This past weekend on December 2nd, the UTM varsity women’s basketball team dominated the court against the Lambton College Lions. This is, in fact, the first varsity team of its kind at UTM and in this inaugural season, their established goal was to get acquainted with each other and become a team in its full form and implication. Saturday was their second time facing the Lions this season, the first of which was won 77-54. This time, the Eagles were certain of history repeating itself, and even revealed a decisive determination to win throughout the match. In fact, the Eagles maintained an impressive lead from start to finish and won 95-46.
The game was full of beautiful 3-pointers and sharp layups that kept it exciting for all the fans on the bleachers. The first goal was scored by Jade Addai and there on, the Eagles never lost the lead once, ending the first quarter 10-2. In particular, Akashia Samuels was the star of the game, where she scored the majority of 3-pointers. The crowd went wild for many of her impressive shots, especially towards the end of the game where she served as a point guard and quite easily tore through the Lion’s defense, to maintain the monstrous lead until the end. Jade Addai was point guard for the majority of the game and was wholly efficient in many of her formulaic technique to drive into the paint and conduct a quick pass to a nearby teammate who could finish the play. This was also reflective of the entire game where the team, while on offense, spread out and focused on passing the ball around. Whereas on defense, the Eagles flocked very effectively near the net and barely allowed any of the Lambton Lions to pass through. Another player, Bianca Hatchett was especially distinguished by her unstoppable rebounds and tips. Quite similar to Shaq O’Neal, Hatchett knew her strengths and finished her teammates’ plays multiple times by staying close to the net.
Right before halftime, the game dropped to an equal struggle where there was rarely a goal scored by either side. The Lions picked up their spirits right after half time when they were starting to close in on the score gap. Luckily, during the last quarter, a strong delivery on part of Chloe Robichaud, Ashley Beckles, Kanika Kaushik, Jaina Alnajjar, and Akashia Samuels helped maintain an impenetrable defense and relatively sharp offence that kept the ball on the Lion’s side of the court. In fact, the last half of the game saw several impressive steals and interceptions by the eagles that kept the ball out of the lion’s hands.
Overall, the enthusiasm in the gym was sensational. Not only were the fans excited by the Eagles’ stunts, but the team itself cheered for the players on court with sheer bravado. Spirits for the UTM Eagles were distinctively high in the gym, induced by the striking 3-pointers, and 1-pointers, steals and aggressive layups each player made, particularly including Beckles and Samuels.
The next match for the Eagles is set on January 12 at the Welland Campus Athletics Centre where they will play the Niagara College Knights. Their last match with the Knights ended in a loss of 57-77. This time the Eagles are back. They’re leaner, meaner, and looking to get even.
