Knights earn split
Niagara 1- 1 on road versus Redeemer in hoops; sweeps St. Clair at home in volleyball
Mary Ingribelli had the opposition seeing double when Niagara played Redeemer on the road in women’s college basketball.
Make that, double double.
The St. Catharines native and Governor Simcoe graduate went up for a game- high 27 points and came down with 12 rebounds as the Knights edged the Royals 7470 for their third win in a row.
“Mary had an awesome game offensively, and on the glass,” head coach Mike Beccaria said of Ingribelli, whose offensive output included a clutch three- pointer to seal the win.
Niagara improved to 4- 2 in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association ( OCAA) West Division despite not playing that well when it didn’t have possession of the ball.
“We survived,” Beccaria said. “Full credit to Redeemer for taking the game to us, they played well.
“It was not, however, a good night for us particularly on the defensive end.
“Always good to win, though, when you are not at your best.”
Welland native and Notre Dame alum Courtney Kilyk contributed 13 points and seven assists in the opening game of a home- andhome season series with the Royals, who play out of Ancaster.
The series wraps up Jan. 20 at the Athletic Centre in Welland.
Rookie Brooke Cesar had 11 points and Tia Stys of St. Catharines, who played her high school hoops at Holy Cross, had 10 points.
Beccaria said Cesar “really played well at both ends of the floor.”
“She was once again a very bright spot for us.”
Niagara travels to Kitchener for a 6 p. m. tipoff Wednesday against the Conestoga Condors, 3- 5.
Turnovers hurt Knights
Possession may be nine tenths of Volleyball players Jaydon Milne and Melissa McFadden are Niagara College’s top athletes for the week ending Sunday.
That’s also when male athlete of the week Jaydon Milne and Melissa McFadden, top female athlete for the past week, helped lead their respective teams to five- set victories over visiting St. Clair.
Milne, a rookie outside hitter from Toronto, had 17 kills, three services aces and 13 digs. He is averaging
3.4 points per set and his 10 service aces currently rank him fourth in the league.
McFadden from Hannon, Ont., a suburb of Hamilton, is averaging
7.73 assists per set as the starting
the law, but it was 100 per cent of men’s college basketball when the Niagara College Knights travelled to Ancaster to take on the Redemeer Royals.
While the Knights played well defensively, out- rebounding their hosts 47- 36 in an intense, physical game that went back and forth
heading into the final quarter, too many turnovers and too few baskets resulted in a 78- 66 loss.
Niagara, which lost its second in a row after starting the season 4- 0, was outscored 21- 11 in points off turnovers as Redeemer improved to 7- 0.
“We played better defence individually and as a team tonight,” head coach Mike Hurley said. “But we didn’t shoot the ball well from the floor or freethrow line.”
The Knights shot 22- for- 75 from the floor, 4- for- 15 from beyond the three- point arc and 18for- 37 from the foul line.
In comparision, the Royals finished the game 22- for- 70 from the floor, 9- for- 25 from beyond the arc and 25- for- 31 from the foul line.
A “few communications breakdowns” on defence in the final quarter that gave Redeemer too many open looks contributed to the loss, Hurley said.
Von Hutchinson, with 15 points, seven rebounds; Jordon McDonald, 14 points, 14 rebounds; Jordan Wilson, 13 points, seven rebounds; and Deysean Thompson, 11 points, eight rebounds; scored in double digits for Niagara.
The Knights are in Kitchener Wednesday for the first game of a home- and- home series versus the Conestoga Condors, 2- 6. Game time is 8 p. m.
Conestoga visits the Knights Jan. 24 to wrap up the season series.
Conestoga is fielding men’s and women’s basketball teams for the first time in its history.
Comeback win
Head coach Nathan Groenveld and the Niagara men’s volleyball coaching staff saw a lot when the Knights hosted St. Clair.
They saw “glimpses of awesome play,” when the team battled to take the first sets 25- 23, 33- 31 in never- say- die fashion.
They also saw “glimpses of how young and inexperienced we are,” when the Saints found enough rhythm to force a fifth, and deciding set, with 25- 20, 2514 victories.
Niagara came back clinching its second win in a row with a 1510 decision in the final set.
“In the fifth we went back to being systematic and played to our strengths,” Groenveld said.
“I thought Ben Fillmore once again ran a great offence and kept us composed when St. Clair went out on their run.
“His composure was a huge factor in our winning the fifth set.”
Another key contributor as the Knights improved to 4- 1 was Jaydon Milne. He finished the game with 17 kills, three service aces and 13 digs.
Niagara’s next game in men’s volleyball is Wednesday in Toronto for an 8 p. m. start against the Humber Hawks, 4- 2.
Niagara wins rematch
A four- year veteran and a rookie both made big contributions on offence when Niagara beat visiting St. Clair 3- 2 in a rematch of last season’s bronze medal final in women’s college volleyball.
Rachel Rivers of Cambridge, the team’s captain, led the Knights with 19 kills, while Welland native and Jean Vanier graduate Nastasha Desjardins had 14 kills.
Niagara won its second in a row to improve to 4- 1 taking over sole possession of third place in the West Division.
Set scores were 25- 21, 19- 25, 25- 19, 23- 25, 16- 14.
“I’m very pleased with the preparation we did this week and happy for the team that their hard work paid off,” Knights head coach Nathan Janzen said after a game he described as an “epic back- and- forth battle.
“With such a young team, I’m excited to keep getting better while playing in an extremely competitive west division.”
Niagara is back in action Wednesday when they travel to Toronto to take on the 10time defending OCAA champion Humber Hawks, 6- 0. Game time is 6 p. m.