Niagara Juel Prep mines bronze
The Niagara Juel Prep girls basketball team closed out its season with a bronze medal at the league championship weekend in Niagara.
Niagara defeated the Tri-County Soldiers 65-46 and Simcoe-Muskoka 65-46 before losing 62-53 to the St. Lawrence Lightning in the semifinals. The team rebounded by defeating Halton 63-52 in the bronze medal game.
“The season’s weekend playoffs were exhilarating to say the least. During the last two months, our team hit its stride and hasn’t looked back,” head coach Chris Moscato said. “Coming into the weekend in sixth place and finishing third overall is a testament to the girls’ grit, dedication and talent.”
It was truly a team effort.
“Every player contributed and played a significant role. The coaching staff couldn’t be any prouder of their efforts and results,” Chris Moscato said. “This is a really special team with an amazing group of young women. We will certainly miss our Grade 10s moving up and look forward to another strong season with a talented Niagara Juel Prep roster.”
Several members of the team won awards at the year-end banquet including: Diana Kastenka won the Community Service Award and was recognized with a Spirit Award; Maude Law received an award for All-Academics; Camilla Moscato and Ava Briggs won the Honour Roll Award for academic averages above 95 per cent; and, Camilla Moscato was selected for the Second All-Star Team.
In the victory over Tri-County, Niagara built quarter leads of 15-14, 29-25 and 56-35.
Top performers versus Tri-County were: Law (E. L. Crossley) with 16 points; Moscato (Notre Dame) with 14 points and eight rebounds; Ava Briggs (Notre Dame) with nine points; Jaylen Stienstra (Blessed Trinity) with seven points; Kate Kolbinson (Port Colborne) with five points; and, Talia Hultink (Smithvillle Christian) with seven rebounds.
In the victory over Simcoe-Muskoka, Niagara grabbed quarter leads of 17-16, 34-24 and 43-32.
Leading Niagara past Simcoe-Muskoka were: Moscato with 21 points and 12 rebounds; Law with 12 points; Briggs with 11 points and six rebounds; Hultink with six points and six boards; and, Kolbinson with six points.
In the loss to St. Lawrence, Niagara faced quarter deficits of 17-11, 29-25 and 43-36.
Topping the stat sheet for Niagara in the loss were: Kolbinson with 16 points and 15 rebounds; Briggs with 12 points and six boards; Hultink with seven points; Moscato with six points and five rebounds; and, Maria DiFlavio (Blessed Trinity) with five points.
Niagara jumped out to a 22-6 first-quarter lead over Halton and then lead 33-15 at the half and 42-32 after three quarters.
Topping the stat sheet for Niagara were: Moscato with 22 points and 11 boards; Law with 15 points and 10 rebounds; Stienstra with seven points and six boards; and, Kolbinson with six points.
Other members of the bronze-medal team were Lyla Rodrigue (Centennial), Teagan Fraser (Blessed Trinity), Kastenka (Bishop Ryan), Addi Torigian (Sir Winston Churchill), Avery Whaling (Blessed Trinity), Lidija Kopek and Madeline Leitch (Saint Michael).
