Unfortunately for them, the Bluevale Knights decided not to play along with the script.
The Hawks, making their first basketball finals appearance (boys or girls) in the school's 25-year history, dropped a close 48-39 decision to the Knights, who captured their second WCSSAA junior title in the past three seasons.
Bluevale got off to a fast start in this one, scoring off the opening tip and then adding 5 more quick points to lead 7-0 just over a minute into the game. The Hawks, though, then settled in with a 13-4 run to lead after the opening frame 13-11.
The Hawks would take a slim 22-19 advantage heading into halftime in a half that went by pretty quickly ---- neither coach felt the need to call a timeout, and there were few fouls by either team (just 3 first half FT attempts).
Bluevale would rebound to take a 31-28 lead heading into the final quarter, where it appeared as though Hespeler's all-star point guard Taylor Dennis would take this game over.
Dennis slashed into the lane for a few layups and hit a couple of open jumpers to help the Hawks grab a 37-35 lead with under 5:00 to play.
However, Bluevale's own star guard, Natalie Bishop, hit a tough fall-away three-pointer with 4:30 to go that ended up giving BCI the lead for good.
With 2:00 to play, and Bluevale leading by five, a three-pointer by Dennis just --- and I mean JUST --- rimmed out; had it gone in, the lead would have been cut to two points, but Bluevale scored on their ensuing possession after securing the rebound, giving them a 7-point cushion. They then took a lot of time off the clock down the stretch while JHSS could not mount any further offensive attack.
The Knights, who can be led in scoring by any number of players, received 16 points from Hannah Fishbein, and 8 apiece from Victoria Gunpat, Tessa Dent, and Bishop. Sarah Hamm (4) and Beky Matejin (4) rounded out the Bluevale scoring.
Dennis hit for a game-high 18 points for the Hawks, while Brooklynn Wright had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Emma Sleeper and Brielle Viveen had 4 each, while Naomi Adams had 2.
Boxscore
BCI 11-08-12-17 = 48
JHSS 13-09-06-11 = 39
Bluevale
V. Gunpat 4-7 FG; 8 Reb, 2 Ast - 8 pts.
H. Fishbein 7-15 FG (0-1 3PT), 2-2 FT; 8 Reb, 1 Ast - 16 pts.
S. Hamm 1-8 FG (0-4 3PT); 2-2 FT, 2 Reb - 4 pts.
T. Dent 4-14 FG (0-1 3PT); 7 Reb, 1 Ast - 8 pts.
N. Bishop 3-12 FG (2-6 3PT); 8 Reb, 6 Ast - 8 pts.
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B. Matejin 2-3 FG; 1 Reb - 4 pts.
C. Schmidt 0-2 FG (0-1 3PT); 0 pts.
T. McIlwraith 0-1 FG; 1 Reb - 0 pts.
Field Goals: 21-62 (.339). Free-Throws: 4-4 (1.000). Three-Point Goals: 2-13 (.154).
Jacob Hespeler
E. Sleeper 2-3 FG, 0-1 FT; 4 pts.
N. Adams 1-11 FG; 9 Reb, 1 Ast - 2 pts.
M. Panabaker 0-3 FG, 0-2 FT; 4 Reb, 1 Ast - 0 pts.
B. Wright 5-14 FG (1-2 3PT); 11 Reb, 1 Ast - 11 pts.
T. Dennis 8-22 FG (0-5 3PT), 2-5 FT; 2 Reb, 3 Ast - 18 pts.
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B. Viveen 2-3 FG; 4 pts.
E. O'Krafka 0-1 FG; 0 pts.
Field Goals: 18-57 (.316). Free-Throws: 2-8 (.250). Three-Point Goals: 1-7 (.143)
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