SARNIA – The undefeated season for the Wolves continues.
On Saturday night inside the Cestar Group Athletics & Fitness Complex, the Algonquin Wolves kept their undefeated season going with a 73-58 win over the St. Clair Saints in the OCAA Semifinals.
With the win, the Algonquin Wolves will play for the provincial championship on Sunday afternoon, where they will also look to take an unblemished record with them to Nationals. The Saints will take to the court in the Bronze Medal Game on Sunday.
Forward Libby Hirst (White Lake, Ont.) was named the Player of the Game for the Wolves. Hirst was one of two Wolves to finish with a double-double, recording a team-high 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds and two steals.
Guard Kaitlyn Overeem (Brantford, Ont.) was named the Player of the Game for the Saints. The OCAA’s leading scorer in the regular season had a team-high 19 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists.
The first 20-minutes was a back-and-forth affair between the Wolves and Saints, as neither team was able to gain much separation from the other on the scoreboard. The Wolves took an early 14-9 lead on a layup from Kate Dahmer (Whitefish, Ont.) with 4:15 to play in the first quarter, but baskets from Lauren Overeem (Brantford, Ont.) and Lily Collins (Windsor, Ont.) on consecutive possessions brought the Saints right back to even.
Algonquin led by one after the first quarter, at 18-17, and the seesaw game continued in the second frame. This time, the Saints took a four-point lead of their own midway through the quarter, only to see the Wolves storm back and take a five-point lead of their own ahead of the break.
Algonquin led 39-34 at the break, and they wouldn’t trail again.
The Wolves opened the second half on a 9-0 run, capped off by a Cianah Miller (Mississauga, Ont.) three-pointer, stretching their lead to 14 and seizing all of the momentum. Their lead would reach as many as 18 in the third quarter, and they continued to ride that wave of momentum down to the final buzzer.
As a team, Algonquin grabbed 63 rebounds, and they held the Saints to 16.7% shooting from beyond the arc. The Wolves picked up the 73-58 win to secure their spot in Sunday’s Gold Medal Game.
Dasia McDonald (Nepean, Ont.) had 12 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, and five steals in the win. For the Saints, Janae Smith (Warren, Mich.) had 17 points and five rebounds of her own in the loss.
Algonquin will now take on Lambton in a battle of the regular season division winners in Sunday’s Championship Game. Tipoff is at 5:00 p.m. inside the Cestar Group Athletics & Fitness Complex.
The Saints will take on a familiar foe in the Knights in the Bronze Medal Game at 2:30 p.m.