MOHAWK 81, SENECA 65

TORONTO - It will be the Mohawk Mountaineers against the Humber Hawks in the gold medal game of the OCAA Women's Basketball Championship presented by belairdirect.

The Mountaineers got off to a fantastic start, struggled in the second half, but kept their nerve, to defeat the championship hosts from Seneca College 81-65 on Friday.

The Mountaineers jumped out to a shocking 22-6 lead in the first quarter. Everything Mohawk did was in stark contrast to the Sting. Mohawk had eight players hit the scoresheet in the first period.

Things got a bit better for Seneca in the second quarter, but they still trailed 41-17 at the break.

In the third quarter Mohawk appeared to be coasting, up by 27 points, but then their dominance started to wane, and after 30 minutes the lead was down to 17 points (57-40) and Seneca was playing a lot better. In fact they whittled the deficit down to nine points early in the final quarter and looked like they could make a run at the end.

However, Mohawk managed to get their act together and come away with the victory.

Mohawk's Player of the Game, Shanien O'Neil, was indeed that. She made countless big plays, right when the Mountaineers needed them most and finished with 20 points (nine in the final quarter) nine rebounds and four steals. Carissa Browne had 13 points and six steals and Monika Batinic had 12 points. Batinic's total was comprised of four three-pointers in four tries.

Ancien Satchel recorded a game-high 21 points for Seneca and was Player of the Game for the Sting.

The Mountaineers will face Humber for the title, Saturday at 5 p.m.

The Hawks dispatched Fanshawe Falcons 70-51 in their semi-final.

Humber was 18-0 in the regular season. Mohawk was 14-4. The Hawks took two decisions from the Mountaineers in the regular campaign, 89-64 at Humber on Dec. 7 and 74-53 at Mohawk, Jan. 8.

Source: Mohawk College