When the Pauline Johnson Collegiate visited Assumption College on Thursday for a senior girls basketball game, some of the Thunderbirds were wishing they could challenge the Lions to another sport.
And the early 12-0 Lions lead en route to a 69-16 victory was a good indication why.
Another reason is that the Thunderbirds are chock-full of competitive athletes, many at a provincial level in a number of other sports.
"On this team, everybody plays everything from volleyball, rugby, soccer, to baseball," said Erika Hewson of the Thunderbirds.
"And at our school volleyball is our main sport, definitely not basketball. So I wish we could've played them in volleyball tonight."
Hewson said that she and her teammates came into Thursday night's game with the right frame of mind.
"It's tough but it's fun, " Hewson said.
"There's a reason why we came back for our fifth year, and it isn't basketball. I know it's tough losing every game, but I'm OK with it for now.
"It's competition and we like that challenge," she said. "And we're going to keep on going."
The T-Birds competitive spirit showed throughout the game, especially down low in the paint in the offensive end.
With the ball in their host's end, there were a number of big battles, especially when Amber Kozinski had the daunting task of going up against the Lions' Abby Heron.
Though the Lions won a majority of those battles, there were moments when Kozinski and her teammates' demeanor went from a look of defeat to victory.
One came when Kozinski pulled down a pair of rebounds and scored. And another came when Madeline Daily knocked down a three-pointer.
Daily ended up leading the T-Birds with five points, while Kozinski added four, and Brianne Lavellee netted three. Natasha Irwin and Kaitlyn Andrew rounded out the scoring with two each.
"It was a good feeling getting a couple points," Lavellee said. "We know when we play Paris and some of the other teams, stuff like that will go a long way."
In the second half, Lavellee and her teammates kept forging on, and despite scoring only one basket in the third quarter and adding five points in the fourth, they kept coming.
That is something the T-Birds players pride themselves on, and it showed in the fourth quarter.
While the Lions used the half to work on a number of things, the T-Birds showed plenty of progress, stringing together six to eight passes while running their offence.
"We don't give up," Lavellee said.
"That's what we're known for. We're all athletes and we know we all have our own sports. But when we're on the basketball court we don't give up. It's not in us to do that.
"When we see someone working hard out there, it gets us all going and makes you want to work that much harder."
Leading the way for the Lions was Heron, who netted 17 points, while Grade 9 standout Rikayla Baldin added 13 and Emily Gill scored 10.
Full D5 Results
Senior
Assumption 69, Pauline Johnson 16
ACS: Abby Heron 17, Rikayla Baldin 13, Emily Gill 10, Jerika Baldin 8, Sara Harris 6, Naomi Samuel 4, Alex VanDyk 4, Nicole Shea 2.
PJC: Madeline Daily 5, Amber Kozinski 4, Brianne Lavellee 3, Natasha Irwin 2, Kaitlyn Andrew 2.
St. John's 48, Brantford CI 18
SJC: Kendra Van Leeuwen 16, Bridget Monkman 8, Lauren Dubois 6, Brianna Bavota 4.
BCI: Victoria Waud 7, Melanie Guenette 7, Cara Humenvik 4.
North Park 38, Paris DHS 10
NPC: Abbey Sayles 10, Kyanna Wray 7.
PDHS: Marlie Stephens-Keresturi 4
Senior D5 Standings
1. Assumption 3-0
T2. St. John's 2-1
T2. North Park 2-1
T4. Paris 1-2
T4. Brantford CI 1-2
6. Pauline Johnson 0-3
Junior
Assumption 69, Pauline Johnson 7
ACS: Tatum Osborne 12, Jordyn Beda 9.
PJC: Kayla Mackenzie 3
St. John's 51, Brantford CI 4
(Scoring Details Unavailable)
North Park 46, Paris DHS 25
NPC: Brooke Cesar 14, Halle Sitarski 12.
PDHS: Avery Hamill 16, Courtney Boehmer 6.
D5 Junior Standings
T1. St. John's 3-0
T1. North Park 3-0
3. Paris 2-1
4. Assumption 1-2
T5. Pauline Johnson 0-3
T5. Brantford CI 0-3
Retrieved From: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2012/09/27/pjc-never-says-die
