Both teams were clicking on offense and piled up the points (including 70 combined in the first half) as the Lions held off a late WODSS surge to win 68-61 in the game played at Centennial CVI in Guelph.
Both teams started strong, with Assumption using their well-tuned fastbreak offense to get a few easy looks in the early going and take a 10-4 lead. However, the Crusaders got 7 from Maddy Horst in the quarter to take an 18-16 lead after one.
Assumption's Abby Heron had a great second quarter, hitting a couple of lay-ups and knocking in several mid-range jumpers; she finished the first half with 15 points as the Lions assumed a 40-30 lead.
WODSS shot a respectable 44.4% in the first half, and they certainly played well --- but the Lions were on fire, going 19-for-30 (63.3%) in the opening 16 minutes.
The Crusaders would maintain contact in the third quarter, and they started strong early. Becca Payne nailed a three-pointer off a steal to start the second half, quickly trimming the deficit back down to single digits (40-33). The teams would trade baskets for the next few minutes, until a deep (and I mean a good 2' behind the line) three-pointer by Jerika Baldin pushed things back up to 10 (50-40) with 3:00 left.
It looked as though the Lions would seize some momentum off of that, as they pushed things out to 54-40 before WODSS' Hope Eagleson made a nice drive and lay-up stemmed the tide before the end of the third quarter, which finished 56-42 in favour of the Lions.
Of course, if you thought it would be over there --- you were wrong.
WODSS was able to keep the deficit in the neighbourhood of 10 points through the first four minutes, and a Payne lay-up and a Maddy Horst free throw cut things to 7 before Emily Gill made an Assumption basket to bump things to 62-53.
The ensuing possession, though, was huge for the Crusaders as Alisha Glendinning was fouled --- making her first free-throw attempt while teammate Kyla Burrough gathered in the offensive rebounded and put back the second attempt, making this a 6-point game with two minutes to go.
After a Rikayla Baldin lay-in, WODSS guard Maddy Horst tried her best to bring the Crusaders back, knocking down a three from the corner and adding a two-point jumper off a steal; this flurry cut things to 64-61 with 1:11 to go.
Unfortunately for Crusader fans in attendance, that's as close as they would get as an Emily Gill putback and a couple Assumption free-throws iced it in a 68-61 final.
Though Assumption held her in check during the second half, Abby Heron was sensational at both ends of the floor, leading the Lions with 19 points on a blistering 9-of-11 from the floor. She added 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Grade 9 PG Rikayla Baldin was impressive in pushing the ball and igniting Assumption's fast-break offense; she had an equally impressive statline, going 6-for-8 from the floor for 14 points, while dropping 7 assists.
Also on the scoresheet for Assumption were Emily Gill (11), Sara Harris (10), Jerika Baldin (7), and Alex Van Dyk (7).
The terrific backcourt of Becca Payne (18 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist) and Maddy Horst (16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) led the way for the Crusaders. The duo combined to hit 7 threes, shooting nearly 50% from deep in the process (7-of-15).
Alisha Glendinning (9), Tess Pettigrew (6), Hope Eagleson (a nice 6 point, 6 rebound effort off the bench), Libby Brenneman (4) and Kyla Burrough (2) rounded out the Crusader scoring.
On a personal note, this was arguably one of the most entertaining and exciting senior girls' games that I've been to ---- and I've seen my fair share. It had a bit of everything, including good offense, good defense, and solid all-around play by both teams. If these teams can play like they did on Saturday, they can certainly make some noise in league playoffs and at "AAAA" CWOSSA.
Meanwhile, Assumption dominated Kitchener Resurrection 78-37 in the tournament's championship final. Abby Heron (20), Alex Van Dyk (12) and Jerika Baldin (11) were all in double figures in that one.
Boxscore
ACS 16-24-16-12 = 68
WODSS 18-12-14-17 = 61
Assumption (68)
R. Baldin 6-8 FG, 2-2 FT, 1 Reb, 7 Ast - 14 Pts.
J. Baldin 3-7 FG, 0-3 FT, 3 Reb, 4 Ast - 7 Pts.
A. Heron 9-11 FG, 1-2 FT, 5 Reb, 4 Ast - 19 Pts.
E. Gill 5-13 FG, 1-4 FT, 8 Reb, 4 Ast - 11 Pts.
S. Harris 5-8 FG, 0-0 FT, 6 Reb, 3 Ast - 10 Pts.
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A. VanDyk 2-9 FG, 2-2 FT, 3 Reb, 3 Ast - 7 Pts.
N. Samuel 0-1 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 1 Ast - 0 Pts.
N. Shea 0-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
Field Goals: 30-59 (.508). Free-Throws: 6-13 (.462). Three-Point Goals: 2-4, .500 (A. Van Dyk 1-1, J. Baldin 1-3).
Waterloo-Oxford (61)
B. Payne 6-15 FG, 2-2 FT, 6 Reb, 1 Ast - 18 Pts.
M. Horst 5-13 FG, 3-4 FT, 6 Reb, 4 Ast - 16 Pts.
T. Pettigrew 3-6 FG, 0-1 FT, 4 Reb, 1 Ast - 6 Pts.
L. Brenneman 1-3 FT, 2-2 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 4 Pts.
A Glendinning 2-3 FG, 5-8 FT, 4 Reb, 3 Ast - 9 Pts.
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K. Burrough 1-3 FG, 0-0 FT, 4 Reb, 2 Ast - 2 Pts.
H. Eagleson 3-4 FG, 0-1 FT, 6 Reb, 0 Ast - 6 Pts.
M. M-Becker 0-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
Field Goals: 21-49 (.429). Free-Throws: 12-20 (.600). Three-Point Goals: 7-15, .467 (B. Payne 4-9, M. Horst 3-6).
