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SG Basketball: Breakout Performances at the SIT
There were a lot of ‘firsts’ for the Red & White this past Saturday – first tournament, first home games, and first victories to name a few – but none more important than seeing for the first time a glimpse of what the 2019-20 Spartans can be this season.
It’s early – we’ve only had 5 practices as a team since the end of tryouts – but I can start to see an identity forming for this team, and, even better, I can see players realizing the same thing.
Game #1 vs ECS
Speaking of firsts, we came out in a brand new defence for this game, designed to focus on ECS’s superstar point guard #10. We’d only practiced this defence for 5 minutes at the end of last practice, so we were going to learn a lot, very quickly, trying to contain one of the best players in the province. And contain her we did, at least for the first half. With Rosemary Lefebvre hounding her all over the court and Mariama Barry smartly providing help, we held her to 4 points in the half, which earned us a 12-10 halftime lead. However, truly great players can’t be held back for long, and despite our best efforts, #10 exploded for 15 second-half points, willing her team to a 36-31 win. But the end result doesn’t take away what we learned from this game. It doesn’t take away Jeniva Coffee’s dive-on-the-floor hustle, Charlotte Riddell’s improved poise, or the performance of Player Of The Game Rosema Lefebvre who, on top of her spirited defence, poured in a game-high 13 points including three(!) three-pointers. It doesn’t take away Sumomo Susuta’s first made free throw of the season or Tammy Wood-Downey’s first swished jump shot, and it sure doesn’t take away the smiles on their faces after those shots went in.
Speaking of firsts, we came out in a brand new defence for this game, designed to focus on ECS’s superstar point guard #10. We’d only practiced this defence for 5 minutes at the end of last practice, so we were going to learn a lot, very quickly, trying to contain one of the best players in the province. And contain her we did, at least for the first half. With Rosemary Lefebvre hounding her all over the court and Mariama Barry smartly providing help, we held her to 4 points in the half, which earned us a 12-10 halftime lead. However, truly great players can’t be held back for long, and despite our best efforts, #10 exploded for 15 second-half points, willing her team to a 36-31 win. But the end result doesn’t take away what we learned from this game. It doesn’t take away Jeniva Coffee’s dive-on-the-floor hustle, Charlotte Riddell’s improved poise, or the performance of Player Of The Game Rosema Lefebvre who, on top of her spirited defence, poured in a game-high 13 points including three(!) three-pointers. It doesn’t take away Sumomo Susuta’s first made free throw of the season or Tammy Wood-Downey’s first swished jump shot, and it sure doesn’t take away the smiles on their faces after those shots went in.
Game #2 vs LCC
Sometimes it’s frustratingly tough to score. Sometimes the ball just won’t go in. But this game was NOT one of those times, as for the first time this year (hopefully not the last!) your Spartans got scorching hot offensively on the way to their first victory(!) of the season, 54-34. Sage Lovejoy scored her first hoop ever as a senior, Rosema splashed three more threes, Lea-Rose Remillard had the ‘dish’ of the tournament with a perfect give ‘n’ go pass to Mariama, and Rosalie Gadoua-Giroux took her first charge. But the real story was the fast break. Sure, we’d focused on it quite a bit last practice, but I never expected the players to execute it as well as they did. In particular, the S-B Hi-Speed Connection was a nonstop highlight reel, with Elisabeth Shane hitting Player Of The GameTM Mariama Barry (19 points) on the fly time and again for high speed layups, many of them of the in-traffic circus shot variety. It’s fun when you can run, and run we did, at one point scoring 14 points in a row in the second quarter to effectively put the game out of reach. A true “breakout” performance, as it were.
Sometimes it’s frustratingly tough to score. Sometimes the ball just won’t go in. But this game was NOT one of those times, as for the first time this year (hopefully not the last!) your Spartans got scorching hot offensively on the way to their first victory(!) of the season, 54-34. Sage Lovejoy scored her first hoop ever as a senior, Rosema splashed three more threes, Lea-Rose Remillard had the ‘dish’ of the tournament with a perfect give ‘n’ go pass to Mariama, and Rosalie Gadoua-Giroux took her first charge. But the real story was the fast break. Sure, we’d focused on it quite a bit last practice, but I never expected the players to execute it as well as they did. In particular, the S-B Hi-Speed Connection was a nonstop highlight reel, with Elisabeth Shane hitting Player Of The GameTM Mariama Barry (19 points) on the fly time and again for high speed layups, many of them of the in-traffic circus shot variety. It’s fun when you can run, and run we did, at one point scoring 14 points in a row in the second quarter to effectively put the game out of reach. A true “breakout” performance, as it were.
Game #3 vs WIC
Speaking of “breaking out,” when I look back on this season, I will remember this was the game where Elisabeth Shane stepped out and introduced herself to the world. LOUDLY. Yes, she had scored an impressive 18 points vs LCC, but it was against this tough Voyageurs team that she truly put all of her talents on display and, for the first time, completely took over a basketball game. In a nail-biting 36-35 thriller of a victory, this first-year Spartan led her team in steals (3), assists (3), blocked shots (3), rebounds (13) and points (16) AND scored the game-winning basket on a pure hustle play with 30 seconds left in the game! I guess that qualifies for Player Of The Game honours.
Speaking of “breaking out,” when I look back on this season, I will remember this was the game where Elisabeth Shane stepped out and introduced herself to the world. LOUDLY. Yes, she had scored an impressive 18 points vs LCC, but it was against this tough Voyageurs team that she truly put all of her talents on display and, for the first time, completely took over a basketball game. In a nail-biting 36-35 thriller of a victory, this first-year Spartan led her team in steals (3), assists (3), blocked shots (3), rebounds (13) and points (16) AND scored the game-winning basket on a pure hustle play with 30 seconds left in the game! I guess that qualifies for Player Of The Game honours.
All in all, I am thrilled with how this tournament went, as we learned a lot about our potential strengths and weaknesses. It’s a long season, and we’re only at the start of it, but making the most of every opportunity, like we did this past Saturday, that’s the goal. Well done, Spartans!
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