The Humber women’s basketball team cruised to victory on Wednesday, beating the Augustana Vikings 84 to 63 during the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association’s quarter final game in Hamilton on March 15.
The Hawks went into this tournament as the reigning Ontario College Athletics Association champions. The University of Alberta – Augustana team, from Camrose, Alta., are that province’s second place finishers.
The Hawks were led by their head coach Ajay Sharma, who was part of the winning CCAA team in 2018, the last time the tournament was held in Ontario.
Despite being slightly short-handed due to a number of injuries, the team caught fire during the second quarter and led by nine points at halftime.
This was in great part due to some impressive shooting, spearheaded by starting guard Brittney English.
English scored 18 points before the end of the first half, shooting three for four from beyond the arch. The fifth year guard finished with 23, and was named player of the game for the Hawks.
In her post-game interview, English said despite having just won the provincials, she was aware that competing in nationals was a whole new beast.
“Honestly, we just came to compete, compared to our provincials, nationals are a much grittier game,” she said.
English also spoke with confidence about her team and their performance in the game.
“We came into this game with our mindsets to just compete and play what we know how to play,” she said.
The Hawks managed to win every conference game this season, except for their match against Lambton College which Sharma called a bump in the road.
Lauren Cardinal nabbed the title of player of the game for the Vikings.
She maintained energy and a fast pace throughout the game, especially in the second half where she grabbed every rebound that came her way. She finished the game with 11 rebounds and five steals.
Ultimately, the Hawks were able to break through the Vikings defence as they struggled to guard the interior throughout the game.
All-Canadian guard Kia Watt added 22 points of her own, shooting an impressive 52 per cent from the field.
After their victory at Mohawk College, English stressed the importance of continuing to play aggressively going forward in this competition.
She also credited her teammates for supporting her on the court which allowed her to play with more confidence and score those 23 points.
With this win in Hamilton, the Humber Hawks are on their way to a Thursday semi-finals against Geants de Saint-Jean, who beat Atlantic provinces champ Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics 84-71.