Addy leads Redcoats’ march to zone final
Monday was just another day in the office for Governor Simcoe Redcoats basketball player Allison Addy.
The Grade 11 student had 14 points, eight rebounds, four steals, four assists and two blocked shots to help the Redcoats defeat the Grimsby Eagles 39-22 in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Zone 4 AA semifinal action.
“She does a lot,” Simcoe head coach John Ingribelli said. “We rely on her on both sides of the ball, offensively as well as defensively.
“She provides great leadership, she has excellent basketball IQ and she really helps with our younger players as well as our older players in Grade 12 who have very little basketball experience.”
It wasn’t that long ago that Addy was the youngest on the team. The 16-year-old has been a key starter on the team since Grade 9 and is now the team’s leader.
“I just try and keep everyone positive, make sure everyone is having a good time on and off the court and just work hard,” the 5-foot-10 player said.
She feels her game continues to progress as she matures as a player.
“I have become more aggressive going to the net,” she said. “I used to be a little timid going but now I go in strong.
“My goal at the start of the season was to get more aggressive on the offensive end and just play tighter defence.”
She agrees that she has become more of an all-around player, especially as a distributor.
“I like to look for the perfect slip pass to the bigs or the baseball pass down the court,” she said.
When the high school season end, Addy will be playing for the Niagara JUEL team where she plans to continue to work on her game.
“I’m looking forward to taking what I learned this season to the JUEL season as well,” she said. “I kind of play the same game at JUEL and I am looking forward to putting my aggressiveness to use.”
Grimsby played the game with only five players, but hung tough for most of the game.
“It was work schedules and unfortunately the tragic loss of a friend for a few of them and they weren’t in the right state of mind to come to a game,” Grimsby head coach Erika Smith said.
The Eagles have played short-staffed for most of the season.
“Our senior players are involved in a lot of things with school and jobs and they are not able to find time to practice,” she said. “If they are able to come out and play, they are more than willing to and they have a good attitude.”
Smith and her team sets small goals for each game.
“We celebrate the small victories like getting to 10 points and then get to 20 and try to double it and then make sure everybody scores,” she said. “It has been a fun season in that regard, but we haven’t been as competitive as we would have liked.”
Simcoe now advances to play Eden in the zone final.
“If we can limit the mental mistakes that lead to turnovers, I think we can give them a game,” Ingribelli said.
Addy, who will be playing in a zone final for the first time, agrees with that assessment.
“We have to play tough defence and limit our mental mistakes,” she said.
STATS PACK
Redcoats 39 Eagles 22
Johnny Rocco’s/Mick and Angelo’s/Cracker Jack’s Player of the Game: Simcoe’s Allison Addy with 14 points, eight rebounds, four steals, four assists and two blocked shots.
For the Governor Simcoe Redcoats: Allison Addy 14: Jamie Addy 9; Mia Friesen 8; Jennika McIntosh 6.
For the Grimsby Eagles: Sarah Wade 11; Madelyn Strongitharm 6.
Up next: Simcoe plays at Eden in the Zone 4 AA final Wednesday at 3 p.m.
