No. 2 Women's Basketball overcomes slow start to down Niagara
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Niagara (6-6, 6-6) | 14 | 21 | 2 | 14 | 51 |
|
Humber (13-0, 13-0) | 7 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 62 |
ETOBICOKE – It was an uncharacteristic win for No. 2 Humber women's basketball, overcoming an extremely slow start to pick up its 13th victory of the season, defeating the Niagara Knights Wednesday evening at the North Campus Gym, 62-51.
All-star Kia Watt paced the way for the Hawks offensively, recording 18 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. Sarah Baptie added 12 points of her own, while transfer Nicole Chateau rounded out Humber's double-digit scorers with 11.
The Hawks (13-0, 1st West) got off to an extremely slow start, allowing the Knights to jump out to a 14-4 run to begin the game. Humber struggled from the floor in the opening ten minutes, recording a season-low seven points on 14.3 per cent (three-of-21) shooting from the floor.
Humber's offence began to get going in the second frame but continued to struggle against the size of the Knights (6-6, 5th West) – who had five players listed at six feet or taller. A deep three-pointer from Kia Watt at the buzzer put the Hawks down nine at the break, 35-26.
Humber's half-time adjustments proved to be too much for the Knights, outscoring Niagara 19-2 in the third quarter and defensively holding their opponents to one-of-17 (5.9 per cent) shooting from the floor. Sarah Baptie and Nicole Chateau combined to score 13 of Humber's 19 points in the quarter – including a nice elbow jumper from Chateau as the frame ended.
From there, Humber was able to cruise to its 13th victory of the season, inching closer to the eighth division title during the Coach Sharma era. Brittney English and Marley Bonnick had a big game on the glass for the Hawks, combining for 20 of Humber's 50 boards.
Humber Highlights
- The Hawks extend their win streak against OCAA opponents to 25 consecutive games.
- Nicole Chateau finished with a career-high 11 points.
- Kia Watt now sits 41 points away from becoming the tenth player in program history to join the 600-point club.
- Humber improves to 44-10 all-time against the Knights – including 16 straight wins.
- Humber's 62 points were its lowest total against an OCAA opponent since 2019.
What's Next?
With three games remaining in the regular season, No. 2 Humber will head to southwest Ontario for a two-game road trip, beginning with the Lambton Lions (10-2, 2nd West) on Feb. 10. The Hawks return home for the final game of the season against Sheridan (0-12, 9th West) on Feb. 16.
