KINGSTON, Ont. - The Durham College women's basketball team will compete for OCAA bronze on Saturday afternoon following a hard fought 71-51 semifinal loss versus the St. Clair Saints on Friday evening in Kingston.

Despite the heartbreaking defeat, the Lords quarter-final win over the No. 10 nationally ranked Humber Hawks the day prior ensured they would advance to a provincial medal match for the first time since 2005-06.

DC was in tough from the start of the Friday night contest, falling behind 14-2 early in the first quarter. St. Clair utilized an effective full court pressure defence to force the Lords into 13 first half turnovers, while the Saints were also hot from behind the three-point line nailing seven shots from behind the arc to carry a 38-22 lead into the half.

Durham battled back in the third quarter, outscoring St. Clair 22-17 in the period. The Lords eventually pulled to within six points of the Saints early in the fourth thanks to effective passing and timely rebounding. However, St. Clair reinstituted their pressure defence in the closing five minutes of the contest to bring Durham's come-from-behind run to a standstill, ending the Lords drive for gold.

DC will match up with the loser of tonight's second OCAA semifinal contest, the Niagara Knights. Niagara finished sixth in the OCAA west division with a 10-9 record. Tomorrow's bronze medal game is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m. with the game being streamed live via the OCAA championship host St. Lawrence Vikings youtube channel.
 

FROM THE FLOOR

• Even with an off shooting night from the field, OCAA rookie of the year Marie Stasiuk (Cobourg, Ont.) led the Lords with 10 points in just 19 minutes of action.
• Veteran players Maddie Dender (Ajax, Ont.) and Dekota Kirby (Markham, Ont.) contributed nine and eight points, knocking down five three-pointers between the pair, while OCAA first team all-star Emily Glendinning (Plattsville, Ont.) chipped in with nine points of her own.
• Four Saints reached double-digits in the victory, led by 23 from Jana Kucera and 17 from Logan Kucera. The pair accounted for seven of St. Clair's 10 three-point field goals made.
 

IN THE PAINT

• Stasiuk recorded her 10th double-double of the year, grabbing 10 boards, including five off of the offensive glass. She added one assist and one steal to round out her stat line in the semifinal contest.
• Kim Moroun was named Saints player of the game, leading St. Clair with a game-high 11 rebounds, while adding six steals defensively and six assists offensively.
 

QUICK LOOK AT THE LORDS

Overall Record: 20-8
Conference Record: 12-5
 
Next game: OCAA bronze medal game - Saturday, March 2 vs. Niagara Knights • 3 p.m. - Kingston, Ont.

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