KING CITY, ON: The Niagara Knights women's basketball team (4-12) travelled to Seneca College's King Campus to take on the Seneca Sting in the first round of OCAA playoffs. This was the crossover round where the #7 West seed (the Knights) travelled to the #2 East seed (the Sting). The Knights gave this one a valiant effort and nearly took down the #2 seed but eventually fell 61-50 to the Sting.
The Knights got off to a strong start, out-shooting the Sting in all categories and going 5-for-6 from the free throw line to lead the game by 3 points at the end of the 1st quarter. They were not able to carry this level of play throughout the rest of the game, unfortunately. The Knights kept it close in the first half, trailing by only 1 point at the halfway mark, but the second half was a different story.
The Sting were able to find some offensive momentum as they scored 16 points in each of the 3rd and 4th quarters, while holding the Knights to 12 and 10 points respectively. The Knights are typically strong from the 3-point line, but struggled with that in this game, but were also able to hold the Sting to only 5 made 3-pointers. The real difference maker in this game was the rebounds, as Seneca pulled in 51 to Niagara's 30. The Knights have struggled with size all season, and that is something that head coach Allie Columbus will work on in the off-season with her recruiting efforts.
When asked to reflect on this game and the season, Allie shared "taking a loss against Seneca was not the ending we wanted, but I am proud of the way our team competed until the final whistle. Over the course of the season, we faced adversity, overcame challenges, rallied together, and grew stronger because of it". She went on to say that "this group proved it's strength in ways that go far beyond the scoreboard. We are grateful for the support from the Knight's community, and we can't wait to be back hosting in the gym again next season".
This was the final game of her career for 5th year Aisja Strachan, and she made her presence known as she was the highest scoring player on the court in Sunday's game. Aisja has continually demonstrated mental and physical toughness as she led this young team all season long. Her stat line for this game was 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. Lyric Shallow also had a strong game, finishing 1 rebound short of a double-double with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals. 4th year guard Lexxus Bell also played in her final game as a Knight and added 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.
The exit in the first round of playoffs ends the season for the Knights women's basketball team. The Knights will take some time off to rest and recover before getting back to work preparing for the 2026-2027 season. Keep your eye on goknights.ca and our social media accounts for all updates regarding the 2026-2027 season for our Knights teams.
