Flyers rebound after sluggish start
Anyone walking into the gym at halftime of the Eden Flyers-Holy Cross Raiders game Wednesday night at Governor Simcoe no doubt did a double take if they checked the score clock.
The Flyers trailed 10-7 at the half— a score more suited for a football game —before finally turning things around in the final 16 minutes to escape with a 37-21 victory in a championship round quarter-final contest at the Second Annual BPSN Girls Basketball Tournament.
“We always bring our defensive intensity but our offensive intensity is where we didn’t necessarily bring it to begin with,” Eden coach Jonathon Thorpe said. “The first quarter or quarter-and-a-half, that was not our team. We started to look a little better at the end of the second quarter and you could tell in the third and fourth it was a completely different team.”
So what was the difference?
“I told them to smarten up at halftime,” Thorpe smiled.
Thorpe said despite the score, there was no panic.
“The message was that we don’t have to rush to get shots, still stay in our systems, stay calm and things will begin to work for us.”
Eden guard/small forward Annika Rigley couldn’t believe the score at the half either.
“At the beginning our offence needed a little bit of work,” the 15-year-old, Grade 11 student said.
Rigley said the key was to keep from overreacting.
“It’s a really mental game,” she said. “We had to stay calm, work as a team, encourage each other and just play with all you got.
Rigley, who plays club ball at the JUEL level, is enjoying her time with the Flyers.
“I’m really, really excited. I’m just glad to play on this team. It’s a great group of girls and I’m really happy to play with them,” she said.
Thorpe counts on the versatile Rigley in a number of areas.
“Annika is a bit of a vocal leader out there. She understands the systems we run and she’s able to help other girls out,” he said. “She’s an excellent offensive threat. She can finish with her left or right hand and because she has some height on her, we’re looking for her to board for us obviously.”
The Flyers now square off versus the No. 1-ranked Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs Thursday.
“Very excited for the girls,” Thorpe said. “Not everybody’s career in high school basketball do they get a chance to play in the semifinals of a big tournament like this so I’m thrilled for them.”
STATS PACK
Flyers 37 Raiders 21
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Eden’s Annika Rigley with seven points.
For the Eden Flyers: Rigley 7; Ashlynn Caverly 8; Anna Deliyannis 8; Alyssa Niewets 4; Chloe DiLalla 3; Tye Ogunkoye 2; Madeline Templeman 2. Three points unaccounted for on game sheet.
For the Holy Cross Raiders: Taurie Cunningham 8; Claire Martires 5; Sophia Franklin 2; Tessa Vahrmeyer 2; Mairead Newhouse 2; Kaizelle Ramos 1.
CONSOLATION ROUND
St. Francis 49 Denis Morris 19
Kari Zukowsky scored 15 and Emilia Circa added 12 as the St. Francis Phoenix defeated the Denis Morris Reds in consolation semifinal round play.
Also scoring for St. Francis were: Alica Kryzanowski (9); Rozlyn Ciocca (5); Kyla Pylypiw (5); Riyana Chahaid (2); Sydney Chavez (1).
Scoring for Denis Morris were: Aeryonah St. Amand-Thomas (11); Hailey Davidson (5); Isabella Molek (3): Amy Venneri (1).
Up next: Consolation semifinals Thursday at Governor Simcoe: Smithville Christian vs. Saint Francis at 2:30 p.m. and Thorold vs. E.L. Crossley at 4 p.m. Championship semifinals Thursday at Governor Simcoe: Churchill vs. Eden at 5:30 p.m. and Myer vs. Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m.
The tournament is made possible with the help of primary sponsors, Women Networking in Sports of Niagara and Tora Inc., and secondary sponsors, Alltech Automotive, St. Catharines CYO Basketball, Pelham Panthers basketball, Niagara Falls Red Raiders basketball, Niagara Rangers basketball and the Niagara District Referees Association.
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