(1) Resurrection Phoenix (10-1 D8) vs. (2) St. Benedict Saints (9-2 D8)Season Series: 1-1 (SBCSS win 29-23, RCSS win 33-31).
How They Got Here: SBCSS def. SDCSS, 27-17 in one semifinal; RCSS def. SMHS 43-18 in the other.
"Key Three": SBCSS - Afifa Salaad, Julia Mascarenhas, Laura Ivits. RCSS - Jama Bin-Edward, Krissia Vasquez, Rachel Engel.
Background
The Resurrection Phoenix will be trying to three-peat tonight, with the team that last had their name on the junior D8 trophy before Rez standing in their way.
The 2011 & 12 champion Phoenix (10-1) will host the 2010 champion, St. Benedict (9-2) in tonight's D8 final at Resurrection with tip-time being set for 6:00pm this evening.
The two clubs split their season series, with the Phoenix winning by 2 later in the year and the Saints pulling out a 6 point victory in early October.
What To Look For
The Saints have probably the most dynamic scorer in the D8 junior league, guard Afifa Salaad. Resurrection, meanwhile, is a young but balanced squad that can get double-digit contributions from a variety of members of their roster.
Needless to say, the Saints are certainly going to need to have a secondary (and tertiary) scoring threat step up for them today as everyone in a Phoenix uniform will be concerned with limiting the damage that Salaad does. Julia Mascarenhas, who led the Saints in scoring in the semifinal game with 12 of the Saints' 27 against St. David, is one option that immediately comes to mind.
Rez's depth, meanwhile, will certainly be tested tonight as starter Patricia Enriques will miss tonight's game. Grade 9 Rachel Engel, who is usually one of the first off the bench for the Phoenix, should see some additional minutes as the likely starter in Enriques' absence. Engel actually played quite well in the Phoenix's regular season win over SBCSS, scoring 10 points.
Jama Bin-Edward and Krissia Vasquez are two of Rez's most notable scoring threats to keep an eye on tonight.
Prediction
There's a lot at stake today, with not only a D8 championship but also a trip to the AAAA CWOSSA championship on the line. As such, I wouldn't be surprised to see a fair amount of nerves, especially at first, before these clubs settle down.
With Rez having homecourt advantage (thanks to their seniors being the top seed in the D8 league), that should provide an advantage only if they're able to get a lot of their fans out --- after all, St. Benedict beat them on their home court once already this year.
Either way you look at it, I think this comes down to a low-scoring, single-digit game again. I'll go with the Phoenix by 4, but certainly wouldn't be surprised to see the Saints walk away with the trophy.
