Kajan Thiruthanikasalam (Sports Writer, Colts Athletics)

SCARBOROUGH, ONT.- After a heartbreaking loss to the St. Lawrence Vikings at home, the Centennial Colts women's basketball team was not going to take anything for granted, even against the winless Georgian Grizzlies.

They got the job done.

Yasmeen Smith led all players with a game high 20 points and 14 rebounds as Centennial blew out Georgian, 65-32, on the road. The win snapped a brief two game losing streak for the Colts (3-4).

"One of the things that was a big focus tonight was increasing our offensive possessions; that means not giving up offensive rebounds and not turning over the ball," Colts head coach Justin Bobb said. "We didn't do a perfect job of that but we did a much better job of getting into our stuff and getting shots where we want to get them."

"To be honest, we were not going to lose this game," Judy Ta said. "And we were going to do whatever it took to win."

Smith was especially efficient from the charity stripe, making four of her five free throws.

"Yasmeen's been putting in a lot of work and she's taking it personal," Bobb said. "She's accepting the challenge of being a leader on our team. She knows that she's going to get hit and get to the line and she's improved her confidence getting to the line. Her touch has improved a lot."

Two other players joined Smith in double figures. Ta had 12 points on three made triples, with eight points coming in the final quarter, while Mariam Konate had 10 and a game high three assists.

Georgian was held to just 18.0 per cent shooting from the field as Centennial smothered them on the defensive end. The Colts also outpaced the Grizzlies in bench points (29-6), second chance points (16-2), points off turnovers (23-3), and rebounding (59-41).

"The fact that it's our first game that everyone had a rebound; it's very big," Ta said. "We always struggle with that and depend on Yasmeen, Effe, and Olivia. The fact that everybody contributed makes it easier (for them)."

"Rebounding is a big part of the way that we play and the thing about rebounding is defense predicating the other team to take tough shots," Bobb said. "I think Effe did a great job tonight going off the ball and as per usual, Yasmeen and Tonie are always around the net. Everybody had a rebound today."

Centennial came out fast to start off the game, scoring the first six points before both teams then exchanged baskets, as the offense slowed down considerably. The Colts were up 12-6 after one quarter.

In the second quarter, a free throw from Georgian player Jessica Stockdale cut the Colts' lead to five (14-9) but a triple from an emerging Kelly Hunter sparked a 15-5 run from Centennial as they headed into the break, up 29-14.

"Kelly's a big part of what we're going to do this season. We spent a lot of time going after her (in the summer) and it was well worth it," Bobb said. "Her confidence is improving, her effort in practice has increased and that's leading to greater opportunity on the court. We're really pleased to see her playing to the potential we know that she has."

Smith had nine points and eight rebounds at the half.

Centennial continued to extend their lead as a layup from Tonie Parker capped off a 21-10 third quarter as they went up 50-24 heading into the final frame. Konate had it going offensively in the third quarter, with six points and two assists.

The fourth quarter saw Ta tie the Grizzlies' output in the quarter with eight as she made two triples to the delight of her teammates, with one of them coming after Hunter told her to shoot the ball immediately after passing the ball to her.

"I feel very supported; I don't feel like I'm by myself, especially if I'm not having a good shooting game," Ta said. "Knowing that they have my back is very big for me."

"For shooters, it's tough to maintain confidence but we're trying to continue to encourage Judy to shoot it; she's a really good shooter," Bobb said. "Another good thing about tonight and part of the reason she was able to connect on three threes was the passing and we're putting a lot of pressure on our team to make good passes to their teammates, enabling them to make shots."

For Centennial, the key will be to continue this momentum as they have not yet won consecutive games this season. They have a chance to do that this Friday at 6:00pm in Ottawa against the Algonquin Thunder in their final game of the first semester.

"Another tough place to win (in Algonquin), another road game in the OCAA is never easy," Bobb said. "I think the key to consistency for us is effort and execution. We got to keep our energy level high and we have to be in the right spots at the right time on Friday night to get another win before the semester is finished."

"We're on a high right now, just coming off a win, and we have to ride that high," Ta said.