Girls high school basketball tips off
Emma Hemphill got a big piece of her life back Wednesday.
The 16-year-old, Grade 11 student stepped back on the court with her Holy Cross Raiders teammates for the first time in over a year after the COVID pandemic wiped out last season.
“I was so excited,” Hemphill said after netting 12 points to lead the Raiders to a 36-34 triumph over the visiting Denis Morris Reds in a Niagara Catholic Athletic Association senior girls basketball game. “I couldn’t wait to play.”
Hemphill said there was so much she missed about suiting up for her school.
“I think the whole game, but mainly being able to play with your teammates and work together and it’s just a fun sport to play,” she said.
Hemphill did her best to keep in shape during the pandemic, working out online with her Niagara JUEL teammates.
“We did Zoom calls to work out or do ball handling and then once we got in here we were practicing a bunch of mornings, just trying to get some cardio in and get back in shape,” she said.
Holy Cross coach Erin Gauthier was thrilled to see the girls back in action.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” she said. “They were so excited to come out for that first practice in September and the tryouts. You could just see the energy level kind of come up and they’re just so pumped to come out on the court and play.
“They were just looking forward to this season and being out there and having fun and being with their teammates.”
Gauthier said it wasn’t the same around the school without the outlet of sports.
“It was long and I’m sure it was long for the players as well,” she said. “I found I just had a ton of time on my hands. You want to put in that time, you want to spend that time with your players and you want to develop what we have here.
“We’ve got great talent, we have a lot of skill, and I think we have a lot of potential.”
Hemphill is front and centre of that talent pool.
“I ask her for that leadership,” Gauthier said. “She’s got a lot of great basketball sense and her skill level is very high. So I’m gonna ask her to step up to a greater level and to be a leader, both on and off the court for me. She’s going to be out there running some plays, and I’m expecting her to score 8-10-12 points and then looking to guard some of the top players on the other team.
“I’m going to ask a lot of her.”
Hemphill has no problem with that.
“I have to be a leader and help girls out that aren’t as familiar with the sport and keep the team up when we have down times when we’re losing.”
Denis Morris coach Mike Pullar enjoyed see his players get back in the swing of things as well.
“I thought it was great. The kids were excited to play and it was a good atmosphere — you could tell by how loud the gym was that there was a game going on — even with no fans at all.”
Pullar said the lack of sports was a big part of a difficult year for all involved.
“I think it was just another thing that piled on to a very tough, tough year,” he said. “ You can feel that with the sports being added, it’s something that they feel comfortable with, there’s an outlet. I think they realize more now what they were missing.”
STATS PACK
Raiders 36 Reds 34
BPSN Star of the Game: Holy Cross guard Emma Hemphill with 12 points while running the offence.
Holy Cross Raiders: Hemphill 12; Mairead Newhouse 8; Olivia Dion 6; Sophia Franklin 5; Tessa Vahrmeyer 3; Tawnie Cunningham 2.
For the Denis Morris Reds: Bianca Sestili 21; Aevyonah St. Amand 6; Victorine Ilungo 3; Jenna Angle 2; Kryona Hall 2.
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