Bulldogs punch return ticket to AA OFSAA
The Sir Winston Churchill senior girls were the Comeback Kids at Thursday’s Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association AA basketball playdowns at Holy Cross.
The defending Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AA champions trailed E.L. Crossley most of the game before recording a 39-37 win in the semifinals and then had to mount a furious fourth-quarter comeback to knock off the Dundas Valley Gryphons 51-49 in the final.
Dundas Valley opened the game on a 9-0 run and led 20-10 after one quarter, 29-26 at the half and 42-35 heading into the final quarter.
Anya Namestnik hit three treys as part of a 16-0 Bulldogs’ run to open the final eight minutes before the Gryphons closed the game out with a 7-0 run of their own. Dundas Valley missed six of eight free throws down the stretch and Churchill’s Mya Pupek sealed the victory by deflecting an outlet pass late in the game.
“I think both games we came out really, really slow and definitely not at our best but we picked it up and that pushed us to win both games,” Churchill point guard Kate Smyth said.
Smyth is the only returning member from last year’s OFSAA championship team and she was equally proud of both SOSSA championship teams; last year’s squad that dominated most of the competition and this year’s team that had to scratch and claw its way back to OFSAA.
“Both teams are great. I do personally like being able to walk over people but having a challenge is also really good as well. This genuinely proves that we are still as great as last year.”
Smyth admitted a few doubts crept into her head.
“I think they went into the game thinking they could beat us too. I had a little bit of doubt after we stayed to watch them play against Saint Francis,” she said. “They could shoot and they get all their points off the three and I was a little nervous going in.”
Churchill head coach Frank Keltos was breathing a sigh of relief when the day was over.
“We have been coming out really slow, kind of methodical and not really embracing the moment but almost like Mariano Rivera, we come in with a closer and we find a way in the fourth quarter to finish games off,” he said. “We hit timely shots, we have a big shot by Norah (Hoff) on one drive after we hadn’t gotten any points inside and then the tip at the end by Mya was massive. We were grinding it out and it was awesome.”
It was much different than last year.
“Every year and every team is unique and you figure out what your strengths are and you figure out what kind of offence you should run with that kind of group,” he said. “And defences too. We can’t press because we are not as deep and not as quick. I told them to enjoy it, grit it out as best you can at the end and that’s what they did. It was a joy. These guys were pretty excited to win.”
STATS PACK
Bulldogs 51 Gryphons 49
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Churchill’s Anya Namestnik with 25 points, including three big three-pointers in the fourth quarter.
For the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs: Anya Namestnik 25; Kate Smyth 14; Norah Hoff 7; Mya Pupek 4
Shannen Short 3.
For the Dundas Valley Gryphons: Payton Baker 19; Olivia McCulloch 16; Sophia McCulloch 6; Jemma Klein 6; Sadie Hutchinson 2.
Up next: Churchill advances to the OFSAA championship Nov. 23-25 in Guelph.
SEMIFINALS
GRYPHONS 61 PHOENIX 52
The Saint Francis Phoenix fell 61-52 to the Dundas Valley Gryphons in the SOSSA semifinals Thursday.
Scoring for the Phoenix were: Rozyln Ciocca 22; Riyana Chahoud 14; Kaylee Giesbrecht 8; Kyla Plylypiw 5; and, Sydney Chavez 3.
Top scorers for Dundas Valley were: Payton Baker 22; Jemma Klein 15 and Sophia McCulloch 9.
BULLDOGS 39 CYCLONE 37
The Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs escaped with a 39-37 victory over the E.L. Crossley Cyclone in the SOSSA semifinals.
Scoring for the Bulldogs were: Kate Smyth 19; Anya Namestnik 11; Norah Hoff 3; Morgan Barker 3; and, Mya Pupek 3.
Scoring for the E.L. Crossley Cyclone were: Amelia Silokowsky 14; Katie Luciani 7; Leah Waselovich 5; Sara Lowry 5; Addie Falardeau 4; and L’Jayah Simmonds 2.
