TORONTO - The Humber Hawks won their first Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) women's basketball championship since 2005, defeating the Mohawk Mountaineers 61-46 in the gold medal game of the belairdirect OCAA Women's Basketball Championship, hosted by Centennial College.

The Mountaineers ended the first quarter up 11-9. Both teams continued to trade points with the Hawks managing to stay ahead being up 29-26 at the half. The points were spread across both teams. At halftime Mohawk's Careena Browne (Hamilton, Ont.) had six points as did Humber's Mary Asare (Brampton, Ont.) and Atissa Cronk (Kingston, Ont.).

It was not until the third quarter that the game broke open. Humber dominated the period outscoring the Mountaineers by 12 points. Cronk managed the boards and Aleena Domingo (Toronto) was the dominant scorer.

Domingo was heavily considered for most valuable player. Ultimately, however it was Asare who had 11 points and was named the championship MVP. Asare was asked time and time again to shut down the opponent's big shooters. She managed to do her job on Mohawk's JenJen Abella (Hamilton, Ont.) in the game that counted most.

Abella was dominant in the game until the eighth minute of the third quarter when she collided with Asare and was taken out of the game. The Mountaineers never really recovered. Her lack of presence was felt until she came back into the game in the fourth quarter scoring five more. No one else stepped up from Mohawk to fill the gap.

With seven minutes to go the Mountaineers climbed their way back into the game and were down by only seven points, 47-40. It was at that point the game turned as Abella turned her ankle and was out of the game for good. Humber managed to score 17 more points in the final quarter while Mohawk put up 13.

Domingo finished as the game's high scorer with 13. Cronk and Ceejay Nofuente (Toronto) of Humber and Abella and Jakayla Douse (Hamilton, Ont.) of Mohawk were named championship all-stars.

The Mountaineers finish the championship as runner-up for the second straight year. Humber advances to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women's Basketball National Championship, taking place in Nanaimo, B.C., from March 19-21.

Previous OCAA champion Algonquin won the bronze medal game 78-45 over the St. Lawrence Vikings. Both teams came out firing from the opening tip off. At the end of the first quarter, St. Lawrence was up by one; but after, Algonquin took control leading 39-26 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Algonquin turned on the heat and never looked back, outscoring St. Lawrence, 21-12. In the fourth quarter, St. Lawrence showed tremendous heart by playing hard every possession, but came up short 78-45.

Algonquin's Felicia Mazerolle (Elliot Lake, Ont.) had 20 points by halftime and 35 points overall with 18 rebounds. She was not only Algonquin top scorer, but was also named the player of the game and a championship all-star.

The top scorer for the Vikings was Lacey Knox (Kingston, Ont.) with 20 points and nine rebounds who was also player of the game. It is the third straight year St. Lawrence has played in the bronze medal game, losing all three times.

With files from Centennial College

Championship Website: www.centennialcollege.ca/colts/media/tournaments/ocaa-womens-basketball-championships/

Thursday, March 5
Quarter-Finals
Game 1 - Humber 64, Niagara 58 - Recap
Game 2 - Algonquin 65, St. Clair 49 - Recap
Game 3 - Mohawk 79, Centennial 56 - Recap
Game 4 - St. Lawrence-Kingston 55, Fanshawe 41 - Recap

Friday, March 6
Bronze Quarter-Finals
Game 5 - St. Clair 77, Niagara 61 - Recap
Game 6 - Fanshawe 55, Centennial 53 - Recap
Semi-Finals
Game 7 - Humber 58, Algonquin 55 - Recap
Game 8 - Mohawk 71, St. Lawrence-Kingston 58 - Recap

Saturday, March 7
Bronze Semi-Finals
Game 9 - Algonquin 64, Fanshawe 48 - Recap
Game 10 - St. Lawrence-Kingston 63, St. Clair 56 - Recap
Bronze Medal Game
Game 11 - Algonquin 78, St. Lawrence-Kingston 45 - Recap
Gold Medal Game
Game 12 - Humber 61, Mohawk 46 - Recap

- OCAA -

ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is a recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 30 members sponsoring 11 sports.

For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
Fax: 416-426-7308
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com