February 7, 2009
PALADINS WIN FIRST EVER WOMEN'S BASKETBALL GAME
TORONTO, Ont. - History was made Friday night at Tait Mackenzie Centre. Unfortunately for the York Lions, they were the team on the losing end of this history-making night.
Before this evening, the RMC Paladins had gone 0-128 in their history, but now they can finally call themselves winners with a 64-61 shocker over the Lions. With the result, York falls to 4-15 on the season.
The Paladins (1-18) were trailing by five after the first quarter but had an inspired second quarter, outscoring the Lions by 16 points to take a 37-26 lead into halftime.
As expected, the Lions made a second-half push, led by second-year guard Brittany Szockyj (Niagara on the Lake, Ont.), who finished with a team-high 24 points along with four rebounds and four assists. The Lions outpaced the Paladins by six in the third quarter to narrow the gap and were more than back in the game going into the fourth.
When the Lions needed a big shot to get them over the top they simply could not find the mark. Szockyj seemed to get to the paint at will but missed a lot of opportunities to score close to the basket and was only 2-of-12 from three-point range.
Star guard Laura MacCallum (Paris, Ont.) made only four out 11 shots from the field and struggled down the stretch to finish with just 12 points in the game.
York edged RMC by two points in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to get past the determined Paladins on this night.
RMC played with poise and passion down the stretch and could not be more deserving of its first ever victory. The Lions, on the other hand, played hard but could not get shots to fall in the waning moments and made some critical mistakes.
There were members of the Paladins who were in tears at the end of the game as they felt the huge weight lifted off their shoulders by earning the first win in team history.
RMC forward Sharlene Harding (Brampton, Ont.) was the best player on the floor as she poured in a game-high 25 points to go along with 12 rebounds while she dominated the paint all night long. The Paladins also got a double-double performance out of rookie forward Abby Edmison (Carleton Place, Ont.), who scored 14 points and added 10 rebounds.
York made only 32.4 percent of its shots from the field and only shot 53.3 percent from the free throw line, compared to 42.6 percent shooting from the field and 71.4 percent shooting from the free throw line for RMC.
Source: Lions Athletics
Before this evening, the RMC Paladins had gone 0-128 in their history, but now they can finally call themselves winners with a 64-61 shocker over the Lions. With the result, York falls to 4-15 on the season.
The Paladins (1-18) were trailing by five after the first quarter but had an inspired second quarter, outscoring the Lions by 16 points to take a 37-26 lead into halftime.
As expected, the Lions made a second-half push, led by second-year guard Brittany Szockyj (Niagara on the Lake, Ont.), who finished with a team-high 24 points along with four rebounds and four assists. The Lions outpaced the Paladins by six in the third quarter to narrow the gap and were more than back in the game going into the fourth.
When the Lions needed a big shot to get them over the top they simply could not find the mark. Szockyj seemed to get to the paint at will but missed a lot of opportunities to score close to the basket and was only 2-of-12 from three-point range.
Star guard Laura MacCallum (Paris, Ont.) made only four out 11 shots from the field and struggled down the stretch to finish with just 12 points in the game.
York edged RMC by two points in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to get past the determined Paladins on this night.
RMC played with poise and passion down the stretch and could not be more deserving of its first ever victory. The Lions, on the other hand, played hard but could not get shots to fall in the waning moments and made some critical mistakes.
There were members of the Paladins who were in tears at the end of the game as they felt the huge weight lifted off their shoulders by earning the first win in team history.
RMC forward Sharlene Harding (Brampton, Ont.) was the best player on the floor as she poured in a game-high 25 points to go along with 12 rebounds while she dominated the paint all night long. The Paladins also got a double-double performance out of rookie forward Abby Edmison (Carleton Place, Ont.), who scored 14 points and added 10 rebounds.
York made only 32.4 percent of its shots from the field and only shot 53.3 percent from the free throw line, compared to 42.6 percent shooting from the field and 71.4 percent shooting from the free throw line for RMC.
Source: Lions Athletics
