Not so fast, say the Southwood Sabres.
The Sabres were able to "hang around" in the championship final of their home tournament against the CWOSSA #5 ranked Jacob Hespeler Hawks, before pulling out a dramatic 28-26 win on Saturday afternoon in Cambridge.
Both teams clamped down on defense in the early going, with the Hawks trailing 6-5 after the opening 8 minutes. Things didn't open up much in the second quarter, with only 7 total points (including 3 --- and Southwood's only point of that frame --- in the final :15) and Jacob Hespeler assuming an 11-7 halftime lead.
Jacob Hespeler would go on a run in the early part of the third quarter, thanks in part to the play on the interior of their 6-foot-plus starting (sister) forward line --- Brooklyn, Candice and Courtney Wright. Naomi Adams was a beast on the boards at the offensive end as well, and the Hawks enjoyed a 22-13 lead late in the third quarter, which felt like a "20 point lead" given the slow pace and lack of scoring to that point.
Cue the comeback.
The Sabres got some momentum heading into the fourth when Nicole Barnard (who had a 20 point, 15 rebound effort against Resurrection earlier in the day) hit a three-pointer in the waning seconds of the frame to cut the deficit back to 6.
Southwood would go on to block (at least) two shots before the quarter buzzer, which seemed to fire them up even more heading to the fourth.
Scoring star Taylor White (SSS' leading scorer in league games this year) made a nice cut for a lay-up before Barnard hit an "and-one" just over 30 seconds later to cut things right down to a 22-21 Jacob Hespeler lead.
Barnard, who could not be stopped in the second half, made a tough driving bucket that actually gave Southwood a 24-22 lead and only 3:45 left on the clock. She added another bucket (surrounded by a JHSS free throw) that extended the lead to 26-23.
With just over 2:00 to go, and the Sabres up two (26-24), a disagreement between the officials on a possible JHSS double-dribble kept the ball with the Hawks, who took full advantage as Courtney Wright picked up an "and one" to tie things at 26-26.
Both teams had another opportunity before Southwood regained possession with under 1:00 to go. Following a timeout (and running some time off the clock on offense), Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor was able to bank home a driving lay-up with just over 10 seconds on the clock.
Still, the Hawks would actually have more than one final opportunity.
Courtney Wright was fouled by Barnard (her 5th foul) on a lay-up that almost went down (and only 1.5 seconds on the clock). However, after missing the first attempt, she missed the second attempt and Taylor White pulled down the rebound for Southwood to preserve the victory.
Barnard, who was later named as tournament MVP, had 14 points (all in the second half) to go alongside 10 rebounds. She averaged 17.0 PPG and 12.5 RPG during the two games on Saturday, and the Sabre forward displayed a versatile inside-outside game that included strong moves in the post as well as three-point shooting ability.
Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor added 8 points for SSS, while leading scorer Taylor White (who missed the semifinal due to another commitment) had 6 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. Forward Cali Doran was held off the scoresheet but had a strong defensive effort and some timely rebounds.
For Jacob Hespeler, Brooklyn Wright had 8 points and 15 rebounds, while Naomi Adams added 6 points and 12 rebounds. Candice Wright (5 points + 6 rebounds) and Courtney Wright (4 points + 7 rebounds) also had strong all-around efforts while the Hawk scoring was rounded out by Jess Huestis (2) and Meaghan Rudd (1).
Hespeler's downfall may have come at the free-throw line, similar to a previous tournament championship final against Bluevale CI. The Hawks shot just 4-for-16 from the charity stripe (25%), while Southwood made three more FTs despite one fewer attempt (7-for-15, 47%).
The Hawks lost depsite having, almost unbelievably, 25 more field goal attempts than the Sabres. Their front-line was big on the offensive glass, leading to multiple-opportunity possessions. However, JHSS went 11-61 from the floor (18.0%) while the Sabres converted 10-for-36 (.278) --- much of which can be attributed to the strong defense on both sides of the floor on Saturday.
Brooklyn Wright and Adams were named to the tournament all-star team alongside the aforementioned Barnard (SSS, MVP) and Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor.
Boxscore
JHSS 05-06-11-04 = 26
SSS 06-01-09-12 = 28
Jacob Hespeler
N. Adams 3-14 FG, 0-0 FT, 12 Reb, 0 Ast - 6 Pts.
J. Huestis 1-3 FG, 0-0 FT, 3 Reb, 0 Ast - 2 Pts.
Co. Wright 1-5 FG, 2-7 FT, 7 Reb, 1 Ast - 4 Pts.
B. Wright 4-24 FG, 0-4 FT, 15 Reb, 0 Ast - 8 Pts.
Ca. Wright 2-11 FG, 1-3 FT, 6 Reb, 0 Ast - 5 Pts.
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M. Rudd 0-3 FG, 1-2 FT, 2 Reb, 1 Ast - 1 Pt.
E. Sleeper 0-1 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 1 Ast - 0 Pts.
S. Tonner 0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
C. Brugger 0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
Field Goals: 11-61 (.180). Free-Throws: 4-16 (.250). Three-Point Goals: 0-4, .000 (B. Wright 0-2, E. Sleeper 0-1, N. Adams 0-1).
Southwood
Hutt-Taylor 2-7 FG, 4-6 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 8 Pts.
C. Harley 0-1 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
C. Doran 0-3 FG, 0-0 FT, 4 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
T. White 2-10 FG, 2-5 FT, 12 Reb, 2 Ast - 6 Pts.
N. Barnard 6-14 FG, 1-2 FT, 10 Reb, 1 Ast - 14 Pts.
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M. Cole 0-1 FG, 0-2 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
S. Carey 0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
B. Jewell 0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
Field Goals: 10-36 (.278). Free-Throws: 7-15 (.467). Three-Point Goals: 1-7, .143 (N. Barnard 1-3, T. White 0-1, C. Doran 0-1, K. Hutt-Taylor 0-2).
Earlier Action
The Sabres advanced to the final by dispatching CWOSSA #10 Kitchener Resurrection 40-28, even with leading scorer Taylor White unable to play in the Saturday morning contest.
Resurrection held a 23-18 lead when D8's leading scorer, Sarah Schulz, went down to an ankle injury after making a lay-up early in the third quarter. The Sabres went on a 15-0 run for the remaining 5:30 of the third quarter, and didn't look back in the fourth.
Nicole Barnard had a dominant performance, posting 20 points (including three three-pointers) and 15 rebounds, while adding 2 assists. Courtney Harley (6), Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor (5), Shayla Carey (4), Jewell (3), and Megan Cole (2) rounded out the Sabre scoring.
Schulz still led Rez with 8, despite limited minutes, while Ellen McGowan (6), Marley Neiscier (6), Angelika Jarski (4), Emma Higgins (2) and Andrea Phillippi (2).
Jacob Hespeler had no-trouble with Owen Sound CVI in the other semifinal.
The tournament started up on Friday, with the following first-round scores:
Resurrection 59, KCI 43
RCSS: Sarah Schulz 21, Emma Higgins 11
KCI: Maddie LaFleur 14, Christiana Koebel 10
Southwood 44, Guelph CVI 35
SSS: Nicole Barnard 18, Taylor White 17
GCVI: Jamie Young 8, Cally Strongman 6
Owen Sound 40, Eastwood 27
OSCVI: Audrey Liskauskas 19
ECI: Mel Samuel 7
Jacob Hespeler 58, St. Theresa (Midland) 38
JHSS: Brooklyn Wright 16, Candice Wright 15
