After three days of teams winning in dominant fashion, the CCAA Women’s Basketball Championship had two memorable medal games to end the week. Bolstered by an incredible atmosphere in the Lakeland Gymnasium, the hundreds of fans in attendance had a night they’ll never forget.

Bronze Medal Match - Ch St-Lambert Cavaliers 66, St-Jean Géants 55

By strongly representing the Quebec conference, the Ch. Saint-Lambert Cavaliers and Géants de Saint-Jean played each other in the RSEQ Conference Championship Final on March 3. In that game, it was St. Lambert who was victorious, defeating the Géants 70-64. With the wildcard being in Quebec, both these teams were at the CCAA Championships in Lloydminster, Alberta and found themselves facing off one last time. 

With CCAA National Bronze awaiting, the Cavaliers were looking to take it to the Géants. Sain-Lambert established themselves early in the first quarter, going on an 11-0 point run and forcing the Géants to call a timeout to regain control of the floor. 

Afterwards, both teams settled in quickly, working within their systems and creating offensive opportunities. The Géants stuck to the perimeter, making quick passes, which opened up room for cutters and layup opportunities. At the half, the score was 26- 24 for the Géants. 

The game's physicality increased into the third quarter, with both teams rebounding aggressively to maintain possession of the ball. The Cavaliers regained their lead, outscoring the Géants 25- 10 in the quarter. 

Moving through the fourth, Saint-Lambert used a quick passing offence to secure points in the paint. Halfway through, the Géants looked undersized with their matchups, getting outrebounded 43 - 35 throughout the game.

The final score was 66-55, making the Ch. Saint-Lambert Cavaliers CCAA Bronze Medalists. In a repeat win against their RSEQ rivals, the Cavaliers demonstrated the strength of the Quebec conference. 

The player of the game for the Géants was #13 Juliette Gargya; she was a key player for her team by rebounding strongly, assisting her teammates, and scoring 8 points. The POG for Saint-Lambert was #11 Candice Lienafa; she scored 15 points, half in the fourth quarter, and posted 8 rebounds in the fourth. 

Championship Match - Lakeland Rustlers 64, Lambton Lions 55

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, 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, 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 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.

In the aftermath the CCAA Championship Tournament All-Star Team was announced.

First Team

Alana Olson, Lakeland Rustlers
Breanna Pretty, Lambton Lions
Brett Fischer, Lakeland Rustlers
Caitlin Frost, Ch. Saint-Lambert Cavaliers,
Sophie Anne Bouffard of Géants de Saint-Jean.

Second Team

Megan Aleman, TKU King’s Eagles
Jenna Bain, UKC Blue Devils
Hineaupounamu Nuku, Lakeland Rustlers
Maddy Bishop, Lambton Lions
Denae Skelton, Ch. Saint-Lambert Cavaliers

This concludes an unforgettable week of women’s basketball at the 2024 CCAA Championship.

Championship Information

Website

Schedule & Results

Watch Live

Photos