(1) Grand River Renegades (14-0) vs. (3) Jacob Hespeler Hawks (13-1)Location/Time: Preston HS, 8:00pm
This year's WCSSAA season will be remembered for a couple of reasons, one of them being the depth of the league. Arguably, this was one of the most competitive seasons in the past few years, with only a few points separating teams 1 through 5.
Surviving the gauntlet that was this year's WCSSAA schedule are the top-seeded Grand River Renegades, who enter this game undefeated (although not without their share of competitive games, including two 1-point wins) and the Jacob Hespeler Hawks, who dropped just one game during the regular season.
Regular Season
Interestingly enough, these teams didn't meet during the regular season --- this will be their first encounter.
How They Got Here
Both squads earned first-round byes, before posting quarterfinal wins. Grand River defeated #9 Galt, 58-31, while Jacob Hespeler got past #6 Southwood, 46-37.
In the semifinals, the Hawks topped #7 KCI, 43-30, while Grand River outlasted #5 WCI, 51-42.
Key Players To Watch
JHSS: F Candice Wright (NCAA/Vermont Commit), G Jasmine Ramcharan, G/F Shianne Riggan, G Kendra Dennis.
GRCI: G/F Nyamuoch Teny, G Maya Day, G Nancy Michael, F Tara DeBoer
Preview/Pick
It will certainly be a clash of styles on Wednesday evening at Preston HS in Cambridge.
On one side, you have the free-wheeling Grand River Renegades, who possess ultra-quick guards that love to get up and down the floor.
On the other side, the Jacob Hespeler Hawks are a calculating, execution-oriented squad that would probably prefer a half-court, "first team to 40 wins" type of game as opposed to the scoreboard-lighting GRCI preference (the Rens have scored 50+ points in each WCSSAA game this season).
Being in Cambridge, I would expect the Hawks to be the "home team" in terms of crowd support. They're the underdogs heading in, but they have that plus the fact that most of their roster was part of a senior squad that played in the WCSSAA finals a season ago as possible "advantages".
Will it be enough? I don't think so, but it could be interesting.
My Pick: Grand River 54, Jacob Hespeler 44
