Niagara JUEL fourth in province; JUEL prep fifth
The Niagara JUEL team huddles at the provincial championships. Photos by NEIL CAMPBELL.
The Niagara JUEL girls basketball team finished fourth in the provincial league at the year-end tournament.
“The coaching staff would like to thank all the girls on the team for all their hard work this season and dedication to getting better,” head coach Frank Keltos said.
Niagara opened the provincial championships with a 86-44 win over Simcoe-Barrie team.
“It was a team effort and everyone scored,” Keltos said.
Kaley DeMont (Churchill) led the team with 17 points, three rebounds and three steals. Ally Sentance (Churchill) had 14 points, four rebounds and five steals, and Katamina Mansaray recorded 12 points two assists and six steals.
In its next game, Niagara edged energized an Mississauga team 60-57. Elle Cooney led the way with 20 points and 11 rebounds Destiny Paquin (Centennial) had her strongest outing of the year with 11 points and five rebounds.
In a winner-take-all game vs Hamilton Transway, Niagara came out on top in thrilling game 64-54. Sentance led with 20 points and four rebounds, Madison O’Brien (Blessed Trinity) contributed 11 points and Cooney had 10 points, three rebounds and three steals.
In the semifinal game versus the top-seeded Advantage Titans from Whitby, Niagara lost 68-35.
“The team shot 20 per cent from the field and 38 per cent from the free throw line and could not getting anything going all game,” Keltos said. “It was a great defensive game, holding Advantage to 68 points and 40 per cent shooting.
Niagara concluded the tournament by losing 63-59 to the London Ramblers in the bronze-medal game. Top performers for Niagara were: Sentance, 17 points, six rebounds and two steals; DeMont, 10 points and three rebounds; and, Mansaray, 10 points, four rebounds and three steals.
Members of the squad, coached by Keltos and assistants Jim Findlay and Joel Whitty, were Sentance, O’Brien, Demont, Mansaray, Cooney, Sydney Grummett (E.L. Crossley), Tori Rigas-DiDomenico (A.N. Myer), Molly Taylor (A.N. Myer), Paquin, Emily Campbell (Centennial), Taylor Doyle (GFESS) and Olivia Krieger (Churchill).
Next year’s team tryouts will begin in August. Look for information on BP Sports Niagara in August.
NIAGARA JUEL PREP FIFTH
The Niagara Juel Prep capped off an excellent season by finishing fifth in the league championships in Guelph.
Niagara went into the championships ranked seventh out of 17 teams.
At the year-end banquet, Eden’s Madalyn Weinert was recognized as a First Team All-Star, All Defensive Team member and a winner of a player of the week award.
In pool play, Niagara beat Ottawa Elite 61-58 and lost 81-72 Mississauga 81-72 before defeating Ottawa Elite 67-50 in a cross-over game. Playing for fifth spot, Niagara defeated the Advantage Titans 75-73 in overtime.
“All players worked hard to improve all season and gave everything they had in all four games,” head coach Sue Sentance said. “Congratulations to the entire team for an incredible season.”
Top scorers for the weekend were Weinert, Vienna Vercesi, Allison Addy, Jordan Wilton and Thea Lawson.
Other members of the team were Kaelin Sutor, Ella O’Connor, Tia Pucci, Megan Barker, Bianca Sestili, Ella Turner, Reagan Emonds, Thea Lawson, Brookelyn Keltos and Jamie Addy.
