A decisive fourth quarter blew open a tight game and powered Hamilton’s Mohawk College Mountaineers to an Ontario Collegiate Athletic Association playoff win over Lambton College Lions of Sarnia.
Vanessa Soffee, who suited up with the Fredericton Freeze last season in the Maritime Women’s Basketball Association, started for the Mountaineers, earning 37 minutes in a 67-51 win over the Lions.
Mohawk held a 33-31 halftime lead, but outpaced Lambton, 23-13 in the pivotal fourth quarter.
Soffee had five points, five assists, three steals and two rebounds in the win.
Mohawk entered the post-season ranked No. 2 in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association, finishing the regular season as West Division champions with a 15-1 record.
The Mountaineers suffered its only loss of the regular season back on Jan. 31 when they fell 79-58 to Humber College Hawks of Toronto.
Soffee appeared in 15 regular season games for Mohawk, starting 14 times and averaging just under 22 minutes per outing. Soffee had 5.1 points per game, dished 54 assists and paced the team in steals – one of her trademarks with lightning quick mittens – with 51.
She was a decorated all-star during her four seasons with the St. Thomas University Tommies of the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association in her hometown.
She played in six games with Fredericton last season, earning just over 15 minutes of action and averaged 5.3 points per game in the MWBA.
– Vanessa Soffee played her first MWBA season last year with Fredericton. (Fran Harris Photo)
