Girls basketball all-stars announced
Churchill’s Kate Smyth was one of 40 players chosen to compete in the 17th Annual Niagara Girls All-Star Basketball Games.
Fans of girls high school basketball will get an early Christmas present with the staging of the 17th Annual Niagara Girls All-Star Games at St. Catharines Collegiate on Wednesday, Dec. 20.
The Top 20 game will be played at 6:30 p.m. and the Top 10 game will start at 7:45 p.m.
Organizer Frank Keltos is a big fan of the evening.
“Over the past 15 years plus being involved in organizing the game, players have thanked me for running it and they appreciate playing in game and being selected,” he said. “It has been a positive experience for all schools and the players. We have done our best to get players from every team.”
Keltos feels the games are an important part of the girls high school basketball scene.
“For a lot of the players, it is their last basketball game and for some it has been a great experience to play with some of the players on other teams they have played against for four years,” he said. “I do it because I know these kinds of experiences happen once in a lifetime for these girls. You want girls to feel just as important as boys and they get to be a part of the same experience as the boys get.”
The best part of the night for Keltos is the camaraderie between the players.
“My favourite part is the smiles and conversation from all the girls on the bench and afterwards talking about the game. I like that they all want to take pictures of their teammates to capture the memories from the game.”
A number of groups help make the night a success. St Catharines CYO Rebels pays for the shirts, the Brock University and Niagara College women’s basketball programs provide player of the game awards and the Niagara District Basketball Referees Association refs the games at no cost.
The teams are selected based on nominations sent in by coaches to Keltos and co chair Kate Harpur.
“I then put together the teams from the nominations from the coaches that they give us in order. Teams that made it to OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) or SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association) get more consideration for the number of players but every team that submits names gets one player on team,” he said.
Admission to the game is $5 and all proceeds go to Gillian’s Place.
Below are the rosters for the games:
North Top 10: Kate Smyth and Anya Namestnik from Sir Winston Churchill: Keira Teske from Governor Simcoe; Magdalena Vukojev and Brianna Davis from Blessed Trinity; Kaydence Hales from Thorold; Katie de Vries from Eden; Riyana Chahoud from Saint Francis; Mairead Newhouse from Holy Cross; and, Jenna Berry from Denis Morris.
South Top 10: L’Jayah Simmonds and Sara Lowry from E.L. Crossley; Reagan Cassan from Lakeshore Catholic; Mya Pierini and Jenna Saddler from A.N. Myer; Cadence Seredine from Port Colborne; Nicole Dixon and Ava Briggs from Notre Dame; Sam Dino from Saint Paul; and, Ava Froese from Smithville Christian.
North Top 20: Morgan Barker from Sir Winston Churchill; Annika Rigby and Shorleigh Burrows from Eden; Coco Van Nynatten from West Niagara; Shaylene Youngblunt from St. Catharines Collegiate; Sofia Sestili and Aeryonah St. Amand-Thomas from Denis Morris; Anna Hammond from Thorold; Kaylee Giesbrecht from Saint Francis; and, Maria DiFlavio from Blessed Trinity.
South Top 20: Desteny Murawiec from Eastdale; Brianna DeMarchi from Saint Michael; Addison Thornton from Lakeshore Catholic; Emma Sauer from Centennial; Carly Casciano from A.N. Myer; Riley Mueller from Greater Fort Erie; Taylor Carr from Westlane; Camilla Moscato from Notre Dame; Addison Vandenberg from Smithville Christian; and, Amelia Silokowsky from E.L. Crossley.
