The Hawks keeps their undefeated streak going as they improve to 10-0 with a dominant 91-56 road win over the Mohawk Mountaineers on Wednesday night inside the David Braley Athletic and Recreation Centre.
Hawks Womens basketball head coach Ajay Sharma told Humber News he liked his team’s work on Wednesday night but said he demands the best out of his players and better execution.
“I’m not looking at the scoreboard all the time, I’m looking at the things we do in practice and I want to see them translate to the game and when we get sloppy and bored it bothers me,” he said.
The Mountaineers entered the game with a 2-7 record and have lost their last seven against the Hawks. Humber’s impressive team record could be credited to the teams new look with a flurry of transfers joining the team and instantly making an impact.
Second-year guard Marley Bonnick, A transfer from St. Francis Xavier, had a team high 16 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes of work during the Mohawk win. She credits her success to the team’s chemistry and trusting in her teammates.
“I already knew a few people on the team when transferring so we already have a family built and have great chemistry so it’s great to play with these girls,” she said.
The Hawks have been an offensive juggernaut as they currently lead the OCAA in points per game, field goal percentage and rebounds.
This could be attributed to another transfer making a difference for the Hawks, Kayah Clarke, a Windsor transfer who is the teams leading scorer averaging just under 16 points and 7.5 rebounds a game so far this season.
“She was a four year university player at Windsor where she was dynamic,” Sharma said. “Her body isn’t what it used to be when she was playing U Sports so we are just trying to manage that.”
She was sidelined Wednesday with an apparent knee injury as her team picked up the win in her absence. She joins fellow Lancer transfer Abby Bodden on the injury report, who has been sidelined for the season after suffering a concussion.
The new faces on the team join long-time veteran Brittany English, who heads into her last season with the Hawks, where she’s taken a leadership role being one of the senior players on the team.
English spoke to how she learned to be a leader from former Humber legends Aleena Domingo and Ceejay Nofuente.
“I played behind Aleena and Ceejay, and me being a rookie as a leader I grew and adapted the leadership skills that they had and I just try my best to put it into the role I have now,” she said.
English said she has seen a lot of success with the Hawks winning a national title in 2018 along with two OCAA championships and one bronze medal. She’s won numerous awards like the Hawks Heart award in 2022 which is awarded to an athlete for perseverance and/or resiliency through adversity.
“We have a lot of great hopes for what we want to achieve by the end of the season but Humber has been a great program and there’s a love and a hate that I’m leaving,” she said.
English and the Hawks look to keep up the momentum as they return home this Saturday as they take on the third place Fanshawe Falcons. In their last matchup, the Hawks beat the Falcons by 16 in a dominant 66-50 win in early November.