Harper, Lindo named IG Wealth Management Athletes of the Week, powered by Planters
Burlington, Ont. – Linnaea Harper and Jaden Lindo have been named IG Wealth Management Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Athletes of the Week, powered by Planters, for the period ending March 10, 2019.
Female Athlete of the Week – Linnaea Harper (Newmarket, Ont.) – 5th Year – McMaster Marauders
Linnaea Harper has been a focal point of the McMaster Marauders women’s basketball team for five seasons, and in her final stretch with the maroon machine, the senior left everything she had on the court to help her team reach historic results on the national stage.
After winning the Critelli Cup a week ago, the Marauders entered the U SPORTS Final 8 National Championship as the No. 2 seed and had high expectations for their first Bronze Baby in school history. Harper was at the forefront of the team’s pursuit of this national title, impacting her team in several different ways across their three games over the weekend.
In the opener, Harper shot 50% from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, to rack up 14 points in her team’s quarterfinal win over Concordia. In the semifinals against the Saskatchewan Huskies, the Newmarket, Ont. native took it up a notch and nearly came away with a triple-double in the process. The fifth-year forward finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists; a mark that included a red-hot stretch at the charity stripe where she knocked down 8-of-9 attempts on the day. With two solid performances under her belt and a shot at the Bronze Baby within reach, Harper saved her best for last in the gold medal game against the No. 1 Laval Rouge et Or. She went off for 18 points and nine boards, shooting 6-of-15 from the field, all while helping McMaster defeat the top-seed, 70-58, and secure their first national women’s basketball championship in the school’s history.
After her three impactful outings, the first-team OUA all-star was also named the tournament MVP.
Male Athlete of the Week – Jaden Lindo (Brampton, Ont.) – 2nd Year – Queen’s Gaels
There was plenty to celebrate in the city of Kingston this weekend, as two Gaels’ squads played their way to provincial titles on home turf. The first coming at the Kingston Memorial Centre courtesy of the Queen’s men’s hockey team, but without the heroic efforts of sophomore Jaden Lindo, this streak-stopping triumph might have gone very differently.
In the 108th Queen’s Cup, the East Division’s No. 4 seed – Queen’s – welcomed their fourth-seeded counterparts from the West – Guelph – for what promised to be a hard-fought banner season battle. After a scoreless opening period, Lindo tipped home a powerplay shot from the point to put the Gaels up for the first time in the game, 1-0. He came this close to putting home his second of the game just a few minutes later, but a miraculous save from Guelph’s Andrew Masters on the Queen’s two-on-one kept him at the lone goal – for the time being. After Guelph scored late in the period to tie things up, Lindo once again responded for Queen’s, scoring his second marker of the game from a tough angle in the third period to put the Gaels in front for good.
The goal ultimately held up as the championship winner and helped the second-year forward take home MVP honours from the game. Backed by Lindo’s impactful performance, the Gaels were able to capture their first Queen’s Cup since 1981 and now head to the national championship as the No. 3 seed.
