By CLAUDE SCILLEY

The game was in the bag relatively early. That it would be a rout became evident not long after that.

That wasn’t enough for the St. Lawrence Vikings. To gain the upper hand in any eventual tie atop the standings, they had to beat the Algonquin Thunder, the fourth-ranked team in Canada, by at least 25 points.

It was a pretty tall order, since nobody had beaten Algonquin in 67 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association women’s basketball games—but the Vikings did it. When Abby Heron grabbed a rebound under the Thunder’s basket, and immediately put it back through the hoop with 29.7 seconds left in the game, St. Lawrence had its 25-point lead.

After trading free throws, the Vikings walked off with a 77-52 win, the first victory by anybody over Algonquin in more than three years, and, by virtue of the margin of that victory, possession of first place in the East division.

“They’ve had tremendous success, and I was talking to my wife earlier, and I said if anyone’s going to beat them, I want to be the guy who ends the run,” Vikings coach Remy Simpson said. “It’s respectful. We’ve had a good rivalry over the last few years.”

The win is important, he believes, not only for its immediate impact on the standings, but for what it means to the development of the St. Lawrence program.

“The win means a lot, just because we’ve been working hard, and the girls have been pushing themselves,” he said. “We were just near the hump and we finally got over the hump that’s been in the back of our minds the last couple of years.”

St. Lawrence went to Algonquin in November and lost by 24 points, 74-50. Just beating the Thunder, therefore, wouldn’t have mattered in any end-of-season tie-breaker unless the Vikings won the rematch by more than 24 points.

From a relatively low scoring first half, 13th-ranked St. Lawrence emerged with a four-point lead. The Vikings went on a tear in the third quarter, outscoring the visitors 25-9, and now they were in sight of their ultimate goal, leading by 20 points, going into the final period.

The lead grew to 24 points with 2:59 to play, but when Algonquin’s Felicia Mazerolle hit a three-point shot with about a minute left, the lead was down to 19 points. A three-point basket by Shanicka Edwards restored the lead to 22 points and on its subsequent possession, Algonquin was called for a charge in the open floor, giving the ball back to St. Lawrence.

Fouled, St. Lawrence’s Sammy Gourdier hit the first of two free throws. It was the rebound of the failed second shot that Heron put into the basket for the 25-point lead.

On the next trip up the floor, Algonquin’s Jesa Rada missed a three-point try and the Vikings, fouled twice, got one shot each time for a four-point lead that rendered moot two late free throws by the Thunder.

Lacey Knox led St. Lawrence with 30 points, 22 of them in the second half, 15 of them in the pivotal third quarter.

Because they weren’t yet within sight of the 25-point margin of victory, the Vikings were feeling no pressure as the second half began and they were able to “just play,” as Simpson called it. Playing relaxed basketball, they gained momentum that Algonquin was unable to stop.

“My motto is 24 seconds at a time,” Simpson said. “That’s one possession, and that’s the way we took it. They’re 18- to 22-year-old players and sometimes they think too much in the future, so I try to get them in the moment and just react, because as soon as you start thinking, you slow down and you make mistakes.

“We got stops and a lot of players stepped up for us. Lacey had a great game but there were other people who did what they needed to do, even if it was just getting that one rebound.”

St. Lawrence got double-digit scoring from three other players: Edwards, who scored 11, and Gourdier and Jackie Rodgerson, who each scored 10. Mazerolle and Rada scored 11 points apiece for Algonquin.

“We went up to their gym (in November) and played awful, and (the players) knew we played awful,” Simpson said. “They wanted to show the basketball community in the OCAA that we are a good team and we can compete with top-notch teams.”

More than a matter of convincing the rest of the league of their potential, the decisive victory will help to convince the Vikings themselves of it.

“It’s a good confidence booster that (will) show them that you guys are good and we can compete if we work together,” Simpson said. “I know it and the other coaches know it but sometimes (the players) probably forget because they’re too stuck in what just happened.”

The Vikings and Thunder are now both 9-1, two games ahead of third-place Centennial. St. Lawrence will resume play Friday at Seneca.