ST. LAWRENCE (K) 77, ALGONQUIN 52

KINGSTON, Ont. - The St. Lawrence College women's basketball team was finally able to do what no other Ontario Colleges Athletics Association (OCAA) team could do in 67 games, defeat the Algonquin College Thunder 77-52. That wasn't the only piece of good news for SLC, as they are now ranked first overall in the OCAA east, beating Algonquin by a single point in the tiebreaker.

"This was a huge team win today," said SLC head coach Remy Simpson. "We had contribution from all 12 players. Everyone executed the game plan perfectly. Our ball movement was precise all game and that was the real difference maker for us."

From the start, it looked like Algonquin was going to make it next to impossible to score against, as they consistently forced SLC into taking tough shots. The strategy worked for the short-term as the Thunder built a small lead that was quickly reversed once Sammy Gourdier hit St. Lawrence's first three-pointer of the game to take a slim lead.

Algonquin responded by quickly reaching five team fouls, sending SLC to the line, and allowing the Vikings to build on top of their lead.

Up 32-28 to start the second quarter, SLC would have a pair of turnovers that allowed Algonquin to retake the lead, and once again settle in and restrict the Vikings to tough shots. However, after an SLC timeout, the Vikings began to open up the Algonquin defence, and were able to once again drive to the net with success.

With under 10 seconds in the first half, the Vikings would get a big stop on defence and just missed a buzzer beater shot, and went into halftime up 32-28.

It was a great start to the second half for the Vikings, with Jackie Rodgerson hitting a huge three pointer to push the lead to 38-31, and the Vikings stuck to their game plan of distributing the ball to create open lanes to drive the net.

In the final minute of the third, the Vikings hit the Thunder with a full court press that forced a turnover and finished with Lacey Knox hitting a three-pointer off the glass, at the buzzer, to go up 57-37.

The Vikings continued to have success with their game plan in the fourth quarter. Still moving the ball around the court, hitting clutch three-pointers, and driving the net with success. However, Algonquin would start to settle in offensively, taking their time with good shots.

But Shak Edwards would hit a dagger three-pointer with under one minute remaining that sealed the Vikings 77-52 victory.

With the victory, SLC is now tied with Algonquin for first in the OCAA east, but the Vikings win the tiebreaker having scored just one single point more than the Thunder in their head-to-head matchup.

From the stats page, the third quarter was the tipping point for the victory, with SLC outscoring Algonquin 25-9. Knox finished with a team-high 30 points as she continues to add to her point total as the all-time Vikings leading scorer.

The Vikings will now embark on a three game road trip, starting with Seneca College on Jan. 23 at 6 p.m., then will face George Brown the next day at 1 p.m., and then Loyalist College on Jan. 31. The next home game for SLC is against Durham College on Feb. 4.

Source: St. Lawrence College