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| Photo By: Darryl Smart |
Article By: Darryl Smart
Emily Leger and Breanne VandeVen have
cemented themselves as queens of the hard court in Norfolk County.
Leger started with an early three-pointer to
set the tone, and added 18 more points to lead the Delhi Raiders to a
49-34 win over the Simcoe Sabres to capture another Norfolk Secondary
School Athletic Association senior girls basketball title Wednesday on
their home court.
“It’s so awesome,” Leger said as she held a
piece of the net after cutting it out. “It’s such a great feeling to
win. It sure didn’t come easy. SCS came swinging at us. They played a
great game. It feels amazing.”
“It’s really exciting,” VandeVen said. “It’s
been an amazing run. For Emily, Kelsey (Ward) and I, this is our fourth
(NSSAA) championship in a row since coming to the school. It really is
special. This means a lot. We all wanted to win really bad today. It
really is a big accomplishment.”
And to win their fourth-consecutive NSSAA basketball title, the dynamic duo led by example.
After scoring 14 first-half points, Leger
cooled off in the second. But that’s when VandeVen heated up. With only
five points at the half, she hit two-straight three-pointers to lead the
team down the stretch.
Tessa Hamilton also added 10 points, with Kara Ebdon netting three.
Taome Muntz-Flowerday led the Sabres with 12
points, while Rachel Krisko scored eight, Tori Matthews had seven,
Hailey Taylor five, and Shian LaSalle added two.
“At the half the coaches told us to calm
down and just play our game,” VandeVen said. “We just had to go out
there and do what we do. The first half there were a lot of jitters. But
in the second, we all calmed down and play like we do.”
Leger said despite losing only once in
Norfolk since Grade 9, which came at the hands of the Sabres last year
during a regular season game, they weren’t taking anything for granted.
“They’ve been our biggest rival, and have
given us the best games, so we knew they’d come here and bring it,”
Leger said. “I was nervous before the game.
“This is super special to win this,” she
said. “There was a bit of pressure to win it again. But I think it made
us want it that much more.”
With another NSSAA title in tote, the
Raiders travel to St. Mary’s High School in Owen Sound for the Central
Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association AA championships next
week.
“We want to make some noise,” VandeVen said.
“We got to the semifinals last year. We just have to play the way we
can. Hopefully we can go further.”
