Flyers excited about top seeding
For the first time ever, the Eden Flyers entered the Standard Girls Basketball Tournament as the No. 1 seed.
“It’s a new feeling and the girls are really excited,” Eden head coach Brian MacIsaac said. “They were super excited about the game today and it was a wonderful opportunity to play in front of a bunch of classmates.
But that being said, Eden doesn’t want t get ahead of itself
“We are trying to take it one step at a time and we’ve talked about staying in the moment not looking ahead,” he said.
Beth deBoer, who scored 21 points Tuesday to lead Eden to a tournament-opening 74-52 triumph over the Saint Michael Mustangs, describes the top seeding as really exciting.
“We’ve never been the top seed before, but we’ve made it to the finals once,” said the member of the Niagara Rangers under-19 travel team.
At the start of the season, Eden’s coaches and players alike knew it was going to be a great season for the Flyers.
In her Grade 12 year of high school basketball, deBoer wants to take the next step in her game along with her team.
“I’m hoping to become more mentally strong, take it to the basket more and playing better all-around,” she said. “I take outside shots but I want to be more aggressive taking it to the net.”
MacIsaac loves what deBoer brings to the court.
“Beth is in Grade 12 now and she has progressing amazingly,” he said. “She works really hard on her game and she was in the gym early today practising her shooting. That is the kind of kid she is.”
Prior to the 1:45 tipoff of the Eden game, deBoer was in the gym by noon practising.
“It’s a good way to get out of the school mindset and into the basketball mindset,” she said. “I spent some time dribbling and shooting, getting my confidence up and getting my nerves out.”
MacIsaac appreciates that work ethic.
“She works on her ball handling, she works on her shooting and she is a real steadying influence out there,” he said.
Her pre-game practice certainly showed in Tuesday’s game.
“She made a lot of really good decisions today on when to shoot the ball and when to find an open teammate,” MacIsaac said. “The other thing she does really well is run the floor and she gets a lot of opportunities in transition for us.
“She is an all-around solid player and a great kid.”
Eden needed deBoer to be sharp against the Mustangs.
Saint Michael coach Ron Bobyk was pleased how his team hung tough with the top seeds.
“We tried to keep it within 20,” he said. “I told the girls ahead of time that we were playing the No, 1 seed, but I told them to just play their game and play as hard as you can.”
The Mustangs did exactly that.
“They were obviously frustrated that some shots didn’t go it and some stuff didn’t work, but for the most part, they played as best as they could and that’s all you could ask.”
So far this season, the Mustangs are 1-2 in Niagara Catholic Athletic Association league play.
“We’re scrappy,” Bobyk said. “I would like to have more height, but there is no height around in the school. I am happy with the group we have.”
MacIsaac agreed it wasn’t the typical game a top seed will open with in a 16-team tournament.
“It was a very good game and I don’t know where they ranked them,” he said. “It was a good challenge.
“Give them a lot of credit. They shot really well, but we were able to get second-chance opportunities and that was the difference in the game.”
MacIsaac is hoping his team can improve in one area in its quarter-final game.
“We have to work on defensive positioning a bit better because we picked up way to may fouls.”
STATS PACK
Johnny Rocco’s/Mick and Angelo’s Player of the Game: Eden’s Beth deBoer with a game-high 21 points, including 15 in the first quarter.
For the Eden Flyers: deBoer 21; Madalyn Weinert 13; Mackenzie Schroeder 9; Erika Rouse 9; Hailey Gilbert 6; Avery Cushing 5; Lauren Foster 4; Lauren Vahrmeyer 3; Shannon Norder 2; Julia McNeaney 2.
For the Saint Michael’s Mustangs: Aliyah Glaze 17; Julia Manlow 17; Lauren Carter 16; Jaden Callahan 2.
BULLDOGS 60 PATRIOTS 24
Kaley DeMont netted 14 points to help the third-seeded Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs advance to the Standard championship quarter-finals with a 60-24 victory over the Saint Paul Patriots Tuesday at Churchill.
Also scoring for the Bulldogs were Ally Sentance (11), Olivia Krieger (9), Reagan Emonds (8), Ashley Harris (5), Morgan Buchan (3), Julia Barker (3) and Sarah Britnell (2). Five points weren’t accounted for on the gamesheet.
Replying for the Patriots were Keira Federinko (8), Julia Garisto (6), Livia Piccirillo (4), Emily Semark (4) and Maia MacLean (2).
PHOENIX 32 COUGARS 22
Viktoria Cubelic netted 18 points to lead the St. Francis Phoenix to a 32-22 victory over the Centennial Cougars in opening-round play at the Standard tourney.
Also scoring for the Phoenix were: Teagan Orth (6); Ava Lannan (3), Grace Gill (2) and Hannah Schipper (1).
Scoring for the Cougars were Destiny Paquin (10), Emily Babyk (4), Jessica Acaster (2) and Tess Rowland (2). Five points weren’t accounted for on the gamesheet.
