Lakeland Rustlers Crowned at CCAA Championship

The CCAA Women's Basketball Championship Gold Medal started at 6:00 PM, but the host school, Lakeland College, saw fans lining up to receive admission as early as 12:30 PM. By the time warmups began, it was a truly rowdy atmosphere, a setting befitting college’s mascot.

Favoured in this matchup of two conference champions competing for national gold were the undefeated ACAC Lakeland College Rustlers. The Rustlers went 20-0 through their regular season, dominating the Alberta conference, and had won five straight playoff games heading into Saturday night. Their opponent, the Lambton Lions of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA). The Lions finished the regular season with a record of 14-2 and defeated their opponent 78-56 for Conference gold. Lakeland had blown out the Okanagon Coyotes 81-45 and beaten the Ch. Caint-Lambert Cavaliers to get to the championship game, while Lambton’s route in their first national tournament saw them defeat the King’s Eagles 76-67 and Géants de Saint-Jean 62-45.

The Rustlers’ very own CCAA Women's Basketball Player of the Year,, Hineaupounamu Nuku (G), opened the contest by hitting a long three. Establishing themselves early in the game, Lakeland set up a quick-moving offence that allowed them to work hard on the boards, obtaining 18 total rebounds in quarter one. The Lions countered by putting a two-player press on the ball, slowing down the Lakeland offence. After a an intense opening quarter, the score was 21-14 in favour of the Rustlers.

Early in quarter two, the Lions established a full-court press, picking up on defence quickly. This opened lanes for Lakeland to push the pace of the game. Scoring opportunities reduced as the teams locked in defensively, but Lambton pushed back, bringing their score within two points of the hosts. #14 Brett Fischer, brought great energy for the Lions, who outscored the Rustlers 12 - 9 in the second quarter, but Lakeland maintained the lead at the half, 30-26.

Intensity and physicality increased in the third quarter, with the Lions bringing the score within one. Rustlers answered, going on a 5-0 run, causing Lambton to call a timeout at 3:53 in the quarter. Bringing the momentum, the Lions scored two back-to-back three-point shots, which brought them into the lead. A costly foul by the OCAA champs allowed Lakeland to score three points and secure the lead again. With multiple players banged up and in foul trouble, Rustlers coach Chris King had to rely on the bench, which included fifth year Ally Pilgrim making a huge block to prevent a momentum surge for the visitors in the third.

Fast break opportunities extended the hosts’ lead, but the Lions' defence put on more pressure in the final quarter, giving them control of the ball. Time ticked down, and Lambton again tied the game with 3:24 remaining. Lakeland answered with an offensive play that gave reserve Veda Gottselig an open-scoring opportunity, with an assist from Nuku. Lions called a timeout with 0:41 left in the game, but Lakeland held strong, securing CCAA National Gold. The final score of the game was 64-55.

The player of the game for the Lambton Lions was Fischer, leading her team with 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 steals, while playing 38 minutes and going 4/4 on her free throw attempts. POG for the Lakeland College Rustlers was #8 Susan Ayaa; she put up an impressive 5 blocks, 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Lakeland College Rustlers Women's Basketball remained undefeated at 26-0, winning the program’s first nation title.

The tournament MVP was Hailey Somers (G), who was exceptional in her final collegiate games, which included 12 points and 3 steals in the final. Additionally, the Exemplary Leader Award was handed out to Jettie McLaughlin-Sakaki (5'11''-F) of the Douglas Royals. Following the awards, the bronze, silver and gold medals were handed out to the Cavaliers, Lions and Rustlers. Several hundred people remained in attendance for the ceremony.

courtesy of ccaa.ca