submitted photo
Sitting in front (left to
right): Ashley Cortez, Keirsten Tomkins
Kneeling (left to right):
Julia Iliescu, Grace McClure, Elise McInnis,
Brooke Henderson, Danielle Green and
Stephanie Shaw Standing
(left to right): Robyn Blair, Morgan Wagg,
Carmen Handy, Stephanie Maitland In
Back: Coaches Jill Henderson and
Brian Henderson
Huron Lakers Atom AA Win Gold at Blessed
Sacrament Tournament in Hamilton
The Huron Lakers
Girls AA Atom basketball team won the
prestigious Blessed Sacrament Tournament in
Hamilton on the weekend going 4-1 overall.
The Lakers started
the tournament with a heart stopping 35-33 loss
when an Oakville Vytis player made a desperation
3 pointer as the buzzer went. The Lakers, paced
by the 9 points of Carmen Handy in the opener
led the entire way before the improbable last
shot spoiled a spirited effort. Ashley Cortez,
playing point guard for the first time in her
career, had several important assists throughout
the game.
The loss put the
Lakers in jeopardy of missing the Championship
division, but they stormed back with two
convincing victories in pool play. First, they
upended the Pelham Panthers sparked by an 8
point run by Morgan Wagg, and strong rebounding
contributions by Elise McInnis and Danielle
Green, who also contributed 4 points for the
victory. Keirsten Tomkins scored 6 for the
winners.
The Lakers followed
up that win and went into their final round
robin game needing to win the game by 20 points
to guarantee a spot in the championship round.
Brooke Henderson scored the first 4 points of
the game to set the tone and lead the charge
that ended in a 39-14 win for the Lakers.
Henderson, Handy, Green, and Stephanie Shaw all
contributed 6 points in a balanced scoring
attack for the Lakers. Julia Iliescu had
several steals leading 3 points for the winners.
With the win, the
Lakers faced a talented St. Catharines Rebels
team that had beaten them earlier in the year by
10 points. A strong first half that had 8
different Lakers contribute with baskets put the
Lakers up by 11 at the break and they never
looked back, coasting to a 6 point win 33-27.
Energy created by Stephanie Maitland and Grace
McClure both playing point guard created several
opportunities throughout the game and strong
defensive rebounding by Robyn Blair shut down
the Rebels in the second half. Scoring was once
again balanced led by Handy with 9, and McClure,
Blair, and Wagg with 4 each.
The final was a
rematch of the first game loss to the Oakville
Vytis and was just as exciting as the first
game. A rough first half saw several fouls
called and the score tied at 15 at halftime.
Ashley Cortez led the Lakers with 6 points
overall and tenacious defense. Cortez had 4
fouls in the first half and managed to stay in
the game throughout which turned critical at the
end. Stephanie Shaw took over on defence and
shut down Oakville’s top player enough to keep
the Lakers in the game.
Down one with 10
seconds left and Oakville with a throw in deep
in Laker’s territory, Cortez stole the inbounds
pass, made a short pass to Wagg who got it down
the court to take a shot from the foul line.
The shot hit the front rim, but Robyn Blair was
there for the game winning put back with 1.0 on
the clock to secure the win. McInnis, Blair,
and Wagg all pitched in 4 for the winners.
Three of the four
teams the Lakers beat were ranked ahead of them
in the Provincial rankings going into the
tournament. As a result of the victory, the
Lakers will likely be ranked in the top 10 of
all atom teams in the province going into the
provincial championships at the end of March in
Orillia. |