Humber defeats St. Clair in OCAA Women’s Basketball Final

Windsor, ON – In a battle of unbeaten Women's Basketball schools the Humber College Hawks (Etobicoke) defeated the St. Clair College Saints (Windsor) in the OCAA Championship game by a score of 103-91 Thursday night at the SportsPlex.  The regular season champions of their respective divisions each team owned identical 11-0 records and squared off in a classic game with each squad putting up big numbers on the scoreboard that likely resulted in one of the highest scoring regulation games in conference history. 

Humber came out of the gate with impressive shooting (57%) which included 5 triples on their way to a 35-17 first quarter lead.  Humber cooled slightly in the second quarter as St. Clair fought to keep themselves in the contest but still trailed 57-42 at halftime.  Like a heavy weight fight St. Clair was able to use a 13-0 run in the third quarter to come within a point (65-64) but Humber responded for a 76-70 advantage headed to the final frame.  The teams traded blows in the fourth quarter, but the Saints were unable to close the gap down the stretch. 

A remarkable outside shooting display by both teams saw 58 triples launched in the game with Humber converting 53.3% (16-30) and St. Clair making 39.3% (11-28).  St. Clair's depth was able to outscore Humber 15-2, but it wasn't enough to make up for the difference in 3-point shooting. 

Humber's Nikki Ylagan (Mississauga, ON) put on a stellar sharp shooting performance scoring a game high 34 points which included 8 makes from deep on her way to Player of the Game honours and a spot on the Championship All-Star team.  Miea Campbell-Johnson (Brampton, ON) earned the Championship MVP selection for Humber and scored 23 points to go with 12 rebounds in a double-double output adding 3 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocked shots.  Kia Watt (Toronto, ON) was Humber's other Championship All-Star team member and scored 20 points to go with 9 assists in the final.  Brittney English (Toronto, ON) and Sarah Baptie (Mississauga, ON) each chipped in with 12 points for Humber as Baptie submitted a double-double clearing 11 rebounds. 

Jana Kucera (Chatham, ON) was St. Clair's Player the of Game and finished with 26 points while sister Logan Kucera (Chatham, ON) scored 17 points to go with 8 rebounds.  The twins were each named to the Championship All-Star team for the Saints.  Jessica Paolini (Hamilton, ON) also reached double figures for St. Clair with 15 points and added 7 rebounds.  This was St. Clair's third straight OCAA Silver Medal but unfortunately ends their drive for a continued season and a trip to the National Championship. 

Niagara College (Welland) claimed the Bronze Medal after defeating Algonquin College (Ottawa) 67-52 earlier in the evening.  Libby Hirst (White Lake, ON) scored 12 points for Algonquin to earn her team's Player of the Game Award and added 12 rebounds in a double-double.  Niagara's Player of the Game was Terin Hultink (Fenwick, ON) who also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds which solidified her spot on the Championship All-Star team.

See below a brief recap of the Championship game.

EVENT:          OCAA Women's Basketball Championship Final

DATE/TIME:  Thu, Mar. 17^th (7:30pm)

LOCATION:   St. Clair College SportsPlex (Windsor)

RESULT:       Humber (12-0) defeated St. Clair (11-1) by a score of 103-91. 

Saints Statistics

Jana Kucera             26 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST – Player of the Game

Logan Kucera           17 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL

Jessica Paolini         15 PTS, 7 REB, 1 BLK

Kiersten Tomkins     9 PTS, 8 REB, 7 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK

Hawks Statistics

Nikki Ylagan                         34 PTS, 1 REB, 3 STL

Miea Campbell-Johnson    23 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 4 BLK

Kia Watt                                 20 PTS, 4 REB, 9 AST, 2 STL

Brittney English                    12 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL

Sarah Baptie                         12 PTS, 11 REB, 6 AST, 3 STL

See below a Championship Summary.

2022 OCAA Women's Basketball Final Four Championship

Hosted by St. Clair College

SCHEDULE:

Wednesday, March 16th

DAY 1 – SEMI-FINALS

6:00pm            Semi-Final #1 - ST. CLAIR (78) vs. ALGONQUIN (50)

Players of the Game

Algonquin – Jade Lyons (13 PTS, 6 REB, 1 STL)

St. Clair – Logan Kucera (16 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST)

8:00pm            Semi-Final #2 - HUMBER (80) vs. NIAGARA (74) 

Players of the Game

Niagara – Janee Harrison (21 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL)

Humber – Miea Campbell-Johnson (30 PTS, 18 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 3 BLK)

Thursday, March 17th

DAY 2 – FINALS

5:00pm            Bronze Medal - Algonquin (52) vs. Niagara (67)

Players of the Game

Algonquin – Libby Hirst (12 PTS, 12 REB, 1 AST)

Niagara – Terin Hultink (14 PTS, 12 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL)

7:30pm            Gold Medal – St. Clair (91) vs. Humber (103)

Players of the Game

St. Clair – Jana Kucera (26 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST)

Humber – Nikki Ylagan (34 PTS, 1 REB, 3 STL)

Championship All-Star Team

Terin Hultink (Niagara)

Jana Kucera (St. Clair)

Logan Kucera (St. Clair)

Kia Watt (Humber)

Nikki Ylagan (Humber)

Miea Campbell-Johnson (Humber) – MVP

Fair Play & Sportsmanship Award – Algonquin College