Young pup leads ’Dogs
Grade 9 standout on both sides of ball as Churchill tips off tourney with victory
At least one new champion will be crowned when the 18th Standard Girls Basketball Tournament wraps up Friday night in St. Catharines.
Sir Winston Churchill’s Ally Sentance played a key role in making sure her Bulldogs won’t be returning to the B final at the four-day, 16-team tournament.
The Grade 9 more than lived up to the team nickname emblazoned in blue across the front her white jersey by being as tenacious as, well, a bulldog. On both sides of the ball.
When the 14-year-old wasn’t giving up good looks under the basket by threading passes to teammates in a much better position to score, she was channelling her inner Ozzie Smith by diving for loose balls and going into harm’s way for rebounds.
Sentance also nailed a key threepointer in a one-possession, qualifying-round game in which every point was a potential turning point.
She scored nine points in all as
Second-Round Action
Following are today’s championship and consolation quarter-final games at the Standard Girls Basketball Tournament:
Championship
At Governor Simcoe: Saint Michael at Eden, 6 p.m.; A.N. Myer at Jean Vanier, 7:30 p.m. Churchill outscored the Greater Fort Erie Gryphons 10-2 over the final three minutes for a hardfought 53-50 victory.
“They gave us a run for our money,” she said praising the play of the Gryphons, essentially an amalgamation At Sir Winston Churchill: Blessed Trinity at Welland Centennial, 6 p.m.; St. Francis at Churchill, 7:30 p.m.
Consolation
At Governor Simcoe: Grimsby at Thorold, 3 p.m.; E.L. Crossley at Simcoe, 4:30 p.m.
At Sir Winston Churchill: Denis Morris at Greater Fort Erie, 3 p.m.; Holy Cross at Saint Paul, 4:30 p.m. of varsity teams from the now-shuttered Fort Erie and Ridgeway-Crystal Beach secondary schools.
“It was a really tough game, really close as well.”
Sentance, who came to Churchill from Monsignor Clancy Catholic Elementary School in Thorold, is a novice in grade only. Before joining the Bulldogs she honed her hoops skills playing travel ball with the Niagara JUEL (junior elite) prep team.
Doing whatever it takes to put her team in a position to win is Sentance’s priority on the court.
“That’s what I do on my teams,” she said. “I like to describe it as ‘physical,’ get in there and try and get the ball, compete with the big girls and take it from them.”
Sentance admitted straddling the line between being physical and running afoul of the referees can be tough.
“I try my best not to reach,” the 5-foot-8 guard said.
She wasn’t assessed any fouls in Tuesday afternoon’s nailbiter at Churchill.
Taylor Doyle, who scored a teamhigh 14 points for Fort Erie, said Niagara’s newest high school came into the tournament with a goal of “making a name for ourselves. “We just want to do our best.” For the most part the Gryphons did in her estimation.
“We had some really great moments but some we could have been a bit stronger,” she said. “Our defence we need to work on a bit more.”
The host Bulldogs limited Fort Erie’s scoring chances for much of the first half with a pressure defence that frustrated the Gryphons and often created turnovers.
“It wasn’t that big of a problem,” Doyle said. “We knew how to break it, but their press was really strong today.”
The Gryphons shooting turned cold late in the fourth quarter when layups under the basket, more or less automatic in the early going, went everywhere but in for Fort Erie.
“The pressure got to us I would say.”
Doyle, who moved to Greater Fort Erie after attending Fort Erie Secondary School for her first two years of high school, said the transition to playing with onetime Ridgeway-Crystal Beach opponents has been an easy one to make.
“It’s really been easy because they know how to play basketball, they have a mentality for the game,” she said.
Churchill’s Kaley DeMont led all scorers with 21 points.
The Bulldogs also will be on their home court, playing the St. Francis Phoenix at 7:30 p.m., when action resumes today with the first round of elimination games.
St. Francis bounced the host Denis Morris Reds to the consolation side of the bracket with a 5335 victory on Day 1 of the tournament.
Erin Giroux, with 12 points; Sophia Al-Kayed and Abby Ruetz, nine apiece; topped the Phoenix in scoring. Lexxus Bell led Denis Morris with 11 points.
The Reds play Greater Fort Erie in a consolation quarter-final today at Churchill. Tipoff is 3 p.m.
Following are results and top scorers from the six other qualifying-round games Tuesday:
Marauders 61, Golden Eagles 13
At Governor Simcoe, top-seeded A.N. Myer took a 36-5 lead into the break on the way to a victory over Thorold.
Tori DiDomenico, with 20; and Julia Colavecchia, 17; scored in double digits for the Marauders.
Eryn Evans and Eryka Sneath netted six points apiece for the Golden Eagles.
Mustangs 44, Redcoats 26
Aliyah Glaze and Carlee Ibey scored 11 points apiece to help Saint Michael advance to the championship quarter-finals with a victory over host Governor Simcoe.
Allison Addy and Alicia Reid scored 14 and four points, respectively, for the Redcoats.
Flyers 56, Cyclone 32
At Eden, Mackenzie Schroeder scored 14 points and Beth deBoer 11 as the host Flyers defeated E.L. Crossley.
Mackenzie Sider, with eight; and Emily Bonisteel, seven; were top scorers for the Cyclone.
Cougars 47, Raiders 27
Also at Eden, Catherine Maltais, eight points; Brenna Ferrara and Destiny Paquin, seven apiece; led a balanced attack that led Welland Centennial past Holy Cross.
Vanessa D’Epiro’s scored a teamhigh 12 points for the Raiders.
Thunder 49, Patriots 31
At Denis Morris, Blessed Trinity defeated Saint Paul thanks in large part to 13 points from Mia DiPasquale and 11 from Maddie O’Brien.
Susan Leone scored a game-high 14 points for the Patriots.
Lynx 56, Eagles 47
At Churchill, Jean Vanier began defence of its overall tournament championship by relegating Grimsby to the consolation side of the bracket.
Andrea Hebert, with 15; Isabelle Sinclair, 13; paced the Lynx in points.
Top scorers for the Eagles were Paige Epp, with a game-high 22 points; and Jujana Vukovic, 20.