LANCERS FALL CLASSIC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT RETURNS

The Lancers played their first matches in front of the home crowd with the return of the Fall Classic exhibition tournament Friday September 30th and Saturday October 1. 

The women's team opened the weekend with a hard fought battle against a tough OCAA West Division's Niagara Knights. Returning Lancer Cianah Miller was back in top form with a game high 20-point performance.  With something to prove against her former team, first year Lancer Jessyka Malikski contributed 12 points of her own in her home court debut while fellow first years Grace Callahan and Vanessa Wilton brought aggression & physicality to the match. The Lancers had some good looks and made tough shots but couldn't overcome the Knights lead early on and fell 67-51.

The men's game between the same teams tipped off at 4 PM, only this time the Lancers came out on top with a 80-64 victory. A great overall team win, the Lancers played disciplined basketball, shared the ball well and were strong on defense. With 10 players contributing to the score board, the Lancers showed plenty of promise for the coming season. First year player D'Andrea Nicely lead his team in scoring while Shakur Seyour added 12 of his own. 

On Saturday, The Lancers took on the Lambton Lions in back to back matches to wrap up their weekend. 

After a rough start, the women's team found themselves trailing by 19 late in the first half. The team made major adjustments at the half and rallied to bring it back within 9 early in the 4th quarter.  Showing depth that has been missing from the team in past year, Monalique Knights and Kate Maxwell combined for 13 points coming off the bench while Malikski and Wilton each added 12 points to the 86-59 loss. 

The men's game once again again followed the women's as the home team took on the Sherbrooke Voluntaires. The Lancers looked strong out of the gates but turnovers and struggles from the perimeter led to a back-and-forth battle between the two teams. The Voluntaires got on fire offensively in the third and took an 81-79 lead mid-way through the 4th. A late push from the home team wasn't enough to turn it around and the Lancers fell 96-89 to end the weekend 1-1. Second year Lancer Katrel Johnson was the team's high scorer followed closely by Maleek Ekumba-Quinta, who had 17. 

Regular season begins for the basketball squads on Saturday October 29th when they travel to Ottawa to take on the Algonquin Wolves.