NORTH YORK, Ont. - From the moment the two teams took the court on Friday night, it appeared that the Seneca Sting would be a heavy favourite against the Loyalist Lancers.

The Lancers, playing with just six players due to injuries and academic commitments, hung tight with the now .500 Seneca Sting. In the end, it was the depth of the Sting and the emergence of Paige Smith (Picton) late which allowed the Sting to squeeze out a 56-50 win.

It appeared the Sting were looking to take the action to the Lancers, trying to force early fouls in an effort to put the short-handed team in foul trouble. The results were the Sting not making a shot from beyond the three-point arc until the fourth quarter.

The Lancers remained disciplined and the Sting were forced to win on skill from the floor, rather than from the charity stripe.

Two minutes into the second quarter, Seneca trailed 15-14 as they searched for answers in trying to stop Loyalist's Mikayla Brennen. A 14-0 run in the middle portion of the second quarter helped the Sting take a 28-16 lead into the half.

Sharika Smith (Mississauga) had 10 points at the half while Brennen contributed eight for the Lancers.

A poor third quarter by the Sting made the game interesting. Brennen continued to cause match-up problems for the Sting, scoring 10 of the Lancers' 17 points in the quarter as the Sting clung to a 36-33 advantage.

Paige Smith came alive for the Sting when the Sting needed her leadership the most. The third-year guard scored seven of her 11 points in the fourth quarter including an emotionally charged three-pointer, the Sting's only of the game, to pull out the win.

Sharika Smith led the Sting in scoring with 14 points and added five rebounds. First-year Sarah Givens (Kingston) scored eight points and had six assists while Ashley Nursed hustled her way to a team-high eight rebounds. Brennen finished the game with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The Sting will travel to play George Brown on Wednesday at 6 p.m. while the Lancers travel to St. Lawrence on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Source: Seneca College