Niagara Juel ends weekend with victory
It was a 1-2 weekend for the Niagara Juel girls basketball team.
Playing in front of its home fans at Notre Dame, Niagara lost 72-46 to London and 99-45 to Hamilton Transway before closing out the weekend with an 86-63 victory over the YNBA Avengers.
“Tough weekend for us but I thought we ended the weekend on a very positive note,” Niagara head coach Si Khounviseth said.
Against London, Niagara led 21-15 after one quarter but fell behind 33-25 and 50-32 after the second and third quarters.
“It was such a great start for us but we struggled for stretches of the game that we could not overcome. Unforced turnovers continue to be a problem for us,” he said.
Playing well for Niagara against London were: Grace McDonald (St. John Henry Newman) with 11 points; Alyah Pereira (Westdale) with nine points; Brianna Davis (Blessed Trinity) with six points and eight rebounds; and, Emma Vendittelli (A.N. Myer) with six points.
Transway knocked off Niagara by building quarter leads of 35-10, 60-22 and 77-32.
“The game against the top-ranked team was a disappointment as we really did not deal well with their pressure. We continue to struggle with pressure and turn the ball over,” Khounviseth said.
Leading the way for Niagara against Transway were: Reese Bolibruck (West Niagara) with 15 points; Alena Tepsic (Saltfleet) with 14 points; and, Amelia Siolkowsky (E.L. Crossley) with four points and five rebounds.
Against the Avengers, Niagara trailed 22-15 after the first quarter but rallied to lead 42-31 at the half and 64-43 after three quarters.
“We overcame a slow start and really started to understand how to deal with and manage pressure. And we hit our open looks and chances at the rim. It’s a game we can build on with how to handle full-court pressure. It’s something we can continue to work on and grow as a team,” he said.
Top performers for Niagara were: Bolibruck and Keira Teske (Governor Simcoe) with 18 points; Tepsic with 10 points; Emma Vendittelli with nine points and six boards; and, Pereira and McDonald with seven points each.
