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OUA hockey goalie makes 72-foot basketball shot for a trip to New Zealand (VIDEO)

On Friday, Amanda Smith hit the shot heard 'round the university sports world, and now she gets to go halfway around the world.

A goalie firing the puck the length of the ice to score a goal is old hat. How about a goalie making a basket from the opposite free-throw line to win a trip to New Zealand? On Friday, Smith, a rookie goalie for the Laurier Golden Hawks women's hockey team, was supporting her fellow student-athletes during a men's basketball game. Between the first and second quarter, she won a relay that gave her the right to take three shots from the opposite free-throw line to win a New Zealand vacation package offered by TravelCUTS.

Smith's first try helped her gauge the distance. Her third, a sidearm chuck, was as long and true as War And Peace.

Try to remember to call 'bank' next time.

Ontario University Athletics and Canadian Interuniversity Sport should take that into consideration when picking athlete of the week, eh? In the annals of people making long-distance shots during halftime contests of Canadian university basketball games — yes, there are annals for that sub-niche — this compares well with Brandon coach Gil Cheung making a half-court shot last year to win a student's tuition. Cheung was encumbered by a shirt and tie, but he was closer to the basket and has a more extensive basketball background.

Meantime, Smith is in fine fettle with the women's hockey Hawks. The alumna of the Etobicoke Dolphins intermediate team has a 1.94 goals-against average and .928 save percentage in the net for Laurier, which is ranked No. 5 in Canada. So she's doing well in net and getting nothing but net.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.