Cyclone advance to SOSSA
The E.L. Crossley Cyclone were in no mood to celebrate Wednesday.
The Cyclone topped the Greater Fort Erie Secondary School Gryphons 37-24 to capture the Niagara Regional High School Athletic Association Zone 3 AA senior girls basketball championship final but following the game, it was business as usual, nothing out of the ordinary, not even a championship team photo.
The Cyclone, it seems, have bigger plans than just a local title.
“We’re trying to get to OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations), that’s our main goal,” Crossley’s Taryn Mitchell explained. “We might not seem excited but this was a really hard game for us to win because GFESS is a good team.
“We are excited but we are mainly focused on SOSSA tomorrow.”
The Cyclone advanced to the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association AA playdowns Thursday which they are hosting. Crossley take on the Zone 2 winners (Holy Cross or St. Francis) at 9 a.m. followed by the Eden Flyers versus Sir Winston Churchill of Hamilton at 10:30 a.m. The winners meet at 4 p.m. for the SOSSA title.
It is the second year in a row the Cyclone defeated the Gryphons on their home floor after they went undefeated in the regular season.
The Cyclone began slowly, leading 10-5 after one quarter and 18-11 at the half.
“We have a hard time getting into the game,” Mitchell said. “The second half is our time to play, our best time, but we need to come out strong right from the get-go.”
Mitchell scored all nine of her points in the first half when the Cyclone needed someone to step up offensively.
“It was really good,” she said of her production. “The last time I was here I did not do that well and the shots weren’t falling for me. I learned to just get rid of all that negativity and try my hardest and make a new play every time I play.
“I was happy to see those shots fall because I have been trying really hard to get to start them off from the beginning and make the team feel hyped.”
Mitchell, a 16-year-old, Grade 11 student, missed the first part of the year with mononucleosis and was sidelined for the BPSN and Tribune tournaments.
She was well aware her season could have come to an end with a loss Wednesday, but was more concerned for seniors Tess Puchalski and Sydney Grummett, whose high school careers were on the line.
“I felt I needed to try my best to get them to the goal they want this year,” Mitchell said. “No matter how long I was playing, I was going to try my best for them and help my teammates get to their goals, even if it’s not my last year.”
Crossley coach Aaron Belding was clearly frustrated by his team’s lack of touch early.
“It’s very hard to get them going when we come out and we’re in and out, in and out, in and out,” he said. “When the ball finally starts going in, then they get going.
“When you have a team like Fort Erie that can put the baskets in as well as we can, we need to put the baskets in early to get going.”
STATS PACK
Cyclone 37 Gryphons 24
Johnny Rocco’s/Mick and Angelo’s/Cracker Jack’s Players of the Game: Crossley’s Taryn Mitchell with nine points and Fort Erie’s Bourdon with seven points.
For the E.L. Crossley Cyclone: Mitchell 9; Sydney Piekny 15; Tess Puchalski 5.
For the Fort Erie Gryphons: Hannah Bourdon 7; Riley Hutton 6; Megan Louws 5.
Up next: SOSSA playdowns Thursday at Crossley. The Cyclone take on the Zone 2 winners (Holy Cross or St. Francis) at 9 a.m. followed by the Eden Flyers versus Sir Winston Churchill of Hamilton at 10:30 a.m. The winners meet at 4 p.m. for the SOSSA championship.
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