HAMILTON, Ont. - The Durham College women's basketball team had their season cut short on Friday afternoon as they suffered a 69-61 loss to the Sheridan Bruins in the bronze medal quarter-finals of the 2014 OCAA women's basketball championship hosted by Mohawk College.
Although the Lords were bumped from the provincial championship in two straight games, the team had one of their best seasons in the history of the program. First-year head coach Heather LaFontaine led the green and gold to their first OCAA championship since the 2005-06 season while matching a program-high with 23 overall victories. LaFontaine was named the OCAA coach of the year while three players received OCAA all-star awards.
For the second straight night, the Lords were on the wrong end of a number of foul calls as they were whistled for 25 personal fouls compared to just 10 called on the Bruins. Sheridan managed to convert on 27 of their 35 attempts, which aided them in the six-point victory.
Sheridan took a four-point advantage into the second quarter and started to stretch their lead as Durham shooters cooled off. With Sheridan dominating the boards, their transition game gave them clean looks in the lane. Late in the quarter, however, Durham started to go inside and cut the Bruins lead to 36-31 at the half.
A completely different Durham team showed up in the third quarter, which the Lords won 11-7. Durham plugged the lane, defended the basket, and had a presence on the glass.
After a 7-0 start to the fourth quarter for Sheridan, the Lords were forced to throw everything they had at the Bruins defensively, pressing the Bruins and double-teaming the ball handler. With time running out, Durham had no choice but to foul Sheridan's ball carriers to stop the clock. The Bruins were able to hold on to their lead, making their free throws and keeping up a strong interior presence on defence, landing them a 69-61 win.
Kate Mowat was named the player of the game for Durham scoring a team-high 20 points. Kauri LaFontaine had another big night for the Lords as she posted a double-double scoring 18 points and adding 15 rebounds.
Source: Durham College