By: Kajan Thiruthanikasalam


Bethany Miller, in the midst of a season long shooting slump, was desperate to have a great shooting night.

She broke out of her slump- in a big way.

Miller had 15 points, all on three pointers, as the Centennial Colts women's basketball team beat the Seneca Sting 63-50 at the Athletic and Wellness Centre.

For the Colts (5-3), it was their third straight victory and the team is currently undefeated at home.

Freshman forward Yasmeen Smith led the team with 17 points and eight rebounds, while veteran forward Kayla Higgins had five assists.

Sophomore Aliyah Campbell-East led Centennial with five steals as the Colts had 14 steals and forced Seneca (3-4) to commit 35 turnovers.

Centennial also limited the Sting to 26.6 per cent from the field as the defensive was suffocating throughout the duration of the game. Colts head coach Justin Bobb was proud of the team for their defensive intensity and energy.

"Our defense is what we hang our hat on," Bobb said. "We make sure that when teams play us, they know it's going to be a tough game for them to score and that's what we did tonight."

Coach Bobb, specifically, praised Higgins and Smith with stifling Seneca's offense at crucial points of the game.

"Kayla Higgins should be in consideration for Defensive Player of the Year, for sure," Bobb said. "Yasmeen's in her first year and she's got all the signs of being a great defender herself."

Not everything went according to plan for Centennial, however, as the Colts shot 34.7 per cent overall, despite shooting 46.7 per cent (7-15) from the three point line, and committed a whopping 27 turnovers. The number of passes that went out of bounds, left the Colts head coach exasperated at times.

"This is what we're working through, whether the pressure's getting to us or we're just panicking and rushing," Bobb said. "We're a young team and learning how to win together and the last step is acquiring patience (but) we're getting there."

Miller agreed with her coach, saying, "Turnovers were a major issue for us."

It was incredibly fitting that Miller's jersey number was #30, because she channeled her inner Stephen Curry, as she made five out of her eight attempts from the three point line. Miller knew she was feeling it when her first two shots went in.

"After I made the first two (shots), I started to get into the swing of things," Miller said. "My goal is to remain calm and do what I know I can do as a basketball player."

 "She (Bethany) can shoot it, right," Bobb said in awe. "Our offence is free-flowing and Bethany's a great shooter so we encourage her to shoot it."

The Colts have already surpassed their win total from the previous season with five. Coach Bobb thinks his team can reach greater heights, especially offensively.

"We haven't changed what we're doing; it takes a young team some time to learn how to win games," Bobb said. "We mainly focus on our defense right now so as the season progresses and we get more opportunities to work on our offense, our team will start to score the ball more."

UP NEXT: Centennial concludes the first half of the season at home against the Durham Lords at 6:00 p.m.