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| SJAM - Jr. Girls WCSSAA Champs |
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Mission accomplished.
The heavily favoured SJAM Highlanders overcame some nervous moments, and, on the strength of a 26-15 second half surge, outlasted the pesky WODSS Crusaders in Wednesday's WCSSAA Junior Basketball final at Preston HS in Cambridge.
The win solidified SJAM's first-ever Junior Girls' basketball title, and capped a perfect WCSSAA Season with them going 15-0 in league (and playoff) games.
Early on, it was SJAM's Kate Moran and WODSS' Emily Glendinning providing most of the highlights. Both girls drilled several three-pointers in the opening quarter, with Glendinning hitting one from well beyond the line, as the Crusaders took a 17-16 lead after one.
Both Moran and Glendinning knocked in 11 points each in that opening quarter.
Glendinning continued her hot hand in the second quarter, knocking home another deep three-ball and finishing inside as the Crusaders assumed a 4-point lead while the Highlanders had some issues overcoming the WODSS full-court pressure.
Unfortunately for Crusaders' fans in attendance, the biggest "run" of the second quarter didn't come on the court.
Late in the frame, with the score correctly listed on the scoreboard as 27-23 for WODSS, the scorekeepers changed the score to 25-25, based on the information at their disposal. In that sort of a situation, the referees have to go with the score on the gamesheet, which resulted in a 4-point swing.
Although one can argue that "it didn't make a difference" in the end, as far as the winner is concerned, I'll say from my experience that it can certainly play a big factor, especially when you consider team morale/confidence (i.e. being down one possession (3) vs. three possessions (7) in that fourth quarter), coaching decisions, and the like.
Back on the court, with Moran and Glendinning being the main attractions, the supporting casts of both squads had stellar "under the radar" performances. For SJAM, timely three-point makes by Griffin Lack-Shane and solid free-throw shooting from Madison Sherman and Joanna Bamberger allowed the 'Landers to re-take a third quarter lead, despite the best efforts of WO's other scoring options, Madeline Woolvett and Rachael Beitz.
Heading into the fourth up three on the scoreboard (down 1), the 'Landers made their move. An 11-4 run through the first half of the fourth quarter gave SJAM a bit of breathing room, and they were limiting second-chance opportunities by WODSS thanks to the rebounding efforts of Moran, Lack-Shane, and Serena Barry, who combined for 30 rebounds in the game.
It was a lead that they wouldn't relinquish as the Crusaders' shots fell short down the stretch.
Moran, a 6'2" grade nine forward, has a game (and, particularly a shooting stroke) that reminds me a bit of another 6'2" former CWOSSA player --- current Missouri Tiger Michelle Hudyn.
Moran finished with a beastly 24 point, 19 rebound performance, and likely would have been in "triple-double territory" if I tallied up her blocks.
She was aided on the scoresheet by the other 5 'Landers that saw action: Griffin Lack-Shane (10 points), Joanna Bamberger (6), Madison Sherman (4), Emily Domerchie (3), and Serena Barry (2).
For the Crusaders, Glendinning notched 26 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double, with additional contributions coming from Madeline Woolvett (8), Rachael Beitz (6), and Molly Cameron (2).
Both teams will be strong contenders at their respective CWOSSA championships this weekend. SJAM will be participating at the "AAAA" event in Waterloo, while Waterloo-Oxford will be travelling to Brantford for the "AAA" event.
Boxscore
SJAM 16-07-12-14 = 49
WODSS 17-10-09-06 = 42
SJAM
Lack-Shane 4-13 FG, 0-0 FT, 6 Reb, 2 Ast - 10 Pts.
S. Barry 1-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 5 Reb, 0 Ast - 2 Pts.
M. Sherman 1-2 FG, 2-2 FT, 1 Reb, 1 Ast - 4 Pts.
Bamberger 1-12 FG, 4-6 FT, 3 Reb, 1 Ast - 6 Pts.
K. Moran 10-20 FG, 1-4 FT, 19 Reb, 2 Ast - 24 Pts.
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E. Domerchie 1-7 FG, 1-4 FT, 3 Reb, 0 Ast - 3 Pts.
Field Goals: 18-56 (.321). Free-Throws: 8-16 (.500). Three-Point Goals: 5-14, .357 (K. Moran 3-6, G. Lack-Shane 2-4, E. Domerchie 0-1, J. Bamberger 0-3).
WODSS
J. Menses 0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 3 Reb, 2 Ast - 0 Pts.
M. Woolvett 3-8 FG, 1-3 FT, 5 Reb, 5 Ast - 8 Pts.
R. Woolvett 0-9 FG, 0-0 FT, 4 Reb, 3 Ast - 0 Pts.
E. Glendinning 9-25 FG, 6-9 FT, 12 Reb, 2 Ast - 26 Pts.
R. Beitz 3-7 FG, 0-0 FT, 5 Reb, 1 Ast - 6 Pts.
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K. Wilson 0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
M. Cameron 1-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 3 Reb, 0 Ast - 2 Pts.
M. Davidson 0-3 FG, 0-0 FT, 3 Reb, 1 Ast - 0 Pts.
Field Goals: 16-54 (.296). Free-Throws: 7-12 (.583). Three-Point Goals: 3-15, .200 (E. Glendinning 2-10, M. Woolvett 1-1, R. Beitz 0-1, R. Woolvett 0-3).
