For the first time in two years, Ontario Colleges Athletic Association women’s basketball was played at St. Lawrence College in Kingston.
During the first game of an eight-game regular season, the St. Lawrence Surge lost their opening game to the George Brown Huskies from Toronto 56-48. Despite the setback, the home team was simply overjoyed to be back playing the game they love.
“It means so much to finally be back on the court with such a great group of girls,” said Surge forward Lauren Mallen.
The 22-year-old graduate of Holy Cross Secondary School in Kingston says they may have lost their first game but signs of improvement were evident.
“We fell behind by 22 points but rallied to make it close at the end, ” continued Mallen.
“I love this team and I know we’re going to get better. The coaching staff here is awesome and the new gymnasium at St. Lawrence is fantastic. The facilities are first rate.”
Coaches Taryn Turnbull, Kylie Moyer and Mckenzie Sigurdson have their work cut out for them.
Of the 12 players on the team, 11 are first-year college athletes.
“They’re a very young but coachable team, “said Sigurdson.
“It was so nice to see the girls back on the court and we saw the improvement as the game went on,” added Sigurdson, who played university basketball at Ryerson and Carleton.
“Our girls showed tremendous grit and never gave up. That’s something you love to see in a team. Our two main goals in this short season is to get better with every game we play and prepare ourselves as best as we can heading into the playoffs.”
The next home game for the Surge will be Mar. 2 against the Loyalist Lancers from Belleville. Tip off time is 6 p.m.
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