The No. 6 Brock women's basketball team received two provincial major awards ahead of their semi-final playoff game versus the No. 5 Western Mustangs at Alumni Hall in London on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m.
Point guard Melissa Tatti was named OUA Player of the Year and head coach Mike Rao was named Coach of the Year on Tuesday.
Sam Keltos was named a Second Team All Star.
Tatti, who also received First Team All-Star honours, led the league in scoring with 18.5 points per game highlighted by three 30-plus point games, including a career-high 34 points versus Laurier.
"Melissa's decision making is next level. She's an offensive standout and has worked hard at her defensive game," said Rao. "Last year we had to rely on her a little bit too much, but now more are involved and you're seeing the effects. This team is very unselfish and that's credit to her."
While leading the point, she dished out 6.6 assists per game, which was second in the OUA. Tatti also ranked third (2.5 steals per game) and averaged almost five rebounds.
"It's not easy to stop her. They'll face guard, but when they do she'll come of multiple ball screen," said Rao. "They try to force her left and get the ball out of her hands, but she knows when to attack and when to step off."
In just his second season at the helm, Rao guided the Badgers to a 17-5 record as they earned a bye in the opening round of the Critelli Cup playoffs.
The Badgers added nearly eight points per game to their team scoring (70.9 PPG), allowed almost five fewer points per contest (61.0 PPG), and most importantly, managed to add six wins to their record in two fewer games.
Rao said the Coach of the Year is a reflection of his players.
"This is more of a team award," he said. "An award like this is more of a reflection of my players. My players played. That's the way I look at it. It talks more to their effort on the court and resilience. We saw it against Windsor, they never give up. This award isn't for me, because it's more of a team award. It's a team game."
Last Saturday, the Badgers headed into the fourth quarter trailing by 19 points and pulled off an incredible comeback to knock the Windsor Lancers out of the post-season with 61-57 win during the OUA quarter-finals at Bob Davis Gymnasium.
The Badgers advance to semi-finals where they'll face off against Western on Wednesday.
Brock faced Western only once this season, a 67-58 loss at home on Jan. 15, however the Badgers have secured wins over higher-ranked teams all season.
The Mustangs narrowly defeated McMaster by a point, 64-63, in their quarter-final match.
Western lost only three games this season - Windsor, Ryerson and Ottawa, which are three opponents Brock picked up wins against.
"Western is a good team, a senior team with a lot of leadership," said Rao. "They are very physical and big inside. They get a lot of second chances. We'll have to be at our best."
The game will be streamed live on OUA.tv
