By: Zachary Friedman

The Centennial Colts women's basketball team face an early test with their matchup Friday evening against the reigning OCAA bronze medalists. Yes, Centennial is off to the nation's capital to take on the Algonquin Wolves.

The Colts (0-1) are looking to bounce back from a disastrous near-40 point blowout loss to the Georgian Grizzlies in the opener.

Algonquin (0-0) will be opening their season against Centennial. The Wolves finished last season undefeated. Their last regular season defeat came February 12, 2022 at the hands of the Humber Hawks.

With the Colts going up against last year's best defensive team, here are the Colts to look out for:

Mikaela Hawkins #2 – G

With the departure of Christianna Crooks, there's a hole in the Colts offence that Hawkins has the chance to fill. Hawkins was the second-leading scorer last season for the Colts averaging over 10 points per game.

Hawkins is also productive on the offensive glass. Her gritty energy and tenacity allow her to secure nearly two offensive rebounds a game, look for her to be aggressive and attack early.

Jessica Jones #33 – F

Maybe the only positive to take out of the opening loss to the Grizzlies was the emergence of Jessica Jones.

In her first game in a Colts uniform, Jones led the team in scoring and pulled down six rebounds in just 21 minutes of action.

With a role that should be increased in the coming games, look for coach Naomi Mullings to lean on this promising young player to set the tone for the Centennial.

For the hometown Wolves, they'll have plenty of OCAA stars back in action:

Dasia McDonald #4 – G

The reigning East Division Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year returns for her third year with the Wolves.

McDonald is nearly impossible to contain on both ends of the floor. On the offensive end she is incredibly efficient and scores over 15 points per game. Defensively, she's an absolute menace averaging over five steals per game.

The Colts gameplan shouldn't be how they can stop McDonald, it should just focus on how to slow her down.

Libby Hirst #11 – F

While the Colts occupy their time with McDonald, they'll also have to look out for first team all-star Libby Hirst.

While Hirst isn't the most prolific of scorers, she is a beast in the paint. Averaging over 10 rebounds per game last season, Hirst adds around four extra chances per game on offence for Algonquin.

Defensively she is hard-nosed, with over a steal per game, and some blocked shots to go along with that too.

Hirst does tend to get into foul trouble averaging over three personal fouls per game, so look for Centennial to attack her early and try to draw contact.

The Wolves and Colts will face off from the Jack Doyle Athletics & Recreation Centre at Algonquin University Friday evening at 6 p.m.