Notre Dame defends hoops title
Ava DeChellis came up big for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish senior girls basketball team Thursday in the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association AAA basketball final against the visiting Blessed Trinity Thunder.
The Grade 11 student had seven points in the win but, more importantly, she had a pile of assists and steals to help her team record a hard-fought 57-49 victory.
The 16-year-old was at her best early in the second half when the Irish erased a 26-24 deficit with a 13-0 run.
“She plays both ends of the court. She is great on defence and a lot of what she does on defence helps us transition into our offence,” Notre Dame coach Kristen Dean said. “She steals the ball quite often for us and adds that extra pressure on the opposite team, especially their guards, so they turn over the ball a bit more.”
DeChellis loves being back on the basketball court after missing all of last year’s high school sports because of a broken ankle she suffered playing travel soccer.
“It feels really great to be back and to win a championship.”
She admitted it was tough to sit out all of last season.
“It was very difficult. I love playing with these girls. Watching them play last year, I was so proud of them and then again I was really sad because I couldn’t be out there with them. I can’t even explain how happy I am to be back on the court with them.”
DeChellis played her soccer this past season with Hamilton United OPDL but has joined the Niagara 1812 under-19 squad that competes in an American league.
“I played travel basketball up until I was in Grade 8 in Niagara and I quit to focus on soccer. This is a way to play basketball again.”
The spatial awareness gained from soccer is a big help on the basketball court.
“I find that passing is one of my key points when I play the game. I can see passes I can make on the court and when I am going for layups with a girl on me I can see the quick dish pass which is always good.”
Thursday’s game was close except for the decisive 13-0 run.
“It helped us to get ahead and it gave the girls the momentum to keep going and do well,” Dean said.
Blessed Trinity head coach Gabe Diadamo agreed the unlucky 13 portion of the game was pivotal in the loss.
“It definitely made it harder to come back from. There were a few other points in the game that maybe swung the momentum in their favour but that was the big one,” he said. “That 13-0 run was a small blip and the rest of the game I thought we played really well. We came back and got it to within five.”
In one stretch of the fourth quarter, the Thunder came up empty on eight straight possessions but a Jaylen Steinstra three-pointer cut the lead to 53-46 with 1:02 left in the game. Blessed Trinity would get as close as 53-48 but ran out of time.
The Thunder will be a force to be reckoned with again next season.
“We are losing one senior but the rest of the team is back. They played great this game,” Diadamo said. “A couple of shots were unlucky and didn’t fall. If they fall, maybe we are the winners of this game.”
Dean likes where her team is at heading into the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association playdowns next Thursday at Notre Dame.
“The girls have worked so hard this season and we are very proud of them. We are proud of the way they play defensively as well as offensively. They can score but they play hard on defence every game.”
DeChellis is also looking forward to SOSSA.
“We have a very good team this year with strong players and we are excited to be hosting. We want to bring it home for our community and for our school.”
STATS PACK
Fighting Irish 57 Thunder 49
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Notre Dame’s Ava DeChellis with seven points and many steals and assists.
For the Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Camilla Moscato 15; Lila DiPietro 13; Nicole Dixon 9; Ava Briggs 8; DeChellis 7; Elyse Carmichael 3; Olivia Bittman 2.
For the Blessed Trinity Thunder: Lita Sutor 25; Jaylen Steinstra 10; Brooklyn Turner 6; Danika Zarowny 3; Maria DiFlavio 2; Teagan Fraser 1.
Up next: Notre Dame advances to SOSSA Thursday, Nov. 14 at Notre Dame.
