Two out of three ain’t bad for Juel Prep
The Niagara Juel Prep girls basketball team won two of three league games in recent action.
Niagara thumped the Brampton Warriors 80-41 and edged the Tri-County Soldiers 58-53 before falling 54-32 to Windsor St. Clair.
Against Brampton, Niagara built quarter leads of 17-8, 34-15 and 64-23 on the way to the win.
“We struggled to get our offence going in the first half, but came out strong in the third quarter and put up 30 points,” Niagara assistant coach Kevin Stienstra said. “From there, we were able to coast to a comfortable win. The team did a great job playing with energy, especially coming out of the half and winning the third quarter.”
Top performers for Niagara were: Camilla Moscato (Notre Dame) with 15 points and six boards; Lyla Rodrigue (Centennial) and Kate Kolbinson (Port Colborne) with 13 points each; Maude Law (E. L. Crossley) with 11 points; Ava Briggs (Notre Dame) with nine points and five rebounds; and, Maria DiFlavio (Blessed Trinity) with eight points and five rebounds.
In the victory over Tri-County, Niagara rolled to quarter leads of 22-12, 41-24 and 48-36.
“We came out strong in the first half with great energy and hustle, and built a comfortable lead at halftime. Unlike the first game, we came out a little flat in the third quarter and let them back into the game,” Stienstra said. “We had trouble scoring in the second half, but were able to show good resilience and determination to hold on for the victory. It wasn’t the prettiest victory, but as I told the team, a win is a win.”
Leading the way for Niagara were: Kolbinson and Moscato with 11 points and seven boards each; Briggs with 10 points; Law with seven points and five rebounds; and Teagan Fraser (Blessed Trinity) with six points.
Versus Windsor St. Clair, Niagara faced quarter deficits of 14-9, 31-18 and 42-20.
“We just were never able to find our rhythm and really struggled to score and take care of the ball. The team continued to work hard, and gave a good effort on the defensive end, but we just couldn’t get the shots to drop,” Stienstra said. “Having beaten them earlier in the year you could tell they were motivated to get some revenge, and unfortunately we were not able to match their level of intensity and effort in the game.”
Topping the stat sheet for Niagara were: Law with eight points and seven boards; Talia Hultink (Smithvillle Christian) with five points; Moscato with four points and five rebounds; and, Briggs with nine rebounds.
