IHEADINDU, MILANO NAMED YORK ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Basketball player Richard Iheadindu and hockey player Chloe Milano were named York’s male and female athletes of the week, respectively, for the week of Feb. 20.
Iheadindu, a kinesiology and health science student from Brampton, Ont., tallied 40 points, nine rebounds and seven assists this weekend as the Lions defeated Queen’s and RMC to clinch the sixth and final playoff spot in the OUA East standings.
In an 89-82 win over the Gaels on Friday night that secured the post-season berth, the rookie guard scored 14 points on an impressive 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and added two rebounds and four assists. He was even better the following night, going 10-of-16 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc, to score 26 points in a 94-49 victory over the Paladins. He also added seven rebounds and three assists in the win
Iheadindu finished his rookie season second in team scoring with 9.6 points per game.
With the sixth seed in the OUA East standings, the Lions will travel to Ottawa on Wednesday (Feb. 22) for an OUA first-round playoff game against the Gee-Gees, who finished in third place in the division. Tip-off is set for 8pm.
Milano, a business and society student from Maple, Ont., recorded four points, including the series-clinching goal in double overtime, as the Lions upset the defending OUA champion and No. 10 nationally-ranked Queen’s Gaels in their OUA quarter-final series last week.
In the deciding third game of the series the team captain scored her third goal of the post-season 6:41 into the second extra frame to move the Lions into the OUA semifinals for the first time under head coach Dan Church. She also scored the game’s first goal 3:01 into the first period to give the Lions an early 1-0 lead. Four days earlier, she recorded a goal – again the first of the game at the 6:18 mark of the first period on a power play – and an assist in a 4-3 series-opening win over Queen’s.
Milano finished the regular season fourth in team scoring and among the OUA’s top 50 with 15 points.
Thanks to upsets in two of the other three series last week – sixth-seeded Western knocked off Toronto and seventh-seeded Windsor defeated Guelph – the Lions are now the second seeds in the OUA semifinals and have earned home ice advantage for the round.
