Bulldogs punch ticket to finals
The defence rests with Morgan Barker.
The 17-year-old, Grade 12 student eschews offence in favour of shutting the other team down, something Sir Winston Churchill coach Frank Keltos said she does as well as anybody.
“Morgan is the hustle of hustle. I’ve never seen a kid tie up more jump balls in a game than her in any high school, or on any other team,” Keltos said Thursday night after the Bulldogs topped the Eden Flyers 46-29 in a championship round semifinal game at the Fourth Annual BPSN Girls Basketball Tournament. “I know when she’s in the game the odds are that if she gets her hands on the ball on defence, it’s going to be either steal or it’s going to be a jump ball.
“She just brings defensive intensity. She’s so long and she’s a lefty, which it’s a little different.”
Barker was at her best Thursday as the defending championship Bulldogs punched their ticket to the final Friday night at the St. Catharines Collegiate versus the E.L. Crossley Cyclone.
“I was always of the mentality that offence wins games, but defence wins championships,” Barker said. “I’ve always appreciated guarding. I like doing the little things that don’t always show up on the scoreboard or whatever. I honestly think defence wins because if you stop them from the scoring, then ultimately your team will help you an offence on a you’ll end up with a win.”
Barker enjoys the challenge of defending.
“I personally love it. I just love trying to be able to read where they’re going and I feel it’s more of like a mind game, whereas offence it’s just sort of like movement with the players, but defence is reading the other team and working with your teammates.”
Barker scored four points Thursday and Keltos feels she has the potential to a force on offence as well, although, her defence more than justifies her time on the court.
“I don’t care about her scoring,” Keltos said. “She brings so much to the table with just her leadership. She’s been playing since Grade 9 on the senior team. She’s waited her time and it’s her time.”
The Bulldogs set the tone early, racing out to a 17-3 lead after one quarter.
“We wanted us to control the tempo, we wanted to keep the ball out of the hands of three (Kate DeVries) and four (Shorleigh Burrows) and basically said were gonna let the rest of their team beat us. We defended them on the outside. We just changed our D up, just a little change in responsibilities from our normal rotation.”
The Bulldogs now take on a hot Crossley squad which knocked off the No. 1 seed Notre Dame Irish to advance the finals.
“They’re big and they’re strong,” Keltos said. “They beat us last week or something like that, so they know what we do and we know what they do. It should be a really good, competitive game.”
Barker is hopeful to be part of another Churchill championship.
“I would love it,” she said. “Last year was so great. In Grade 10, I was still part of the team, but last year I started to have a bigger role and this year I feel like it’s even like a bigger one, so I’m really eager to win.”
Eden coach Jonathan Thorpe felt his club’s slow start was the difference.
“We did not help ourselves at all,” he said. “We tried all sorts of different things defensively to stop them and slow them down. Some things would work for stretches and then we’d go away from what was working, for whatever reason.
“You don’t necessarily lose the game at the beginning, but we came pretty close to losing it at the beginning.”
Thorpe feels the future is bright for his squad.
“We’re a very young team. Every one of these girls is coming back next year so it’s not the end of the road for any of these girls,” he said. “We have a long time to work with them and get better as a team, so this is absolutely a learning opportunity, a great experience for them even to get to the semifinals of this tournament.”
STATS PACK
Bulldogs 46 Flyers 29
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Sir Winston’s Morgan Barker.
Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs: Anya Namestnik 15; Addison Torigian 9; Marlowe Zekan 8; Kiera Pink 5; Norah Hoff 4; Morgan Barker 4; Kayleigh DiGirolamo 1.
Eden Flyers: Kate DeVries 10; Shorleigh Burrows 10; Adlai Cavicchia 3; Hannah McGugan 2; Ella McMaster 2; Adelaide Dearborn 2.
Up next: Sir Winston versus E.L. Crossley for the tournament championship, Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the St. Catharines Collegiate.
The tournament is made possible with the help of Women Networking in Sports of Niagara, Tora Inc., Ridley College, Alltech Automotive, St. Catharines CYO Basketball, Pelham Panthers basketball, Niagara Falls Red Raiders basketball, the Niagara District Referees Association, the District School Board of Niagara and the Niagara Catholic District School Board.
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