Good day for Knights
Niagara College was a winner off court before the Ontario women’s basketball championships tipped off on the hardwood.
Year-end accolades to Courtney McPherson and Brooke-Lyn Murdoch, both key contributors to the Knights advancing to the provincials, topped the menu for Niagara at an awards breakfast hosted by Seneca College Thursday in Toronto.
McPherson, a Welland native and Confederation graduate, was named the Ontario Colleges Athletic Assocation (OCAA) first-team, all-star for the second consecutive season, while Murdoch, also from Welland an a Jean Vanier alum, earned defensive player of the year honours, as well as being named to the second all-star team.
McPherson enjoyed an outstanding 2016-17 season. The 5-foot-11 forward averaged 14.9 points, and a division-leading 10.8 rebounds per game on the year. The third-year educational assistant major shot a dominant 51 per cent and finished the season with 12 double-doubles in 17 games played.
Murdoch enjoyed breakout campaign playing college hoops for her hometown team. In her second season with the Knights after spending two years at McMaster University, the 5-foot-6 guard finished with 12.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and three steals per game.
In addition to her contributions on the scoresheet, Murdoch was often tasked with defending the primary offensive threat for the Knights’ opponents, earning her the respect the opposing coaches and leading to the West Division defensive player of the year selection.
The Niagara College women’s basketball program finished the 2016-17 season with a record of 12-6 and in fourth place in the OCAA West Division.
Niagara opened the eight-team, three-day tournament last night playing the host Seneca Sting.
The winner advances to the semifinal while the loser will be relegated to the consolation side of the bracket. For more information regarding the 2017 OCAA Championship visit the tournament website at http://ocaa. com/championships/wbkl/2016-17/ index.
Good day for Knights
Two Niagara players – secondyear guard Van Hutchinson Jr., third-year shooting Lequan Hylton – were named to the first and second all-star teams, respectively, at the men’s college basketball championships being hosted by Toronto’s Centennial College.
Hutchinson Jr’s selection as an OCAA first-team all-star marks the first time a Niagara College men’s basketball player has been named a first team all-star since the 200405 season when Craig Bauslaugh earned the accolade.
Hutchinson Jr., a dynamic 6-foot4 guard from Nassau, Bahamas, is in his first year with the Knights. He averaged team highs in points (14.8), rebounds (9.9), assists (4.5), and steals (2.7) during the 2016-17 season. He joined Niagara College prior to the beginning of this season after spending 2013-14 competing for Northern Oklahoma Tonkowa, a U.S. based Junior College.
Hylton, a native of Mississauga, enjoyed a breakout 2016-17 season for the Knights. He established himself as Niagara’s “go-to” perimeter scorer averaging 14.6 points per game. Hylton shot 44.1 per cent from beyond the three-point arc. He is his third year with the Knights and was named the team’s top-scholastic award recipient in 2015-16.
Niagara played the host Centennial Colts in qualifying-round action last night.
For more information regarding the OCAA men’s basketball championship, visit the tournament website at http://ocaa.com/championships/ mbkl/2016-17/index.