Gharib leads Flyers past Reds
Lamiss Gharib brings a lot to the court for the Eden Flyers senior girls basketball team.
“She is very intense as a defender, she gets after the ball, maybe sometimes too aggressively, but she works hard,” Eden head coach Jonathon Thorpe said. “Offensively, she is very athletically gifted and we are working on polishing some of that.”
Gharib, the only returning Grade 12 starter on the Flyers roster, scored five points Tuesday and had a strong game defensively as Eden opened play in the Second Annual BPSN Girls Basketball Tournament with a 42-21 win over the Denis Morris Reds.
“She brings energy, athleticism and defensive intensity,” Thorpe said.
The 17-year-old St. Catharines resident, who is playing travel ball for the Niagara Falls Red Raiders this season, know what she has to do on the floor as a Grade 12 starter.
“I have to push myself, support the girls and work hard.”
She agrees energy and defensive energy are a big part of her game and Gharib tries to do that while having fun.
The Mississauga native, who moved to St. Catharines during the pandemic, feels the Flyers have tons of potential.
“We’re good, we are tough and everyone brings something to the court,” she said. “We want to get to zone, win that and go far.”
Personally, she wants to take her game to another level this season.
“I want to work on my ballhandling, taking charge on the court with the ball and shooting.”
Gharib also wants to look for her shot more.
“Sometimes it is pressure and sometimes I am not confident with the ball,” she said.
Thorpe liked how his team started defensively against the Reds.
“We held them to four points for a while and offensively we were a little bit sloppier than what I would like to see,” he said. “We need to finish a little bit better but otherwise I was pretty happy.”
This year’s version of the Flyers features the starting lineup from last year’s Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association junior championship team.
“I don’t want to put a limit on it. The girls are excited that we could go deep into the playoffs and that we can do well in this tournament so I am excited,” he said. “Also that group will be together for next year as well so it is a perfect opportunity to get a ton of experience playing at the senior level.”
Denis Morris head coach Mike Pullar had no complaints about his team’s performance versus Eden.
“It wasn’t bad. We hung in there,” he said. “We haven’t really practised much so we were trying to guard a team that is pretty balanced.”
The Reds battled hard to the final whistle.
“We tried to. That was one of our goals,” Pullar said, about his young team. “We are trying to coach them up in the games.”
STATS PACK
Flyers 42 Reds 21
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Eden’s Lamiss Gharib with five points and a strong game on defence.
For the Eden Flyers: Olivia Davidson 9; Annika Rigby 6; Ashlynn Caverly 5; Lamiss Gharib 5; Anna Deliyannis 5; Madelaine Templeman 4; Alyssa Nieuwets 4; Leah Schouten 2; Iye Ogunkoye 2.
For the Denis Morris Reds: Tessa Pingue 11; Amy Venneri 7; Hailey Davidson 3.
Up next: Consolation quarter-finals at Governor Simcoe: Thorold vs. Brebeuf at 2:30 p.m. and Denis Morris vs.Saint Francis at 4 p.m. Championship quarter-finals at Governor Simcoe: Myer vs. Simcoe at 5:30 p.m. and Holy Cross vs. Eden at 7 p.m. Consolation quarter-finals at Churchill: Crossley vs. Churchill juniors at 2:30 p.m. and St. Mike’s vs. Smithville Christian at 4 p.m. Championship quarter-finals at Churchill: Churchill seniors vs. Saint Paul at 5:30 p.m. and Notre Dame vs. Blessed Trinity at 7 p.m.
BULLDOGS 77 MUSTANGS 16
Brookelyn Keltos and Megan Barker scored 16 points each to lead the defending champion Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs senior girls basketball team to a 77-16 victory over the Saint Michael Mustangs in opening-round play of the Second Annual BPSN Girls Basketball Tournament Tuesday at Churchill.
Also scoring for the Bulldogs were: Yemi Oladipo (10), Kate Smyth (9), Lauryn Cosby (9), Anya Namestnik (6), Paige Cook (5), Samantha Cormier (4) and Morgan Barker (2).
Replying for Saint Michael were Taya Paone (8), Jaime Manlow (7) and Brianna DeMarchi (1).
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.
