Final four set on B side of bracket
Denis Morris, Grimsby, Saint Paul, Vanier rebound from Day 1 losses
Day 2 of the Standard Girls High School Basketball Tournament marked the first step of the road to redemption for four teams on the B side of the bracket.
For the other four, Wednesday’s consolation quarter-finals started the wait to the 20th edition of the Niagara hoops showcase next October.
Saint Paul Patriots head coach Kristine McDonald isn’t surprised her team was able to rebound from a blowout loss in the qualifying round to remain in contention for the consolation championship.
“We bounce back from a loss so easily,” she said after the
Patriots eliminated the Welland Centennial Cougars 54-32 after suffering a 55-24 setback to the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs in the first round.
McDonald, in her seventh-year as head coach at the Niagara Falls high school, said a varsity team featuring six players from Grade 9 has been put to this test so far this season.
“We’ve had a really tough run the past three, four weeks playing some really strong teams in the area,” she said. “And I really do think that the character shows tremendously for our team that we can bounce back so fast.”
Despite being in a rebuilding year, Saint Paul didn’t hesitate competing against teams with more experience at this week’s Standard Tournament in St. Catharines and next week’s Tribune Tournament in Welland.
“I really think those games develop your character,” McDonald said. “You don’t back down from any kind of fight, whether you go as the underdog or not.”
If the Patriots go on and capture the consolation championship Friday night at Governor Simcoe, the accomplishment won’t include an asterisk when it’s listed in the trophy case at Saint Paul.
“Absolutely not, that’s a championship for us, and I really do think every victory from now on is a building block to be the team that we want to be.”
Keira Federenko and Livia Piccirillo scored in double digits for the Patriots with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Destiny Paquin’s nine points was tops for the Cougars.
Saint Paul plays the defending consolation champion Grimsby Eagles in a semifinal 4:30 p.m. today at Governor Simcoe.
Grimsby rebounded from a 52-28 opening-round loss with a 33-27 defeat of the Thorold Golden Eagles.
Grimsby’s second win against Thorold in as many games this season was much closer than the first.
“They’ve done some work for sure,” said Grimsby head coach Erika Smith, whose Eagles clipped the Golden Eagles by 20 points in league play.
That double-digit victory didn’t cause Grimsby to take Thorold lightly in the rematch.
“No, we had a good game against them last time, hitting all of our shots, and we haven’t been hitting shots lately,” Smith said. “I don’t think we underestimated them, but I don’t think we were playing our plays and running our game.
“The girls were out there hustling and that’s what made it through.”
Like McDonald, her counterpart at Saint Paul, Smith uses games at tournaments as learning experiences for her players.
“We try to get them in early, because it is a big learning experience,” the Grimsby coach said. “Because until you get them out playing against girls who they haven’t played against before, it’s all practice.”
Top scorers for Grimsby were Maddy Reed, with nine points; Madelyn Strongitharm, eight. Regan Nicholson led Thorold with a game-high 12 points. Dior Aruthnot added nine in the loss.
Thursday’s other semifinal on the B side of the bracket has the Denis Morris Reds versus the Jean Vanier Lynx, victors over the Saint Michael Mustangs their quarter-final game. The Denis Morris-Vanier game starts at 3 p.m., also at Simcoe.
Denis Morris bounced the Holy Cross Raiders to the sidelines with a 40-33 victory after opening the 16-team, four-day tournament with a 54-21 home-court loss to the Greater Fort Erie Gryphons.
Jordyn Britton paced the Reds in points with 15. Maddie Caughill scored 12 for the Raiders.
Half of the final four was set on the championship side with the second-seeded Blessed Trinity Thunder downing the E.L. Crossley Cyclone 50-38 and the No. 1 seed Eden Flyers defeating the Governor Simcoe Redcoats.
Wednesday night’s late game had the No. 3 seed Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs hosting the Saint Francis Phoenix.
A championship semifinals will be played at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Simcoe.