The Algonquin Wolves women's basketball team earned a bronze medal at the OCAA Provincial Championships this past weekend hosted by Niagara College. Read about their weekend below.
Thursday March 2nd - OCAA Awards Banquet
The team departed from the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre at 7:30 am on route for Niagara College in Welland Ontario. After a short practice it was time to get ready for the OCAA Awards Banquet, a chance to celebrate the accomplishments of players and teams from across the province. Algonquin walked away from the banquet with quite the collection.
Team Awards
OCAA East Division Champions
OCAA East Defensive Team of the Tear
Individual Accomplishments
OCAA East Player of the Year
OCAA East Defensive Player of the Year
CCAA All-Canadian
1st Team All-Stars
2nd Team All-Star
OCAA East All-Rookie Team
Friday March 3rd - OCAA ¼ Final vs Niagara Knights (63-53 Win)
After the excitement from the awards banquet wore off it was time to get ready for the ¼ final matchup. The Wolves would take on the Niagara Knights on their home floor. Niagara finished in 4th place in the OCAA West standings with a 9-7 record.
The Wolves got off to a strong start thanks in large part to the defensive effort of 2nd year guard Sydney Moore who had the assignment of guarding Niagara's top scorer and OCAA West 2nd team All-Star Taryn Mitchell. Algonquin's offense was flowing in the 1st half ending the 1st quarter with a 20-12 lead. Their aggressiveness in the 2nd quarter led to some foul trouble for the Knights. The Wolves took advantage going 9/12 from the line in the quarter and extending their lead to 13 points going into the half.
The Knights came out of the half with a chip on their shoulder. They tightened the screws defensively and cut the Algonquin lead to 7 points going into the final frame. Niagara continued their strong play early in the 4th cutting the Wolves lead to 3 with just over 9 minutes to go in the game, but Algonquin would finish the game on a 16 to 9 run to take the win 63-53.
Dasia McDonald was the games leading scorer with 16 pts, 10 rebs, 4 stls, 3 asts. Libby Hirst was named player of the game with 15 pts and 9 rebs. Meaghan McNamara was also in double figures with 10 pts shooting 4/7 from the field and 2/3 from 3. With the win the Wolves moved on to the ½ final against the Lambton Lions who took down the St. Clair Saints in the other ¼ final.
Saturday March 4th - OCAA ½ Final vs Lambton Lions (53-38 Loss)
Saturday would be a tough test for the Wolves. They would take on the Lambton Lions who finished the regular season with a 13-3 record, good for 2nd in the OCAA West. They took down the Centennial Colts 92-52 in the qualifying game and the St. Clair Saints 67-56 in the ¼ final in order to reach the semis. Fans were expecting a defensive battle as the game featured the defensive team of the year winners from both divisions.
Lambton lived up to the hype in the 1st quarter keeping the Wolves scoreless for the first 5:00 minutes of the game and forcing Algonquin into 7 first quarter turnovers. The 2nd quarter was more of the same with the Lions taking a 29-16 lead into half-time.
Algonquin managed to cut the lead to 9 early in the 4th quarter but the Lambton defense proved to be too much for the Wolves who eventually fell 53-38. Dasia McDonald was named player of the game for her 6 pts and 10 boards. Libby Hirst led the team in scoring with 9 pts while adding 13 boards. Sydney Moore added 7 points and 4 boards. The loss meant that the Wolves would play for Bronze against the Fanshawe Falcons who dropped their ½ final to the Humber Hawks.
Sunday March 5th - OCAA Bronze Medal Game vs Fanshawe Falcons (56-52 Win)
In their final game of the Weekend the Wolves took on the Fanshawe Falcons with the OCAA Bronze medal on the line. The Falcons finished 3rd in the OCAA West with a 10-6 record. They took down the Seneca Sting 72-47 in the qualifying game and beat the Redeemer Royals 62-52 in the ¼ finals before losing 67-58 to the Humber Hawks in the ½ final.
Algonquin started slow out of the gates trailing 16-12 after the first quarter. They managed to find their bearings offensively and went on a 10-2 run thanks in large part to Dasia McDonald and Sydney Moore. The Wolves took the lead 25-23 with just over 2 minutes to go in the half, but Fanshawe finished strong regaining a 27-25 lead heading into the break.
The 3rd quarter was a back and forth affair. The Falcons came out hot, scoring the first 6 points and taking an 8 point lead. Algonquin bounced back to tie things up and the teams traded baskets from there. Fanshawe managed to take a 5 point lead with just over 2 minutes to go in the frame, but Sydney Moore knocked down a huge 3 in the final minute of the quarter to tie things back up at 41. Algonquin took a 1 point lead going into the final frame.
The 4th quarter was just as close as the rest of the contest. The teams went back and forth with the Wolves holding on to a slim lead. All-Canadian Dasia McDonald proved why she earned the OCAA East Player of the year award after scoring a layup and going 6 for 6 from the line down the stretch to ice the game. Dasia finished with 19 pts, 5 rebs, and 5 stls. Sydney Moore was named player of the game after knocking down some clutch shots from behind the arc. She finished with 8 pts. Libby Hirst finished with 10 pts and 13 rebs, another double double.
The Wolves earned the OCAA bronze medal, finishing 1 spot higher than they did during the 2021-22 campaign. Dasia McDonald was named to the Provincial Championship All-Star team. The future is bright for Jaime McLean's squad with most of the roster returning for the 2023-24 season.
The Algonquin Students' Association would like to take the time to congratulate the players, coaches, and support staff on an incredible year. We look forward to watching you play again next season!