STORY BY JEANYLYN LOPEZ
The Lady Bruins’ star basketball player rebounded back from an 11-week ankle injury to help Sheridan win 71-59 against the Niagara Knights last Friday.
Small forward Haeven Durrant had 13 points and 8 rebounds in only 20 minutes of play on her first day back from a left high ankle sprain that occurred early in the season against Sault College.
“It feels almost like nostalgia being on the court and being with my teammates, more importantly,” said Durrant.
The recovery process was tough on Durrant, who was on crutches for six weeks and had to undergo therapy and rehab.
“I’ve lost all stability and balance in the ankle, but I’m working on regaining it,” said Durrant.
Being on the sidelines “was hard and also a good thing. I’m seeing a different perspective; I’m seeing everything from the coach’s view from the sidelines,“ said Durrant. “With that it helped me a lot, not only in being a leader on my team but also in my game.”
Although Durrant’s minutes are limited right now, she has a huge impact on the team, said head coach Willie Delas. Once she gets rolling, she does a lot of good things and that inspires the team and the team needs that type of strength, added Delas.
To start the game, Niagara scored 10 consecutive points and held Sheridan to 0. By the end of the first, the Bruins were down 17-9.
Double Blue never led the first half and they ended the second quarter 31-24.
Coming back from halftime, Sheridan went on a 13-2 run to get ahead of the Knights. The Bruins ended the third leading Niagara 48-45.
The fourth quarter was a tightly contested match between Double Blue and the Knights until Sheridan held the visitors to 1 point after scoring 13 points to win the game by 12.
“I thought we did a lot of good things, we played well together both defensively and offensively especially in the second half,” said Delas.
Point guard Shylanda Saunders is a player who thrives under isolation when she attacks the basket and gets to the foul line. Against Niagara, she had 25 points, 11 rebounds, and made 11 of 12 free throws.
Shylanda finds way to help the team win whether that is defensively or offensively said head coach Willie Delas.
Guard Samantha Lovat also contributed 15 points and 6 assists to the team.
The Lady Bruins now have a 7-4 record in OCAA and will be on the road to play St. Clair on Jan 24.