Flyers soar to OFSAA quarter-finals
The Eden Flyers senior girls basketball team matched the school’s best-ever finish at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AA championships last week.
Playing at the event in Kingsville, the Flyers made it to the quarter-finals before dropping a 61-52 decision to the second seeds and eventual silver medalists, Kennedy Collegiate from Windsor.
Scoring for Eden in the final game were Avery Cushing (19), Madalyn Weinert (15), Julia McNeaney (9) and Morgan Cushing (9). Other members of the team are Angela Martin, Erika Rouse, Isabel Neufeld and Kennedy Johnston.
Eden last made it to the OFSAA quarter-finals three years ago.
“It’s always really rewarding to see success on the court,” head coach Brian MacIsaac said. “We won our league, we won our SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association championship) and we had a really successful trip to OFSAA.”
But the on-court success wasn’t the entire story.
“It was great to see the relationships the kids built with each other from the start of the year,” he said. “They became very close and that really showed in their commitment to each other and the effort they put into every game.”
The Flyers opened the tournament with a narrow 43-41 victory over Jean Vanier from Richmond Hill. Top scorers for Eden in the game were Rouse (15), McNeaney (9), Weinert (8), Avery Cushing (5), Morgan Cushing (3) and Neufeld (3).
Eden then advanced to the quarter-finals with a 59-46 victory over Toronto Birchmount. Scoring for Eden in the game were Weinert (33), Avery Cushing (14), Rouse (7), McNeaney (3) and Johnston (2).
“I emphasized with the kids that it is a great accomplishment just to make it to OFSAA because every team there is a champion of their league or their region,” MacIsaac said. “Any game you can win or be competitive in is a real accomplishment. Being able to get two wins and being really competitive against the second seed was great.
“It was a nice way to the end the year and we gave it our all.”
He felt Eden played as well as it could have in defeating E.L. Crossley in the SOSSA final and that momentum carried over into OFSAA.
There were a number of things that made this year’s version of the Flyers special.
“Overall it was the closeness they developed over the year,” MacIsaac said. “I had three Grade 12s and five Grade 11s bit they really came together and every kid was willing to play a role and do what was best for the team.
“There was no individual focus and it was always what I can do to help the team. That is something I really value in high school sports.”
The Flyers were led all season by the on-court skill and experience of Avery Cushing and Weinert. Rouse embraced her captain’s role and McNeaney came up with her best-ever year on the basketball court.
Avery Cushing, Rouse and McNeaney will be lost to graduation and their presence will be missed. Rouse missed the quarter-final game with an injury but, as usual, was the most vocal player on the bench.
