Vukojev to the rescue

Magdalena Vukojev saved the day for the Blessed Trinity Thunder Wednesday during quarter-final action at the BPSN High School Basketball Tournament.

The 17-year-old, Grade 12 student netted the winning basket to give the Thunder a dramatic 55-53 triumph over the Eden Flyers and a birth in the tournament semifinals Thursday.

Vukojev’s basket was right out of a storybook ending and she took the ball coast to coast, moved left, and took the shot while falling to the floor with just 1.5 seconds remaining to break a 53-53 deadlock.

“We were thinking of getting the last shot off but I know my best is coast to coast,” Vukojev said. “I like going to the left and I was hoping for a foul or a take. It was working all game so it worked. It would have either been a blocking foul, I believe, but it went in.”

And if that wasn’t enough of a dramatic story, Vukojev wasn’t even present at the start of the game, arriving in the second quarter following a visit at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she may play next season.

“It was exciting,” she said. “I came late. They had a really good start. Eden caught up, they’re a great team, so there was a lot of pressure because it’s a tournament and we all want to do well.”

Thunder coach Gabe Diadamo wanted the ball in Vukojev’s hands with the game on the line.

“She knows, I told her from the beginning of the season she has the green light,” he said. “Her and Lita (Sutor) are who I’m going to turn to score, even Brianne Davis, who was big in the middle for us tonight.”

The Flyers were down by 12 in the third quarter but clawed their way back into the game, trailing 51-50 with two minutes to play.

“I thought by the middle of the third quarter we had pretty healthy lead but with a little bit of foul trouble we let them slip back into it,” Diadamo said.

Flyers coach Jonathon Thorpe lauded his team’s effort.

“That’s what I told the girls after the game, how proud I was of them. We were down and they displayed a lot of toughness to get through that adversity,” he said. “No one gave up. We had a lot of shots that rolled around and fell out for us, a lot of bunnies that we missed that could a have made a huge difference. A lot of misses from the foul line too.

“I couldn’t be prouder how they fought to the end.” 

The Thunder now take on the No. 1 seed Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs Thursday at 7:30 p.m.at Governor Simcoe for a shot at the finals.

“I think from the start it was fun to go for the whole thing,” Vukojev said. “We always want to go for the whole thing but SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association) is the bottom line for us this year. After this tournament, we have a lot of competition and we definitely want to go far this year.”

The Thunder edged the Bulldogs last week in an exhibition tournament at Brock.

“We played Sir Winston already and they’re a tough team a well. It’s going to be another tough game like this,” Diadamo said.

STATS PACK

Thunder 55 Flyers 53

Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Thunder guard Magdalena Vukojev with 18 points, including the winning basket with 1.5 seconds remaining.

For the Blessed Trinity Thunder: Vukojev (18), Brianna Davis (12), Maria DiFLavio (7), Alana Meester (7), Lita Sutor (6), Nadia Talukdar (2)

For the Eden Flyers: Kate de Vries (11), Annika Rigby (11), Shorleigh Burrows (10), Madelaine Templeman (10), Ashlynn Caverly (2), Kristina Grynevych (2).

Note: Official scoresheet does not add up correctly. 

CONSOLATION 

Cyclone 53 Mustangs 23

Leah Waselovich’s 16 points propelled the E.L. Crossley Cyclone past the Saint Michael Mustangs and into the consolation round semifinals.

Also scoring for the Cyclone: Addie Falardeau (11), Sara Lowry (8), Katie Luciani (6), Amelia Silokowsky (6), Elle Zavitz (4), Teaghan Brown (2).

Scoring for Saint Michael were: Mya Pasto (12), Brianna DeMuchi (4), Blessing Azubiula (4), Sebrella Wamblosa (1).