BPSN four peat for Bulldogs
It was a dream moment for Sir Winston Churchill’s Anya Namestnik Friday night at St. Catharines Collegiate when she was named the MVP of the Fourth Annual BPSN Girls Basketball Tournament.
“I remember seeing Brooke (Keltos) win it when I was in Grade 10 and I was like ‘I want that to be me eventually.’ It feels so good and I am so happy and proud,” she said, following the Bulldogs 30-27 victory over the E.L. Crossley Cyclone in the championship game.
The Grade 12 student scored seven points in the championship game and averaged 13 points per game in the tournament.
Churchill head coach Frank Keltos felt Namestnik was the clear choice for MVP of the tournament.
“She’s money. She is that kid who wants the ball in her hands but it is funny because there are moments when she doesn’t have that confidence,” he said. “But when she’s on, she’s the team leader, the scorer, the ballhandler, she rebounds like crazy and she does everything. The team looks at her and says ‘Thank you.’ ”
Namestnik understands what’s needed from her on the court.
“I look at the younger players and I know they need a leader and someone to look up. I try to be the best leader I can be.”
Namestnik was thrilled to win another BPSN championship in her final year of high school.
“We definitely wanted that four peat and that last win. We knew going in that it would be a tough match but we put the effort forward and I am so happy about that.”
Churchill’s fourth straight win at the BPSN tournament was anything but a thing of beauty. Both teams struggled to score, with Crossley scoring only eight points in the first half on 10 per cent shooting from the floor and Churchill nearly matching that futile percentage in the second half.
“Everyone was trying to get the ball, everyone was battling and putting in their best effort and there were so many fouls across the floor. It was such a fun game and such a battle,” Namestnik said.
The Bulldogs led 10-5 after one quarter, 17-8 at the half and 21-18 near the end of the third quarter before the Cyclone scored the last five points of the third quarter and the first four of the fourth quarter to take a 27-21 lead. But the defending champions were not to be denied, closing the game out with an 9-0 run, including the final four points of the game from the free throw-line.
“That was a battle of who could compose themselves the most. Not to say that they didn’t but it was really who could make the last shot and who had the ball last to score last,” Keltos said. “It was one of those ugly, ugly wins but at the end of the day it is a win.”
The two teams combined to shoot around 15 per cent for the game.
“There were a lot of nerves out there. In the first half, they were nervous and we were loose which was crazy. Then in the second half, it was completely different,” Keltos said. “We came out nervous and they made their first four shots to tie the game and then it was ugliness after that.”
Churchill entered the tournament for the first time ever not seeded No. 1 but they finished the week at the top of the heap with their fourth straight title.
“They are all pretty awesome,” he said. “Every group is different and I love every group but they all work differently. They are so excited and so happy about doing this and I don’t know if it for them, for me or for what but they pulled it together. It was awesome and in 30 years they will be talking about being the fourth Sir Winston team that won the BPSN championship.”
Keltos, who coaches the junior and senior team at Churchill, has coached his senior squad to a ton of success over the past several years.
“It’s the madness that I do every year. Everyone asks why I do both teams but the success comes with the madness. You coach them in Grade 9 and 10 as a junior team and then when you get them in senior, they know what their role is and what they are doing. When it gets tight, they trust me and they trust what we are trying to do.”
Crossley head coach Aaron Belding was happy with how his team played in the school’s first-ever appearance in the BPSN final.
“We have nothing to hold our heads about. We played a great game. We went down 17-6 and we came back to take a four-point lead and we ended up losing a three-point game,” he said. “We took a lot of shots, but didn’t make very many. We were absolutely ice cold in the first half, scoring very little, but when we came into the third quarter under composure, played our offence the way we wanted to, we got right back in the game. It’s being able to play the whole game in that state and be able to execute the offence and the defence and do it.”
Also named to the tournament all-star team were: Churchill’s Addie Torigian, who averaged 13.3 points per game in the tournament, including a game-high 14 points in the final; Churchill’s Morgan Barker, who was a force on defence and the boards; Crossley’s Claire Piekny, who averaged 6.0 points per game in the tournament; Crossley’s Addie Falardeau, who averaged 8.5 points a game in the tournament, including eight points in the final; and, Saint Francis’ Rozlyn Ciocca, who averaged 8.3 points per game in the tournament, including 10 in the consolation final.
STATS PACK
Bulldogs 30 Cyclone 27
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Churchill’s Addie Torigian with a game-high 14 points.
For the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs: Torigian 14; Anya Namestnik 7; Morgan Barker 3; Kiera Pink 2; Norah Hoff 2; Syd Jones 2.
For the E.L. Crossley Cyclone: Addie Falardeau 8; Amelia Siolkowsky 8; Kadie Luciani 4; Claire Piekny 3; Leah Waselovich 2; Helena Siolkowsky 2.
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, the Niagara Catholic District School Board, the University of Niagara Falls and Joe Feta’s.
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, the Niagara Catholic District School Board and Joe Feta’s.
