SENECA 54, LOYALIST 53

On a young team looking to find their identity, it was one of the veterans who stepped up on Friday night at Newnham Gym. Second year guard Sharika Smith, with her team trailing by two with seconds remaining, calmly knocked down a three-pointer to give her team the come-from-behind 54-53 victory.

Throughout the night, it was a battle for the Sting as they trailed from the midway point of the first quarter until late in the fourth when a layup gave the home team a 49-47 lead. For Seneca, it was Smith who stepped up in the game's biggest moment to provide her team with the victory in a game which saw them trail by as many as 17 early in the third quarter.

The game was close early on as the visiting Loyalist Lancers looked for a low-scoring, defensive battle as they clung to a 12-10 first quarter lead. Haley Sisler led the Lancers in the quarter with six points while the Sting were led by second year Ashley Nurse with four.

The pace picked up in the second quarter, but stingy defence by both sides resulted in low shooting percentages and a number of turnovers. Nurse led the Sting in the first half with six points while Sisler dropped 12 to give her team a 28-23 halftime lead.

Although the scoring pace did not pick up in the third, the excitement on the floor did which livened up the crowd. The Lancers came flying out of the half as they took a 40-23 lead. Seneca tightened up defensively and began hitting shots to go on an 11-0 run to close the deficit to 40-34. The Sting would close out the quarter on a 17-4 to trail 44-40 heading into the final frame.

With three minutes left in the fourth, Seneca took their first lead since early in the first as they pulled ahead 49-47. Loyalist would regroup and take a 53-49 lead with just over a minute to play. Seneca pulled to within two before getting the ball back with seconds remaining. Smith pulled up at the three-point line, stepped back and took a high-arcing shot which caught nothing but net as the crowd in The Hive exploded.

Nurse and Chanel Grelmore each finished with 12 points for the Sting with Nurse also pulling down 11 rebounds for a double-double. Grelmore fell one rebound shy of a double-double as she had nine rebounds. Jenni Thompson and Sisler each had 14 points for the Lancers while Samantha Goff had 14 rebounds.

The Seneca Sting (3-2) will travel to play Centennial (2-2) next Wednesday at 6 p.m. while the Loyalist Lancers (3-1) will travel to play Algonquin (5-0) November 23 at 6 p.m.

Source: Seneca College