Regular Season: DNP (BCI W 36-30 at JHSS tournament)
The matchup that most people around the WCSSAA junior girls league were anticipating came to fruition on Saturday afternoon, with both the Bluevale Knights and Jacob Hespeler Hawks posting convincing victories over WODSS and Preston respectively.
Both clubs have a large contingent of grade 10 players on their roster (who even had success in grade 9); Bluevale is led by Hannah Fishbein, Natalie Bishop, Tessa Dent, and Sarah Hamm. All four are legit scoring options and can go off for 15+ on any given night. In fact, Fishbein and Bishop had 23 each in the semifinals.
As for Jacob Hespeler, they are led by guard Taylor Dennis, and forwards Brooklyn Wright and Naomi Adams. Wright is a double-double machine, while Dennis provides excellent ball-handling and shooting. Adams is a steady performer for the Hawks, and they will need her to have another solid outing on this evening.
Though the clubs did not meet during the regular season, Bluevale did defeat Jacob Hespeler 36-30 in the championship game of Hespeler's home tournament. Given the enormity of the game, I'm anticipating another relatively close, low-scoring game here.
For Bluevale to win, they'll have to continue their recipe for success that has brought them here --- balanced scoring, solid rebounding, and playing within their team concept.
The Hawks, meanwhile, will have to take a bit better care of the ball (compared to Saturday) if they hope to hoist the championship plaque tonight. That said, their defensive intensity can be suffocating and they'll need to be on their best to help stop a Knights' squad that averaged a shade over 47 PPG during league games.
All said, I look for the Knights to hoist their 2nd championship in 3 years tonight.
Mark's Pick: Bluevale 42, Jacob Hespeler 34
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