fanshawe Falcons.

Just down the 403, the Redeemer Royals find themselves in hot water after failing to pick up a win in 2006. On a positive note, the Royals have nine games remaining on the schedule, two of which are against the Mohawk Mountaineers who they trailing in the standings by two points.

WATCH OUT FOR

The St. Clair Saints have got off to a slow start as they faced adversity with injuries in 2006. 2007 looks bright for the Saints as they look to turn things around with nine games remaining on the schedule and a relatively healthy lineup hitting the floor. Also look out for the up-and-coming St. Lawrence Vikings who are currently ranked fourth in the top five rankings in the OCAA. The Vikings have the potential to run the table in 2007, and move past the Algonquin Thunder and earn an automatic berth into the OCAA Championships.

CHECKING THE RECORD BOOK…on the road to winning

-Algoma’s Daniell D’Ettorre is currently leading the OCAA in scoring averaging 26.6 PPG. The all-time hightest PPG average was set in 1989-90 by Humber’s Iona Dawes who averaged 25.0 PPG for the Hawks.

-Natasha Thombs has climbed the All-Time scoring list in Women’s Basketball with 750 career points. Thombs currently sits ninth in OCAA scoring charts, trailing Tanya Sadler Humber and Anita Kralt of Redeemer with 761 points. If Thombs continues at the rate she is going at, she will end the season second in OCAA all-time scoring with 904 career points.

-Algonquin’s Sara Maybee has been a deep threat for the Thunder this season scoring 17 three pointers, averaging 2.4 per game. With nine games remaining on the schedule, Maybee needs 27 more three pointers to break the record, currently held by Durham’s Bonnie Slaughter who set the record in 2002-03 with 43.

-Another one of Durham’s Bonnie Slaughters record is in danger of being broken this season. Loyalist’s leading scorer Kara Muhlhasen has got to the free throw line a league high 69 times, converting on 41 of her attempts. The current record of 96 free throws made in a season was set by Slaughter in 2003-04. Muhlhasen is on pace to make 109 free throws, if she continues her success on the line.

UPCOMING EVENTS

-The 20th annual OCAA Basketball All-Star game will be taking place on Saturday, January 20, 2007 at the Durham College Athletic Centre in Oshawa, ON. The Women’s game will tip off at 6:00 PM, featuring the Spalding/T.Litzen 3-Point Shoot Out at halftime.

-The OCAA Championships will be taking place on March 1-3 at Algonquin College in Ottawa, ON. The top eight teams in the province will be battling for OCAA Gold in the capital city.