Article By: Vincent BallSt. John's College senior girls basketball team has terrific players but it was a balanced scoring attack and team game that helped the Green Eagles win the CWOSSA AAA championship Saturday.
The Green Eagles got points from several players to beat Waterloo's Bluevale Collegiate, 67-20.
"That's the way it is with these girls," coach Matt Lynch, who is helped on the bench by Steve Van Leeuwen, said following the game at St. John's.
"They play and they play hard for each other. They want to win for each other. It's never about the individual - it's always about the team."
To get to the Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association championship game, the Eagles used spectacular outside shooting to build early leads on their way to victories. But, against Bluevale, SJC used its inside game and lots of hustle to take a 20-7 lead in the first quarter.
The Eagles were led by Maddi Cohoon, who hit for 14 points in the first half and 20 points overall.
"That's something different for me," Cohoon said following the game. "I'm more of a defensive player but it was nice to be able to get some points."
In the second quarter, with starters Kendra Van Leeuwen, Alaina McMillan and Megan Thompson on the bench with foul trouble, other players, including Leah Coon, Jen Garner and Alex Girardi, stepped up to give the Green Eagles a 33-10 lead at the half.
In the second half, Van Leeuwen, McMillan and Thompson returned to the floor. The Eagles hustled after the ball and played aggressive defence, including a full court press, that frustrated the Bluevale players.
The Green Eagles forced numerous turnovers and converted them into layups or foul shots to expand their lead.
Jen Garner sank some nice three-pointers.
The Green Eagles will spend a couple of days getting ready for the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championships, which will be played in Windsor starting Thursday.
SJC earned its way into Saturday's championship game with a 73-31 win in the semifinal over Jacob Hespeler Secondary School of Cambridge. Van Leeuwen scored 27 points for the Green Eagles, Thompson scored 17 and Girardi and Cohoon each scored seven.
Other members of the team not mentioned are: Erin Dubois, Lauren DeMontmorency, Sam Dupont and Ashley Derks.
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