BASKETBALL VICTORIES
Holland College Hurricanes sweep St. Thomas at home
The Holland College Hurricanes swept the St. Thomas Tommies in Charlottetown on Sunday to complete their respective Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association regular seasons.
The women won 92-76, followed by the men’s 100-48 victory.
Holland College now goes into the ACAA championships next weekend in Sackville, N.B., as the first seed in women’s play, and the fourth seed on the men’s side.
Women Hurricanes 92 Tommies 76
The Hurricanes scored 30 points in the second quarter to blow open what was a close game after Holland College led 26-19 after the first quarter. The Hurricanes led 56-35 at halftime. Jayla Verney led the way with a game-high 24 points, but guard Cassie Cooke’s eventual 11-point, 10-assist first half paced Holland College in the second frame.
“The win was important for us as a team because we wanted to show we were ready for the post-season. We hadn’t had much practice because of the weather, and we wanted to make sure we were keeping up our transition play, taking shots that made sense and running the floor,” said Cooke, who finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists.
Holland College, which is 17-1 (won-lost), took advantage of the too-often sloppy Tommies, and scored 25 points off turnovers, and outdid St. Thomas 34-26 in the paint.
St. Thomas did find its game enough to win the third quarter 21-17 and the fourth period 20-19, but the lead proved too great to overcome.
Cooke said the two-time defending champions wanted to leave a lasting impression going into the ACAA championships. “We might be playing this team again, so we wanted to set a precedent. We want teams to know, regular season or post-season, we’re ready to go,” said Cooke, a Westminster, Md., native.
Charlottetown native Kendra Craswell chipped in 12 points on a 4-for-6 performance from the three-point line. Chelsea Slawter-Wright had 11 points.
Charlottetown’s Jessica Patenaude led St. Thomas with 17 points, including 11-for-13 from the free-throw line, and nabbed nine rebounds. Jaime Hunt chipped in 12 points, while Carissa McTague had 11 points and grabbed a teamhigh 10 boards.
Men Hurricanes 100, Tommies 48
After an 11-11 tied moment 4:32 into the first quarter, the ‘Canes went on a 31-4 run to put the game away three minutes into the second. It finished the first half leading 56-29.
From there the Hurricanes never allowed the Tommies to get closer than 27 points.
A 26-8 third quarter for the Hurricanes added insult to injury as Holland College finished 13-7.
Josh Whitty, Hurricanes head coach, said the last regular-season game went according to plan after impressive numbers in points off turnovers (52) and fast-break points (32).
“With the playoff seeds locked up, we looked to… get some players some minutes, not get anyone hurt. We accomplished all that,” Whitty said. “We got a few stops that (fuelled the offence), and when we get out in transition we’re really good.”
Trentiny Burden and Abel Joseph led the way with 18 and 17 points, respectively, while Roosevelt Whyley chipped in 13 points and tied with Chase Bowden with a game-high 10 rebounds.
Travis Adams and Kyle Lefave each had 11 points.
Top scorers for St. Thomas were Brady Atkinson with 13 points and Jakeb Urquhart with 12.
Holland College is the fourth seed for the ACAAs, having lost several games to using an ineligible player. But the team has won six straight game since the ACAA stripped those wins, which means Whitty is confident going into the championships.
“For us, it’s about getting out and running the ball. It’s about getting stops on the defensive end and getting out in transition. We do that and we’ll be in good shape next weekend,” he said.
Saturday, Holland College, led by Mohamed Ibrahin’s 18 points and nine rebounds, downed Dal-AC 117-68. Lafave had 17 points while Bowden chipped in 14 points and eight boards.
Holland College has won four straight ACAA crowns.