(London, Ontario) – At the Glenn Johnston Athletic Centre on Saturday afternoon, the #1 Fanshawe Women's Basketball squad (20-1, 1st in West) rolled to a 109-40 victory over the Centennial Colts (2-16, 8th in East). With the win, the Falcons secure a spot in the OCAA Provincial Championship.
Fanshawe was on fire to start the game, as they went on a 15-0 run while shooting 100% from the field in the opening four minutes of play. Bethany Miller (London, ON) had a great shift, scoring five points on a layup and 3-pointer. A midrange jumper from Natalie Warren would extend the Falcons lead to 31-8 after the first quarter.
Fifth-year shooting guard Mary Ingribelli (St. Catherine's, ON) found her stroke for the red and white in the second frame. Ingribelli recorded 14 points, including four made triples. Fanshawe captain Laura Vere (Stratford, ON) added points of her own on strong drives to the rim. At the break, the Falcons held a comfortable 64-22 lead.
Layups from Fanshawe forwards Kaleigh Morris (London, ON) and Maddy Kielar (Newmarket, ON) continued the home team's dominant play in the third quarter. The Falcons moved the ball extremely well offensively which helped them shoot an impressive 55% from the field in the frame. Fanshawe guard Sydney Kendellen notched five assists, including finding an open Alison Cotton (London, ON) for a bucket. The red and white held an 88-29 advantage going into the final quarter.
Rookie guard Jessica Jordan (Chatham, ON) showed her strong court awareness in the fourth quarter recording four assists of her own. The Falcons got defensive stops from Mackenzie Van Dyk (Parkhill, ON), who had three blocks. Fanshawe would go on to win the game 109-40 to advance to the Provincial championship. As a team, the Falcons shot 50% from the field, 52.6% from behind the arc and 93.8% from the charity stripe. They also recorded 36 team assists and outrebounded the Colts 68-31. Warren and Ingribelli led all scorers with 16 each, while Vere contributed 14. Miller and Cotton had their best games of the year with 13 and 10 points respectively.
The OCAA Provincial Championship will take place from February 28 to March 2 at St. Lawrence College in Kingston. The Falcons will face the host Vikings (6-11, 5th in East) in an OCAA quarterfinal on Thursday, February 28 at 6pm.