Knights sweep Cougars
Niagara College athletes of the week stand out in back-to-back wins on northern road trip
Niagara College has named Welland native Courtney McPherson female athlete of the week after dominating performances on the basketball court in two games against the Sault Cougars.
McPherson, who won back-toback Ontario single A high school championships at Confederation, recorded a pair of doubledoubles in the weekend games played in Sault Ste. Marie. The veteran forward notched game highs in points, with 25; and rebounds, 13; on Saturday, then added 16 points and 12 rebounds on Sunday, despite playing just 16 minutes.
Despite the high offensive output, Knights head coach Mike Beccaria felt that the fourthyear forward’s biggest contribution came at the opposite end of the floor.
“Courtney played great this weekend, back-to-back scoring and rebounding double-doubles. but she also played great defence this weekend, and that was her biggest impact.”
Van Hutchinson Jr., this week’s top male athlete, also notched a pair of double-double for the Knights during their two-game sweep on the road over Sault College.
The 6-foot-4 shooting guard is a native of Nassau, Bahamas. During the Knights’ 68-61 victory on Saturday, he finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds. The following afternoon he tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds bringing his season total to seven doubledoubles.
Hutchinson is averaging 15 points and nine rebounds per game in 2016-17.
Sault Cougars no match for nights in B-ball
The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association No. 4 ranked Niagara Knights men’s basketball team swept the Sault Cougars – 68-61, Saturday; 84-65, Sunday – in Sault Ste. Marie on the weekend.
The wins improve the Knights to 11-2 on the season, and maintains the team’s hold on second place in the OCAA West Division.
The Knights were paced by second-year guard Van Hutchinson Jr. Nassau, Bahamas.
The explosive 6-foot-4 U.S. junior college transfer turned in a pair of double-doubles bringing his season total to a team leading seven.
Hutchinson finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds on Saturday, and 13 and 11 on Sunday.
Winning weekend in hoops for Niagara women
The Niagara Knights improved their record in women’s college basketball to 10-5 following a pair of victories over the Sault Cougars — 81-57, Saturday; 82-55 — on the weekend in Sault Ste. Marie.
Knights head coach Mike Beccaria described the performance on his team’s road trip to Northern Ontario as “a workman-like weekend.”
“We scored inside and outside, looked for our mismatches, and moved the ball around very well.”
Third-year guard Mary Ingribelli, St. Catharines; led the Knights in scoring with a combined 42 points. The Governor Simcoe graduate, who missed the 201516 season after suffering an ACL tear, recorded 18 points on Saturday before finishing with a season high 24 points on Sunday.
Ingribelli is averaging 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game this season.
Knights improve to 13-3 in women’s volleyball
Saturday saw the Niagara College women’s volleyball program improve to 13-3 as the team swept the Mohawk Mountaineers 3-0 — 25-23, 28-25, 25-13 — on the road.
After the match, head coach Nathan Janzen commented “we played maybe our best match of the season in this convincing win.”
The Knights controlled the match in Hamilton from start to finish, using their size and athleticism to its fullest advantage en route to the straight set victory.
For the second consecutive match fifth-year middle blocker Linnea Davis was the Knights strongest all-around player. The towering 6-foot-1 native of Brampton finished the game with 11 points on seven kills, two aces, and two blocks.
More impressive, however, was Davis’ efficiency, as she committed just one error in and hit at .400 in the match on seven of 12 attacks.
Second-year standout Jordan Koslowski, Hamilton; continued her OCAA West Division-scoring leading ways, as she finished with a match high 13 points on eight kills, four aces and a block.
Koslowski currently leads the division scoring with an average of 4.3 points per set.
With the win the Knights guarantee that they will host a home playoff match.
Just who the opponent is depends on the remaining two games of the regular season.
Mountaineers loom too large for Niagara in men’s V-ball
The powerhouse Mohawk Mountaineers proved to be too much for the Niagara Knights in men’s college volleyball.
Niagara was swept Saturday in Hamilton — 25-14, 25-19, 25-22 — to fall to 8-8 in league play and into a tie for the final playoff sport in he OCAA’s West Division.
First-year middle blocker Jacob Williamson led Niagara in scoring, with nine kills and a block. The 6-foot native of St. Catharines has been a bright spot for the Knights since joining the team in January after recovering from an off-season ankle injury. Williamson is averaging 3.5 points per set in his first six OCAA matches.
The Knights have two games remaining against two opponents they are jockeying with for a position in the OCAA post-season. The team will host the Sheridan Bruins on Thursday at the Athletic Centre in Welland.
Winner of the match will qualify for the playoffs, while the loser will likely be left on the outside looking in.