The St. Clair women's basketball team rose to the occasion upsetting Mohawk Saturday at the Sportsplex. The Mountaineers, the second highest scoring team in the league, were held in check as St. Clair won 70-59. "A huge win," exclained head coach Andy Kiss. "We went into the game ready, prepared. That's a team win. I think our team played with awesome heart. Our kids were hungry today and it showed in their actions."
The centre of attention for the Saints was guard Kaitlyn Overeem who finished with a game-high 31 points. Mohawk had no answer from the former OUA standout who also had 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. "The thing that impresses me most about her is she's so steady," Kiss said. "She just never loses it on the floor. She's a steadying force on the floor for the other kids. A veteran player and it showed. Outstanding. Smart. Great passer as well. We put a lot on her plate but she handles it.
Highly touted out of Brantford's St. John's College, Overeem won three CWOSSA titles and two OFSAA silver medals before joining the Waterloo Warriors in 2018. She helped the team to a program best 17 wins last season as the Warriors lost to top-seeded Queen's in the semi-finals.
Overeem, who is 2nd in league scoring averaging 22.2 points per game, says her transfer to St. Clair and OCAA basketball has presented a different view of the game. "At Waterloo we had five girls over six-foot and I was one of the smallest people on the team," Overeem said. "To come to a new team where I am now one of the tallest people on the team and am now guarding post players, it's a bit of a role change for me sometimes on the defensive end."
"I definitely don't think it's an easier time. There's still battles being had."
Overeem says she's especially enjoying suiting up with her sister Lauren who is in her second season at St. Clair.
The Saints don't have a big lineup but Kiss feels he has arguably the top trio of guards in the league witih Overeem, 3rd year Shae-Lyn Murphy and 4th year Janae Smith. He says Saturday's win shows what type of team he has. "So what if anyone doesn't score a point. They're hustling to the ball like Lauren Overeem (7 rebounds, 2 steals). Fighting and battling. Lily Collins was solid off the bench (5 rebounds). Ava Willoughby played the best game she's played this year. Quinn MacIsaac, in her limited minutes helped the team. It's a team." Kiss said.
The win pushed the Saints to 9-2 on the season while the Moutaineers fall to 9-3. St. Clair is now 2nd in the West Division two points behind Lambton (10-2) with a game in hand. They are on the road this weekend at Sheridan (0-11) Saturday and Humber (7-4) Sunday.