Article By: Scott Miller CressmanThe same group of girls who went undefeated as juniors two years ago are looking like strong contenders to bring Waterloo-Oxford its first senior girls basketball championship in decades.
The Crusaders improved their record to 8-0 last week, and have scored almost three times more points than their opponents this season. The local girls are tied in first place with Kitchener Collegiate Institute, the only other undefeated team.
The senior team kept their win streak intact last week by beating a strong Jacob Hespeler team 41-32, thanks in part to a big 21-point contribution from leading scorer Maddy Horst. That was the closest anyone’s come to defeating the Crusaders this fall.
Two years ago Waterloo-Oxford didn’t even have senior girls’ basketball after a lack of players shut down the team temporarily. But the seeds were already planted for a rebirth, as the 2011 junior team rolled to a Central-Western Ontario high school title without losing a game.
“They’re a very talented group,” said W-O’s head coach Gavin Albrecht. “I look forward to the rest of the season.”
Now that same group of starters is looking for similar success in 2013, and the Crusaders are obviously dangerous competitors in their 16-team league.
Waterloo-Oxford hasn’t won a senior girls’ Waterloo County basketball championship in at least 24 years. This year’s special group has the potential to finally put their name on that trophy, said Albrecht, who has coached at W-O for 14 years.
In late September, the Crusaders competed at a tournament at Queens University in Kingston, where they won three match-ups before losing the championship game to Brantford North Park.
The invitational tournament was a good challenge for the W-O team that is winning their regular season games by very comfortable scores, Albrecht said: “I think it was good for them to see what’s out there and see how we’ll have to elevate our game for CWOSSA.”
Last year, the senior team had a core of Grade 11 players and finished in third place with a 10-2 record. Southwood eliminated them in the quarter-finals. The same group of starters are back again in 2013 to improve on that strong season.
That core has also played together for years on club basketball teams. Two year ago, theses same group of Crusaders went undefeated in 24 games back in 2011 en route to winning the Junior Girls championships for Waterloo county and Central-Western Ontario.
The team’s wealth of experience means they’re fundamentally sound, Albrecht said, so his practices can focus on the finer points of strategy. He doesn’t take credit for the team’s success; a roster with this type of talent and experience makes his job easy, the coach said.
“They really know where each other are on the floor,” Albrecht said.
Their shooting so far has been very strong, and the Crusaders like to play hard and tire out the other team by hustling up and down the court, he added.
“This is our year to do it, if we’re going to make a push,” Albrecht said.
But the team isn’t there yet. They still have to face some of their league’s toughest teams – Bluevale, Cameron Heights, and Waterloo Collegiate.
“It’s high school basketball, anything can happen,” he said.
And if the Crusaders can beat out the local competition, there are also plenty of strong teams in W-O’s AAA division all fighting to emerge from the Central-Western Ontario championship to compete for the Ontario title.
“Honestly, sometimes I just get a front row seat,” Albrecht said. “It’s a real treat. They’re a great group, and they’re fun to watch.”
Retrieved From: http://www.newhamburgindependent.ca/sports/veteran-crusaders-hope-for-senior-girls-basketball-championship/
