Can the KCI Raiders pull their second consecutive playoff upset and claim the WCSSAA title tonight at Preston HS in Cambridge (6:30pm)?
That's a question that we don't know the answer to just yet.
What we do know is that the Raiders showed some serious poise under pressure in the WCSSAA semifinals, erasing a 6-point deficit in the waning minutes of the game. They actually trailed by 1 point with :11 to play before calmly sinking 4 free-throws to account for the final margin in that hard-fought victory over WCI.
Meanwhile, the Grand River Renegades have been untouchable to this point. They've won the 13 WCSSAA league & playoff games that they've played by an average of 21.9 PPG.
They're like last year's Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders, only younger. Believe it or not, 4 of their starters are only in grade 9.
The Teams
Both of these squads present very balanced scoring attacks, with any number of players able to step up on a given evening.
For KCI, Alia Hazineh, Amy Graves, Frances Campbell, Michaela Schlumberger and Adrienne Bowra are the "usual suspects' that will find their way into the leading scorer column, but the Raiders can get contributions from most players in their "top eight" --- Olivia Mickie, for instance, had a key 7-point effort on Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Grand River has 6'0" Tara Deboer, who is certainly in line for an "all-CWOSSA" nomination this season. Slashing guard Maya Day and inside-outside threat Nyamuoch Teny (two three-pointers on Saturday) can go for double-digits most evenings; all three of those players are in grade 9.
Another rookie, Nyasha Mombeshora, anchors the front-court while Caroline Lorkovic is a three-point "opportunist" if you pay too much attention to the trio noted above.
The Finals / My Pick
Let's be honest here - the Raiders will not be able to get into an "up and down" game with the Renegades, who fast-break better (and have better ball movement) than some senior teams I've seen this season.
Their first meeting, a 47-26 Grand River win, showed just that. For KCI to have a legitimate shot at winning this game, this game is going to have to be in the low-to-mid 30s.
The Raiders will have to try to jump on GRCI early, and then avoid the "big spurt" that has seemed to be typical of Grand River games this season.
All in all, both teams should be quite competitive at their respective CWOSSA championships (KCI - AAA) and Grand River (the AAAA favourite). With that said, I have to give the edge in this one to my #1 CWOSSA-ranked team, the Grand River Renegades.
Pick: Grand River 42, KCI 28
