BRAMPTON, Ont. (March 7) -- Perhaps the most startling fact about the spectacular ascent to the top of the Ontario basketball mountain for the Sheridan Bruins women's basketball team is that five years ago they weren't even a competing member of the OCAA. Now they are an indelible piece of its history, claiming their second consecutive Ontario crown with a 75-65 triumph over Seneca in the championship game of the 2009 Belair Direct OCAA Women's Basketball Championship.

"It feels great, I mean we worked so hard trying to build a team that was going to be able to compete at the provincial level and low and behold we ended up being able to compete at the national level," head coach Shane Bascoe said. "Seneca, they (won the OCAA Championship) two years in a row, I tip my hat to them; they're a great team, they work extremely hard and we did the exact same thing. It's a good feeling, the girls worked hard for it and that's why we won."

With a packed house, the intensity and atmosphere was cranked to its maximum as the game started with each team jockeying for position and trading baskets. A Seneca 9-0 run (with Ashley Docking scoring all nine points) midway through the first half gave the Sting a 23-15 lead. It would be their last lead of the contest though, as the Lady Bruins responded with a 13-0 run, propelling them to a 35-28 lead at the half.

Bascoe says that the back and forth nature - especially in the first half - is just a part of the normal ebbs and flows of the sport

"Basketball's a game of runs, but I thought that we did a subpar job of stopping what they were doing well, which was beating us back in transition," he said. "I didn't think it was so much their half court stuff, I thought they just pushed the ball down the floor and we did an awful job in transition, so I guess that gives us something to work on in practice."

In the second half Seneca gave the defending champions everything they could handle, constantly battling back and even pulling within two. Undaunted though the Lady Bruins stayed poised and, more importantly, converted 14 of their 18 free throw attempts down the stretch.

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BRAMPTON, Ont. (March 7) -- Leading by 24 late in the second half, it looked like the Fanshawe Falcons would cruise their way to a third place finish in the bronze medal game of the 2009 Belair Direct OCAA Women�s Basketball Championship.

And as such they may have been guilty of slightly discounting the abilities of the St. Lawrence (Kingston) Vikings, who went on a furious 21-4 run to crawl back into the game. Ultimately though the lead was just too much and even though Fanshawe went just 5 of 11 from the free throw line down the stretch, it was still enough to cement a 72-64 victory.

BRAMPTON, Ont. (March 6) -- The conventional wisdom heading into the 2009 Belair Direct OCAA Women's Basketball Championship was that the two regular season divisional champions from Sheridan and Seneca (with a pair of unblemished records) were on a collision course.

While both had anything but a walk in the park to get there - the Bruins gutted out a strong second half to put away a game St. Lawrence (Kingston) squad 76-47 - the two will now square off in a re-match of last year's championship final.

After the dust is settled one team will leave the building a champion, while the other will have suffered OCAA defeat for the first and only time this year.

"First of all I tip my hat to St. Lawrence Kingston, I thought they did a very good job trying to nullify us as team," head coach Shane Bascoe said. "It was a pretty scrappy game and I thought our girls took a little bit of time to get into it and they were too hyped up."

St. Lawrence (Kingston) head coach Andrea Blackwell was proud of the fight in her club, but admitted that the Bruins ability to replace players on the floor from the bench eventually wore them down.

"We knew we were going to be in tough against Sheridan today, they're a great basketball team. They just come at you in waves," she said. "We're a good team, but our depth is limited. As soon as we started to fatigue a little bit that's when their size, their depth and their talent really started to cause us difficulties."

Bascoe says the plan for the final is to stick to the basics and is looking forward to seeing how his team responds to the challenge that Seneca presents.

"I think we just need to play our game as usual with a couple twists here and there," he said. "We'll have to see what we can do to match-up with them because it's going to be a tough game."

Blackwell meanwhile, says that the very nature of sports means her team will have to try their best to come up with a good effort in the bronze medal game against Fanshawe.

"That's what sports is all about," she said. "You just have to do it. You have to re-group with just a few hours of rest."

BRAMPTON, Ont. (March 6) -- While it was anything but a shootout, the OCAA semi final game between Seneca and Fanshawe was a hard-nosed grind-it-out type of game with Seneca ultimately playing a more ferocious defensive game, leading to a 53-41 victory. The win propels them into their fourth straight OCAA final and fifth in six years.

Neither team shot the ball well, with the teams combining to shoot 29.6 per cent from the floor. Fanshawe however, struggled mightily with ball security commiting 23 turnovers (18 in the first half) and head coach Matt White said that was what sealed their fate.

"(It was) the worst game we've played this year," he said. "We spotted them 12 points (and) that was the difference in the end. We had (as many) turnovers in the first half (as) we did points; we didn't come to play."

On the flip side Seneca head coach Craig Walker was pleased with his club's defensive pressure and intensity, but would have liked to see more offensive polish.

"I think we played well defensively, but struggled a bit at the other end of the floor," he said. "Still, a win's a win and we'll take it."

With Seneca advancing to their first final with Walker on the bench, he's hoping regardless of the outcome of the other semi final to see his club execute their offence more efficiently.

"Either of the teams we'll play will be a challenge for us, so we need to finish a little better offensively, unlike today," he said.

Fanshawe on the other hand, will now turn their sights to the bronze medal and White says that if they are to have any chance, they need to protect the ball and their defensive glass.

"We need to not let the other team have the opportunity to get offensive rebounds and (force) turnovers," he said. "We've got to put the ball in the basket."

BRAMPTON, Ont. (March 6) -- The St. Lawrence Kingston Vikings were certainly well represented during the 2009 Belair Direct OCAA Women's Basketball Championship awards banquet. Not only was guard Rachel Niven named as a first-team OCAA East all-star, an All-Canadian and the OCAA player of the year; but head coach Andrea Blackwell was also honoured as the OCAA East Division coach of the year and will be the OCAA's nomination for the CCAA national coach of the year award.

Niven was also awarded as the East's Division and OCAA overall scoring leader while team mate Bailey Lomas was named as an OCAA East second team all-star.

2009 OCAA Women's Basketball Award winners

Player of the Year
Rachel Niven (St. Lawrence)

CCAA All-Canadians
Rachel Niven (St. Lawrence)
Sara Maybee (Loyalist)

League Scoring Champion
Rachel Niven (St. Lawrence, 22.29 PPG)

Regional Scoring Champion
East Rachel Niven (St. Lawrence, 22.29 PPG)
West Kaitlynn Paulley (Humber, 15.79 PPG)

Coach of the Year
East Andrea Blackwell (St. Lawrence)
West Matt White (Fanshawe)

CCAA Coach of the Year Nominee
Andrea Blackwell (St. Lawrence)

Rookie of the Year
East Lina Aywas (Algonquin)
West Kaitlynn Paulley (Humber)
OCAA Kaitlynn Paulley (Humber)

Defensive Player of the Year
East Ashley Docking (Seneca)
West Alison Griffiths (Fanshawe)

East Region

First Team
Natasha Thombs (Seneca)
Ashley Docking (Seneca)
Summer Bly (Georgian)
Sara Maybee (Loyalist)
Rachel Niven (St. Lawrence)

Second Team
Erin Emery (Durham)
Chantal Gray (George Brown)
Brenda Carachure (George Brown)
Erin Rose (Loyalist)
Bailey Lomas (St. Lawrence)

All-Rookie Team
Jessica Newton (Durham)
Samantha Jansen (Durham)
Lina Aywas (Algonquin)
Brenda Carachure (George Brown)
Heather Alonzo (Seneca)

West Region

First Team
Alison Griffiths (Fanshawe)
Kaitlynn Paulley (Humber)
Jessica James (Niagara)
Hali Burns (Sheridan)
Sara Levesque (St. Clair)

Second Team
Chelsea Nekuliak (Algoma)
Jeralyn Espiritu (Sheridan)
Nakia Arthur (Sheridan)
Sarah Moxley (Sheridan)
Sarah Stevens (St. Clair)

All-Rookie Team
Chelsea Nekuliak (Algoma)
Julia Wolynski (Fanshawe)
Kaitlynn Paulley (Humber)
Vivian Essuon (Sheridan)
Jenae Grayer (St. Clair)

Final Four Set

All four home teams win on quarter-final Saturday to cement OCAA Championship

BRAMPTON, Ont. -- Though there were 224 games during the conference regular season and eight playoff games, all roads toward an Ontario Championship led to this point where 16 teams have been whittled down to four.

Upsets were not the order of the day, as all four home teams (ones that were coming off a first round bye) escaped their home gyms victorious and will now advance to the Belair Direct Car Insurance 2009 OCAA Women's Basketball Championship on March 6 and 7 at Sheridan College's Davis Campus in Brampton.

"We are proud to be able to host such a prestigious event and look forward to putting on a tremendous display of basketball for the Sheridan, Peel and OCAA communities," tournament chair Wayne Fish said.

Both semi final match-ups feature a top ranked team and second ranked team. The host team from Sheridan, who won the West Division with a 14-0 record, will play St. Lawrence (Kingston) at 8pm, while Seneca, East Division champions with an identical 14-0 record, will Fanshawe at 6pm.

The winners will meet at 4pm on March 7 with the Ontario Championship hanging in the balance, while the losers will battle for bronze at 2pm.

Quarter-final scores

Fanshawe 66 Algoma 39
St. Lawrence (Kingston) 76 St. Clair 66
Sheridan 101 Georgian 45
Seneca 62 Humber 48

Semi Final Match-ups

6pm Seneca (15-0) vs. Fanshawe (11-4)
8pm Sheridan (15-0) vs. St. Lawrence (Kingston) (11-4)

BRAMPTON, Ont. -- With just under a week remaining in the regular season of Ontario Colleges Athletic Association women's basketball play, the playoff picture continues to become clearer.

In the West Division, with one game still remaining Sheridan (13-0) has already sewn up their second consecutive division title and a first round bye. Fanshawe (9-4), by virtue of a tie-breaker with St. Clair (10-4) can also earn a first round bye and the right to host a quarter-final match-up with a victory over Mohawk (4-9) on Tuesday. Algoma (4-10) is also hoping for a Fanshawe victory, as it will give them the final playoff spot from the west, where they will join Sheridan, Fanshawe, St. Clair, Humber (7-6) and Niagara (6-7).

In the East Division, Seneca (13-0) - like Sheridan - has the division title already won. St. Lawrence - Kingston (9-4), with tie-breakers over George Brown (10-4) and Georgian (9-4) already in place can clinch second place, a first round bye and a home quarter-final with a win over Fleming (0-13) on Wednesday. Loyalist (5-8) and Algonquin (4-10) have also clinched playoff spots.

After the first two rounds, held on February 21 and 28 respectively, the top four teams in Ontario will descend upon Sheridan College’s Davis Campus in Brampton for the 2009 OCAA Women’s Basketball Championship presented by Belair Direct Car Insurance.

Final Four Set

All four home teams win on quarter-final Saturday to cement OCAA Championship

Schedule

Rosters