Queen's to host ninth annual OUA All-Star Game this weekend

BURLINGTON, Ont. – The stars of Ontario University Athletics (OUA) women's basketball will be out on Saturday, May 14 as Queen's University plays host to the ninth annual OUA All-Star Game. 

The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. from the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC), home of the Queen's Gaels.  Admission to the event is free.  If you can't make it to the ARC, you can catch all the action live on OUA.tv.

This year will feature a rematch between OUA finals coaches, Andy Sparks of the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and Carly Clarke of the Ryerson Rams. 

Team Sparks will be led by OUA and CIS Player of the Year, Ryerson Rams guard Keneca Pingue-Giles (Winnipeg, Man).  Pingue-Giles had a season to remember and becomes the first player in program history to be named OUA Player of Year after she finished the season averaging 17.6 points per game to go along with 77 assists and 130 rebounds.  The Winnipeg, Man. native was also named OUA Defensive Player of Year after leading the conference with 79 steals. 

Joining Pingue-Giles on the floor for Team Sparks will be Carleton Ravens forward Heather Lindsay (Ottawa, Ont.).  In her third-year with her hometown Ravens, Lindsay finished second in OUA with 10.5 rebounds per game and led the league with a 52.9 shooting percent.  The third-year environmental studies major averaged 15.9 points per game to rank fifth; however, her 25.5 points per 40 minutes led the conference.

Guard Nicole Morrison (Hamilton, Ont.) will represent the Laurier Golden Hawks on Team Sparks on Saturday.  The third-year communication studies major was an all-star for the first time in her career this past season after scoring with 15.6 points per game, which ranked her sixth in OUA.

Queen's Gaels standout Robyn Pearson (Toronto, Ont.) will feel right at home in the Queen's ARC and will be a force to be reckoned with on the glass for Team Sparks.  Pearson grabbed 206 boards in 19 regular season games for the Gaels (10.8 rebounds per game) to rank first in OUA.  Also joining Pearson on Team Sparks will be Gaels freshman post Myriam Fontaine (Cornwall, Ont.).

When Coach Sparks looks down the bench on Saturday, he will see a pair of familiar faces as Catherine Traer (Chelsea, Que.) and Krista van Slingerland (Waterloo, Ont.) have been selected to the squad.  Despite playing in just 14 regular season games, Traer finished fourth in OUA averaging 16.0 points per game.  van Slingerland was recognized this season for her determination, perseverance, and unwavering spirit with the Tracy McLeod Award.  van Slingerland is the co-founder of the Student-Athlete Mental Health Initiative (SAMHI), a national non-profit organization that focuses on improving the services offered to student-athletes dealing with mental health issues.

Representing the Guelph Gryphons on Team Sparks will be sophomore guard Bridget Atkinson (Welland, Ont.). A season after being named OUA Rookie of the Year, the Welland, Ont. native finished in the top 10 in steals (66) and assists (68).

Brock sophomore guard Melissa Tatti (Ancaster, Ont.) is back playing in the OUA All-Star Game for a second straight season after averaging 10.2 points per game to go along with 47 assists in 17 games for the Badgers.

A pair of University of Toronto Varsity Blues round out the Team Sparks selections as co-captain and fifth-year guard Abena Addo (Brampton, Ont.) and OUA all-rookie Keyira Parkes (Scarborough, Ont.) have been named to the team.

Addo was the OUA nominee for the Joy Bellinger Award, presented annually to the student-athlete who excels in academics, athletics, and community service.  The Brampton, Ont. native is the founder and CEO of Aspire for Higher Elite Basketball, an organization that provides athletic and leadership training to over 1000 young student-athletes. She has been heavily involved in local community initiatives and was a 2014 City of Toronto Community Impact Award finalist for significant contributions to the community through athletic leadership and mobilizing participants.

Despite losing Pingue-Giles to her rival coach from uOttawa, Clarke will look to fellow Ram and Critelli Cup champion Sofia Paska (Etobicoke, Ont.) to lead the team to victory on Saturday night.  Paska was named an all-star for the first time in her career this past year after the sophomore averaged 9.5 rebounds per game and finished in the top 10 in league scoring with 15.2 points per game.

Paska will be joined on the court by fellow first-team all-star and Western Mustangs guard Mackenzie Puklicz (London, Ont.) and forward Julia Curran (Waterloo, Ont.). 

Playing for her hometown Mustangs, Puklicz led the conference in scoring, averaging 18.6 points per game and ranked in top 15 in three-point field goal percentage (33.0%), steals (40) and free throws made (71).  A season after Puklicz was named OUA Rookie of the Year, Curran followed suit after she averaged a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game and finished fourth in team scoring with 6.8 points per game.

No one will likely receive as big a welcome Saturday night as Kingston native and Queen's Gaels guard Jenny Wright (Kingston, Ont.).  Wright, who will be suiting up in tricolour for one final time on Saturday, finished in the top 20 in several statistical categories, including: points per game (12.3), blocks (13), rebounds per game (6.4) and three-point field goal percentage (32.1). The Kingston, Ont. native concludes her Queen's career as a three-time first-team all-star (2015-16, 2014-15, 2013-14) after being named a divisional all-rookie in 2011-12.

Coach Clarke couldn't let Team Sparks snatch up all the Gee-Gees as uOttawa guard Julia Soriano (Toronto, Ont.) has been selected to Team Clarke.  Soriano averaged 33.2 minutes per game for the Gee-Gees and finished second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (44.2).

Representing the Marauders on Team Clarke is McMaster power forward Clare Kenney (Gananoque, Ont.) after she finished fifth in blocks (18) and rebounds (176) this past season.

Third-year University of Toronto guard Rahshida Atkinson (Scarborough, Ont.) is the lone Varsity Blues player on Team Clarke.  The Scarborough, Ont. native averaging 15.6 points per game and finished in the top 10 in three-point field goal percentage (35.6).

After being named an OUA all-star for the first time her career this past season, Windsor centre Emily Prevost (Montreal, QC) will suit up for Team Clarke and be the Lancers' lone representative. The third-year human kinetics major finished eighth in field goal percentage (49.3) and rebounds per game (9.1), while averaging 14.3 points per game in 20 contests this season.

A trio of OUA all-rookie guards round out the picks for Team Clarke as York Lions Katrina Collins-Samuels (Hamilton, Ont.), Nipissing Lakers Alexe Galipeau-Wilson (Ottawa, Ont.) and Brock Badgers Chrissy Sirignano (St. Catharines, Ont.)

The game itself will be just one of many events for the all-stars over the course of the weekend in Kingston.  On Friday evening, Robyn Pearson from Queen's and Claire Kenney from McMaster will be speaking at the JUEL Banquet.  Prior to tip-off on Saturday evening, the OUA All-Stars will also take part in various community initiatives at the Kingston YMCA to help grow the game of basketball in Ontario.

The ninth annual OUA Women's Basketball All-Star game is taking place thanks to a dedicated group of sponsors and partners including: official sponsor Wilson Sports Equipment of Canada and event partners Queen's Gaels Athletics, Peel Police Services and JUEL of Ontario.

TEAM SPARKS

Keneca Pingue-Giles – Ryerson Rams
Heather Lindsay - Carleton Ravens
Nicole Morrison – Laurier Golden Hawks
Robyn Pearson – Queen's Gaels
Bridget Atkinson – Guelph Gryphons
Catherine Traer – Ottawa Gee-Gees
Melissa Tatti – Brock Badgers
Abena Addo – Toronto Varsity Blues
Keyira Parkes – Toronto Varsity Blues
Myriam Fontaine – Queen's Gaels
Krista van Slingerland – Ottawa Gee-Gees

TEAM CLARKE

Sofia Paska – Ryerson Rams
Mackenzie Puklicz – Western Mustangs
Jenny Wright – Queen's Gaels
Clare Kenney – McMaster Marauders
Julia Soriano – Ottawa Gee-Gees
Rashida Atkinson – Toronto Varsity Blues
Julia Curran – Western Mustangs
Emily Prevost – Windsor Lancers
Katrina Collins-Samuels – York Lions
Alexe Galipeau-Wilson – Nipissing Lakers
Chrissy Sirignano – Brock Badgers