Heading into the Brant County senior girls basketball final, anyone following the loop knew the best-of-three series between the St. John's College Green Eagles and Assumption College Lions would be a physical, take-no-prisoners battle.
Well, if Game 1 on Tuesday was an indication, that's the best way to describe it.
On the heels of a three-point shooting clinic from Megan Thompson in the second half, Grade 9 star Kendra VanLeeuwen's free throw with 15.9 seconds remaining gave the Green Eagles a 44-43 win in a fourth quarter that resembled roller derby at times.
"We're so excited. It's really intense and your heart's just racing the whole time," Thompson said. "You're just trying to do your best to not make a mistake. It's one of those things where you don't want to make the mistake but they'd just happen. But we recovered and were able to work harder than everyone else out there, and I think that was the difference."
After the Lions held on to a 21-19 halftime lead, Thompson was the catalyst behind a 15-point third quarter, hitting a pair of three-pointers, while Bridget Monkman added another after trailing by as many as seven.
"It wasn't something we talked about," Thompson said. "It was just one of those things that happened because we were open and it worked out. We were just taking advantage of the opportunities we had."
And even when the Lions would counterpunch with Emily Gill's brilliant performance, they still managed to hold on.
"I think we were all panicking inside but tried to keep calm so we could execute our plays the way they are supposed to and play the game as we do in practice," Thompson said." (In the fourth quarter) We were just really encouraging on the bench and we didn't want to get down if we made a mistake. We were just keeping each other's spirits up."
While the Green Eagles were happy to escape with the win, the Lions couldn't believe they let the game slip away, especially after missing three point-blank shots late in the game.
"It's definitely not what we wanted to have happen," Gill said. "The last 10 seconds just went by so fast. It was a real scramble.
"I'm just so proud of the team playing right to the end," she said. "That's exactly how we wanted to play. We're in it to win it. This is our year. I just can't believe that ending."
Despite the loss, Gill said she and her teammates realize it's a three-game series and it's not over yet.
"Thursday is the day," she said. "We're going to come out stronger than ever. This is just the beginning. We're not going home."
Game 2 of the series is Thursday at North Park Collegiate at 7 p.m.
Retrieved From: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2012/11/06/senior-green-eagles-edge-lions-in-opener
