Sarnia, Ontario


   

 

 

Huron Lakers Girls Basketball Club

Atom

2009-2010
 


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.



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