DM Reds back on the basketball map
Tessa’s Pingue’s value to the Denis Morris Reds goes far beyond the scoresheet.
The 16-year-old, Grade 11 student guard rarely hits double digits in scoring, but that is the least of her concern.
Pingue is more than satisfied to run the offence and play great defence, something she did once again Friday night to lead the Reds to an exciting 44-39 win over the Thorold Golden Eagles in the consolation championship final of the BPSN High School Basketball Tournament at Governor Simcoe.
“It was really exciting,” Pingue said. “For the past two years we haven’t won a game and this season it was kind of unexpected because we lost a lot of travel players but I’m just really happy for our school and my teammates.
“I know we’re going to excel the rest of the season.”
DM coach George Berry gushed with praise when asked about Pingue.
“She is the glue for our team,” Berry said. “She is selfless, doesn’t care about stats. All she cares about is guarding her check, playing good defence and looking for the right opportunities.”
Pingue plays at the travel level for the Pelham Panthers and as such feels it’s her job to be a go-to player.
“I’m one of the older ones and I play on a travel team. I feel that pressure of having to score a lot but once I get out on the court it feels easy to make a play and not really worry about shooting and scoring but creating an opportunity to win for our team, not for myself,” she said.
The Reds raced out to a quick 11-2 lead after one quarter but the Golden Eagles stuck around and finally grabbed the lead for a few possessions in the fourth quarter.
“Oh, my gosh. When they came back — what a great team and they were missing their best player — but they pulled together and actually had the lead with a couple of minutes left. For us to come back, I’m just so proud of these girls,” Berry said.
Pingue correctly pointed out how essential it was for the Reds to keep their cool while the Golden Eagles pressed to get back in the game.
“I think we definitely started to feel the pressure a little bit, we starting fouling, but we had to calm down a little bit and take a deep breath and collect ourselves and remain on defence, hands up,” she said.
The championship comes on the heels of a pair of winless seasons for the Reds.
“It puts on the map now. Now people will say DM is back and they’re no joke. They can play,” Berry said.
Thorold coach Andrew Thomson was proud of his squad to make it to the consolation final.
“It’s all positives. They’ve answered the bell to the pressure. In the past we’ve collapsed but they didn’t this time. They are going to learn and grow from it,” he said. “We loved every second of it and the girls had fun. It’s been awhile since Thorold has gotten to a Friday night so I told the girls to enjoy it and I think they did.”
STATS PACK
Reds 44 Golden Eagles 39
DM’s Tessa Pingue with three points while running the offence and playing solid defence.
Denis Morris Reds: Pingue 3; Sofia Sestili 16; Aeryonah St. Amand Thomas 11; Jenna Berry 8; Neveah Jones 4; Trinity King 2.
Thorold Golden Eagles: Kaydence Hales 22, Portia Watts 7, Ashley Mayhew 6, Layla Gallant, Kyle Gallant 2.
The tournament is made possible with the help of Women Networking in Sports of Niagara, Tora Inc., Regional Doors and Hardware, Bromac Construction Inc., the Brock women’s basketball program, Alltech Automotive, St. Catharines CYO Basketball, Pelham Panthers basketball, Niagara Falls Red Raiders basketball, Niagara Rangers basketball, Lasting Images, the Niagara District Referees Association, the District School Board of Niagara and the Niagara Catholic District School Board.
