The Holland Hurricanes men’s and women’s basketball teams were both victorious on Saturday in Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) regular season action against the University of King’s College (UKC) Blue Devils.

The ‘Canes women earned the 74-70 victory before the men cruised to the 88-54 win.  Both games were played at the Holland College Centre for Community Engagement (CCE) in Charlottetown, PEI.

In the women’s game, the ‘Canes got off to a slow start and found themselves down 13-0 mid-way through the first quarter. However, they would battle back to trail 19-9 after one quarter, and 34-32 entering the half with momentum on their side.

A huge third quarter for the ‘Canes gave them the 57-44 lead entering the fourth where they held on for the four-point victory after the Blue Devils battled back in the final minutes.

Sophie Atkinson came off the bench for the ‘Canes with a game-high 20 points to lead the way offensively while also adding ten points for the double-double.

Danielle McKinnon went four-for-five from the three-point line and added a free throw for 13 points in the game, while Courtney Cain-Nordin had 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, and three blocks in her home debut.

Ashley Plaggenhoef added eight points, seven rebounds, and seven assists for the ‘Canes while Kassandra Little had seven points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and four blocks in the win.

The ‘Canes move to 6-2 with the victory and sit in third place in the ACAA standings while the Blue Devils fall to 5-3 on the season and sit in fourth place.

In the men’s game, the ‘Canes led wire-to-wire as they scored the first seven points of the game and didn’t look back.  They led 21-11 after one and 46-30 at the half. The ‘Canes extended their lead to 63-44 heading to the fourth quarter where they cruised to the 34-point victory.

Nathan Anderson had another strong game on the glass hauling in 20 rebounds to go along with 12 points and three blocks. The 20 rebounds are one off the record for most ever in a game by a Hurricanes men’s basketball player; the record is currently held by ‘Canes assistant coach, Chase Bowden from January 26, 2014.

Adrian Thompson had an excellent home debut with 30 points, nine rebounds, three steals, and two blocks while Jayden McMullen added 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

With the win the ‘Canes move to 6-2 on the season and sit in third place in the ACAA standings while the Blue Devils fall to 2-6 and sit in sixth place.

The ‘Canes and Blue Devils were set to square off again on Sunday but due to the heavy snowfall in the forecast the games were rescheduled to Saturday, February 22 in Charlottetown.

The basketball Hurricanes return to the court on Saturday, January 25 when they host the University of New Brunswick-Saint John (UNBSJ) Seawolves at the Holland College CCE at 1 and 3pm (w/m).

The women’s Seawolves currently sit seventh in the ACAA with a 2-7 record while the men are 1-8 this season and also in seventh.  Both the men’s and women’s ‘Canes have registered wins over the Seawolves in a previous meeting with UNBSJ earlier this season.

For more information on ACAA basketball, visit www.acaa.ca.

Connect with the basketball Hurricanes please visit www.twitter.com/caneswbball, www.twitter.com/canesmbball and www.instagram.com/hurricanesbball.

For more information on the Holland Hurricanes please visit www.hollandhurricanes.com, www.facebook.com/hollandhurricanes, www.twitter.com/hc_hurricanes and www.instagram.com/hollandhurricanes.

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