(1) Resurrection Phoenix (11-0) vs. (3) St. Benedict (6-5)Location: SBCSS, Tonight @ 6pm
It's a "David versus Goliath" battle in tonight's D8 Junior Championship final.
The St. Benedict Saints will be looking to make it two upsets in a row as they host the top-seeded Resurrection Phoenix in tonight's D8 Junior Championship final to be played at St. Benedict CSS in Cambridge (tip time 6pm).
Resurrection, meanwhile, will be seeking to close out their perfect season and win their fourth consecutive D8 junior title. Only Monsignor Doyle (1997 through 2000) has won four straight titles in D8's history.
Previous D8 Junior Titles
Resurrection (8): 2013, 2012, 2011, 2007, 2003, 1992, 1991, 1990.
St. Benedict (2): 2010, 1996.
Regular Season Series
Resurrection won both games during the regular season, defeating St. Benedict 57-18 on the road and 47-15 at home.
How They Got Here
The Phoenix have been the class of the league to this point, winning all 11 league and playoff games to this point while scoring 554 points and giving up 165. For those keeping score at home, that's an average margin of victory of over 35 PPG.
In their semifinal, the top-seeded Phoenix had no trouble dispatching the #4 St. David Celtics, 50-7.
St. Benedict, who entered the playoffs as the #3 seed, took advantage of an injury to the top scorer in the D8 league (Summer Pahl - broken finger in the first quarter) and went on to clip the Eagles 41-36 in overtime on the road.
Key Players
Resurrection: Jama Bin-Edward, Krissia Vasquez, Meghan Sharp, Buse Bin-Edward.
St. Benedict: Maya Danis, Tereza Borges, Nana-Afia Agyeipah.
Game Preview
The Saints are going to have to use the fact that they're on their homecourt (and should likely have a crowd advantage) to their benefit early on. If they can keep things close in the early going, the pressure would then shift to the highly-favoured Phoenix.
Along with that, the Saints can't get into an "up and down" transition type game, where Rez excels. Patience will be a virtue for the Saints on offense, and the mantra of "controlling the tempo to limit possessions" is often the blueprint for a possible upset.
For Resurrection, it comes down to establishing themselves early. Their pressure defense has given D8 teams fits this season (as well as creating easy scoring opportunities for the Phoenix). A few easy buckets off of turnovers would quickly calm any championship nerves, and put them well on their way.
Pick
Not to discount the season the Saints have had, and getting to the finals is a tremendous accomplishment. And, yes, there's a reason they play these games and crazier things have happened.
On paper, the junior Phoenix have too much firepower and I expect them to win this one going away.
My Pick: Resurrection 54, St. Benedict 21
