OSBA Women’s Championship Preview – TRC Academy vs. Lincoln Prep
It’s a true clash of the OSBA titans as Lincoln Prep looks to successfully defend last year’s championship against the best regular season team in the women’s division, TRC Academy. Let’s get the tale of the tape as these two teams get ready to do battle on the biggest stage of the OSBA Women’s division.
TRC Academy comes in with a league-best 16-2 record on the season and the #1 overall seed. Their playoff run has consisted of defeating the #8 seed Louis-Riel in the quarter-finals 63-44, and then completing a comeback to get a big semi-final victory against Durham Elite 82-78 in overtime. TRC is primed for another tight contest in hopes of taking the OSBA Women’s Championship after finishing with Silver medals last season. They are led by a trio of talented players including OSBA Women’s MVP and First Team All-Star wing Makayla Ennis, Second Team All-Star guard Aerial Wilson and senior forward Savannah Day. They possess a lot of scoring depth and can match up with anybody.
Lincoln Prep enters this matchup looking to defend their championship from last year with a 15-3 regular season record, finishing second in the OSBA this season just behind TRC Academy. They come into the finals after an 88-54 win over Southwest Academy in the quarter-finals, and then scraping by with a 71-69 victory over King’s Christian Academy in the semi-finals to set up an OSBA Finals rematch. They come into this championship boasting two of the hottest players in the League right now, with the duo of OSBA Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Niyah Becker and forward Brynn Masikewich acting as the back-bone of their playoff run heading into the finals.
TRC and Lincoln played against each other twice during the regular season, playing a home-and-home series which TRC won both games of; a 68-65 win at Lincoln in December, then a 67-63 victory at The Rise Center in January. Lincoln will be looking for a measure of revenge for their season sweep at the hands of TRC by a mere seven points and look for the ultimate revenge by taking the trophy as well.
The key to victory is the same for both teams in this game as they both possess scoring depth and the ability to defend. The biggest key will be who can slow down the opposing team’s scorers more – based on the close finishes in the first two matchups, this could turn into one of those games decided by whoever gets the last possession. It’s sure to be a thrilling finale to the OSBA season when these two teams hit the floor at the Guelph Gryphons Athletic Centre on March 22 at 8:00 p.m. on OSBA TV.