Kajan Thiruthanikasalam (Sports Writer, Colts Athletics)

SCARBOROUGH, ONT.- Centennial Colts guard Mariam Konate slyly made her way out of the press box and into the women's locker room, with food in her hands.

She was thieving... on and off the court. 

Konate's game high seven steals highlighted a lockdown defensive effort as the Centennial Colts went wire-to-wire, easily defeating the Algonquin Thunder, 57-36, in their home opener at Athletic and Wellness Centre.

"Everyone was forcing them to throw those bad passes so that I could steal them," Konate said. "I just knew where to be."

"I think what she's started to understand now is how to use her body effectively and she's starting to see the play before it happens and that's the key to getting steals," Colts head coach Justin Bobb said about Konate's defense. "It's being able to anticipate what might come next and make a decision about to best defend in that situation. She did a great job today." 

The win brought Centennial's record even with a 1-1 record. Algonquin, meanwhile, fell to 1-4 on the season.

Konate also had two assists, tied for the team lead with guard Bethany Miller.

"I'm getting better at controlling myself instead of rushing when we have a play," Konate said about her improvement offensively since the preseason. "I'm taking my time and waiting for everything to set up first." 

Colts forward Yasmeen Smith continued her fine start to the season as the OCAA leader in rebounds per game finished with a double-double as she finished with a game high 18 points and 14 rebounds, with 11 of them coming on the offensive end.

Guard Judy Ta hit three triples for the game, including back-to-back threes late in the third quarter that halted any chances of a Thunder comeback.

"Those were just two huge plays," Bobb said. "Judy's doing a great job shooting the ball for us and keeps the defense honest when she can stretch the floor. It's emotional; you're in your home opener, you made a couple of big shots, the crowd's behind you, and it makes it a little bit easier to pick up on defense."

The Thunder were led by guard Ashley Proulx, who had 12.

Centennial limited Algonquin to 27.9 per cent shooting from the field and forced the Thunder into 20 turnovers, with 12 of them coming in the fourth quarter alone. The Colts limited the Thunder to just one point in the first quarter, and nine overall for the first half. Aside from the third quarter, Algonquin scored in single digits.

"I wanted them to stay at one (for the rest of the game)," Konate said firmly. "In basketball, it's hard to limit to a certain amount but I felt like we did a good job shutting them (as much as we can)." 

Despite shooting a paltry 25.3 per cent from the field, Centennial had 36 more shot attempts than Algonquin by grabbing a whopping 27 offensive rebounds and out rebounded the Thunder, 49-42. They also took care of the ball, committing just 11 turnovers.

"It's great to have Yasmeen (Smith) and Tonie (Parker) up front that love to rebound the ball. It's never a bad thing to have extra shots at the hoop," Bobb said. "We would like to convert at a higher percentage once we get those rebounds but it's a credit to them for hustling and getting to the glass every second."

Centennial started off strong, scoring the first seven points of the game on a triple from Ta and two consecutive layups from Smith in transition. Centennial was eventually up 9-1 four minutes in before both teams ended up going scoreless for the rest of the quarter.

Algonquin finally made their first field goal of the game with 8:53 to go in the second quarter on a layup by Proulx. But the Colts limited Algonquin to eight points in the quarter as they headed to the half, up 23-9.

The second half started with Algonquin finally finding their offensive rhythm, scoring the first 10 points of the quarter and forcing a Colts timeout. The lead was still at four (29-25) before Ta jump started an 8-0 run that pushed Centennial's lead to double digits. Eventually, the Colts headed into the final frame, up 39-27.

Thunder guard Desiree Groulx had 10 of her 11 points in the third quarter alone.

Sloppy ball handling hurt the Thunder in the fourth quarter as they committed three turnovers on their first three possessions. Meanwhile, Centennial continued to increase its lead as they went up by as many as 23, which was their largest lead of the game. The Colts' scoring was capped off by a strong three-point play from forward Effe Mae Abban and another fastbreak layup from Smith. 

"Our intent is to play hard defense early in the game so when we get into that fourth quarter, their ball handlers are tired," Bobb said. 'We did a good job of that today and that's why at the end of the game, they were making poor decisions in the fourth quarter."

Although it was a comfortable win for the Colts, Bobb felt as though they could work on improving their shot quality on the offensive end and converting on those said shots.

"We've got to focus on getting good shots at the hoop and when we get them, we've got to convert," Bobb said. "Today is a good example where we had a lot of open shots and weren't able to convert on them. That would make a difference in the game; it determines whether you stretch leads or get back in the game."

Up Next for Centennial: On the road against the George Brown Huskies on Wednesday Nov. 8, at 6:00pm