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SG Basketball: Surpassing Expectations at the MacLeod

By Erik Van Dyke
The senior girls basketball team travelled to the MacLeod Provincial Tournament February 21-22. Here's how it went:

Quarter-final vs J.H. Leclerc High School
Your Spartans opened the tournament with a solid team win that was not as close as the final score. Charlotte Riddell, after a prolonged absence from game play, scored the first basket of the game, Rosemary Lefebvre (on a scoring streak of late) contributed 10 pts, Player Of The Game Elisabeth Shane stuffed the stat sheet as only she can (18 points, 11 rebounds, 5 steals, 5 blocks), and the entire team played disciplined defence. The girls effectively put the game away in a dominant second quarter (shutting out our opponents 11-0) on the way to a 32-23 victory, which punched our ticket to the MacLeod semi-final. A very good start.

Semi-final vs Chateauguay Valley Regional High School
#4-ranked Stanstead vs #1-ranked CVR. David vs Goliath. Spartans vs Spartans. A mismatch on paper, with Chateauguay being the second-best team in RSEQ-South Shore and us being near the bottom of RSEQ-Estrie. And more importantly, a mismatch in size and strength. Last year our MacLeod Championship team played CVR twice, and both times we could not deal with their toughness and athleticism. They crushed us on the boards, they won every loose ball, and we COULD NOT SCORE on them. In our first matchup we lost 21-19. The second time we faced them, in the MacLeod final, we scratched out an ugly 24-20 win. Only 43 pts combined in two games, because they were tall and athletic and just so ridiculously tough. Bad news: they were only in Grade 10 last year. Worse news: their ENTIRE team had returned.

So only three instructions were written on the board for the pre-game speech. “Rebound. Everyone. Every time.” It was our only hope. If we didn’t find a way to compete with them physically, they were going to bully us out of the gym. And in the Game Of The Year, your Spartans dug deeper than they ever had before. They played tougher than I thought they could; they played tougher than THEY thought they could. Usually I pick a Player Of The Game, but I can’t for this game, because every starter played out of her mind. (All statistics courtesy of Ba Nam Incorporated)

Mariama Barry – 9 rebounds(!), 3 steals, 3 assists, 5 blocks, 8 pts
Rosema – after a rough 1st half; 11 pts, 4 rebs, 2 assists, 2 blks all in the 2nd half
Jeniva Coffee – 13 rebs(!), 2 stls, 3 blks, 4 pts
Sammy Smith – 11 rebs(!), 2 stls, 2 blks
Elisabeth – 14 rebs(!), 5 stls, 3 asst, 8 blks, 13 pts

As a team, we finished with, get this, 56 rebounds(!) and 20 blocked shots(!) against the toughest, best rebounding team in the RSEQ. I honestly don’t know what to say. The girls could not have played any harder. I could not be any prouder.

So did this heroic effort result in an epic upset? Let’s see…

We started the 4th quarter down 40-25. We’d broken their press (Elisabeth and Sam were amazing), we’d broken even on the boards, and Rosema had kept us in the game with 8 third-quarter points, but we were tired. But CVR was worse(!) – they were completely gassed. Our consistent fast break and hustle and fight for every ball had them on their last legs. The comeback was on…

Rosema splashes another three, 40-28… Elisabeth inside, 40-30… multiple defensive stops…Elisabeth again, 40-32… every player super tired but refusing to quit… Jeniva offensive rebound and putback, 40-34…

2 minutes left… and this whole time we are holding them SCORELESS!... then Elisabeth again!, 40-36… one minute left… another defensive stop… CVR is exhausted, barely hanging on…and then the most critical play of the game, Elisabeth finds Mariama with a tough pass in traffic on the fast break which Mariama somehow corrals, she forces up a floater, the whistle blows… and it goes in!... holy smokes!... And 1?!?

But no, that whistle was the ref calling a travel(!) on Mariama, a questionable call at best. So CVR gets the ball, we run out of momentum, we run out of time, and the comeback falls short.
But what an effort. What a remarkable, season-affirming effort. When it mattered most, in the fourth quarter, we outscored the #1-ranked team 11-0(!) and almost pulled off the impossible. In fact, if there’d been 2 more minutes left in the game I think we would have. But it wasn’t meant to be. 40-36 final score.

Sometimes the Game Of The Year is a win that gets you a banner and a shiny medal. But sometimes, if you’re lucky, the Game Of The Year is a battle where you worked harder than you ever thought you could, did things you didn’t think possible, and reached a level as a team you didn’t think you could reach.

3rd Place Game vs Centennial Regional High School
Final game of the tournament vs the host school, to decide who finishes the MacLeod in third place. We come out FLYING with a 13-2 run to start the game, with the defence locked in, Mariama finishing on the break, and Rosema (game high 11 pts) splashing not 1, not 2, but 3 triples. The Chargers, quick and athletic, fight back in the second quarter, and take the lead 21-18. Lea-Rose Remillard – “SHOOTER!” – hits the first three-pointer of her life just before half to tie it up, but man oh man, are we tired. After a much-needed 5-minute break we open the third quarter with 8 unanswered points, but that run empties the tank. We’ve got nothing left. Our legs are done. We don’t have the energy to fight down low. Our passes get lazy. We stop getting back on defence and Centennial makes us pay on the fast break. Just breaking their press takes everything we have, never mind trying to score. And our opponents look fresh as daisies, like they can play all day. 29-23…29-25…29-27. Elisabeth (7 pts, 11 rebs, 4 asst, 9 blks) scores off an inbounds and Mariama finds Lea-Rose on the break to make it 33-27, but the Chargers score the next two buckets. 33-31. 45 seconds left, with all the momentum with Centennial and their home crowd. But then Lea-Rose makes the Play Of The Game with her patented bank shot from the free-throw line! 35-31, and the good guys hang on for the dramatic victory.

This makes two consecutive tournaments where your Spartans played pretty much the best basketball they could play. There is NOTHING ELSE I could have asked of them.

I’m a very happy coach.

Coaches Van Dyke & Wolfe

The year so far….
Overall Record: 17 wins 19 losses
RSEQ League Play: 3 wins 9 losses
Points for per game: 33.8 Points allowed per game: 34.1
 
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