Team North takes top 10 game
Emma Vendittelli was all smiles after being named Team South Player of the Game Wednesday night at the 18th Annual Niagara Girls High School All-Star game held at the St. Catharines Collegiate.
“It’s a good feeling,” the A.N. Myer student said after Team South dropped a 53-52 decision to Team North in the Top 10 game. “It’s really good to get out there and play against good players and to be singled out like that. It’s a good opportunity and it feels great.”
Vendittelli, who plays club ball for Niagara Juel, said the familiarity with other players made it a fun experience and helped with finding the right balance of intensity and fun for an exhibition contest.
“A lot of us did know each other, so it helped a lot,” she said. “I’ve played with a lot of them in the past couple of years. A lot of us knew our work ethic and stuff like that with the game, so it did help a lot when playing.
“Basically, we just tried to have more communication, moving off the ball, and I feel that helped us get going a bit. We started getting more comfortable with each other but everybody got the energy up.”
Vendittelli said the competitive juices started to flow in the final minutes with the outcome still in the balance.
“I have some players on this team that I play with outside of school and then also people that I play with outside of school on the other team so we’re all basically bickering back and forth, just making it competitive,” she smiled. “Obviously that brings more fun to the game too, playing against your friends and stuff like that. We were going back and forth a lot between each other which also gets the competitiveness up a lot too so it was a good game to play.”
Vendittelli, a 17-year-old, Grade 12 student, is planning a career in education and will miss the camaraderie of high school sports.
“I have so many friends from playing sports like basketball. I know so many people from high school,” she said. “It’s fun playing against them and even people I grew up with I play against them and I love our coaches.”
Lita Sutor played a key role in helping Team North come from behind to record a 53-52 victory. The Grade 11 student at Blessed Trinity netted 14 points in the win to earn Player of the Game honours.
She enjoyed competing in the game for the first time.
“It was fun, I liked playing with my teammates and just having a good time.”
The Niagara Juel player went into the game with a specific goal in mind.
“I wanted to get player of the game. It was my goal.”
The player of the game award and winning were her highlights of the evening.
In addition to her BT teammates, there were plenty of familiar faces in the game for Sutor. Team North featured Juel teammates, Shorleigh Burrows, Reece Bolibruck, Keira Teske and Kate de Vries, while on Team South were Juel teammates, Hannah Braye, Emma Vendittelli, Ava Briggs and Shania Hintenberger.
“I like playing with them. We were talking throughout the game.”
Sutor is taking basketball one season at a time.
“Right now I am playing Juel and I will see if I can get further and get to university.”
She feels her game is getting better each year.
“I am trying to work on my leadership now, being assertive with the ball and being aggressive.”
STATS PACK
Team North 53 Team South 52
Cat’s Caboose Players of the Game: Team North’s Lita Sutor and Team South’s Emma Vendittelli.
Team North: Lita Sutor, Blessed Trinity 14; Reece Bolibruck, West Niagara 11; Anya Namestnik, Sir Winston Churchill 5; Kiera Teske, Governor Simcoe 5; Shorleigh Burrows, Eden 5; Kate De Vries, Eden 4; Maria DiFlavio, Blessed Trinity 3; Addi Torigan, Sir Winston Churchill 3; Kaydence Hales, Thorold 2. Also participating: Kaylee Giesbrecht, Saint Francis.
Team South: Camilla Moscato, Notre Dame 11; Addison Falardeau, E.L. Crossley 9; Emma Vendittelli, A.N. Myer 8; Hannah Braye, Westlane 7; Ava Briggs, Notre Dame 6; Sam Dino, Saint Paul 5; Ava Walker, A.N.Myer 2; Claire Piekney, E.L. Crossley 2; Shania Hintenberger, Lakeshore Catholic 2. Also participating: Amelia Siolkowsky, E.L. Crossley.
