Sister act leads Woodland to final
Cavaliers one win away from school’s first District 8 championship in senior girls’ basketball
BRESLAU — Sydney VanderHoef recalls the first day of practice in September, when a pair of tall, blond newcomers walked into the gymnasium at Woodland Christian High School to audition for the senior girls’ basketball team.
It took less than a minute for the Drost sisters, Mae and Kate, to make their presence felt.
“They walked into the gym together and I’m like ‘whoa, they’re tall’ and they picked up a ball and I’m like ‘whoa, they can play, too.’ I remember thinking this could be a good season,” said VanderHoef.
“The best part is they really fit in. You could bring in two really good players and it could actually do more damage than good but, in all areas, on and off the court, they fit in really well.”
The Cavaliers’ season, which has turned out to be better than good, continued Wednesday with a 59-15 win against the Monsignor Doyle Mustangs in a District 8 semifinal playoff game. Mae Drost led the way with a game-high 18 points and the Cavaliers advanced to Friday night’s D8 championship game against the St. Benedict Saints.
The Cavaliers, who are 10-0 on the season and have two convincing wins over the Saints (6-4) in regular-season play, can win the school’s first D8 senior girls’ basketball championship with a win Friday.
The Drosts — Mae is in Grade 11, Kate is in Grade 10 — returned to Canada earlier this year after spending most of their lives in the United States, first in Texas and later in Klamath Falls, Ore. Their parents, Lawrence and Jeanie, are Woodland graduates who decided the time was right to leave their farms behind and move back to this area to be closer to family.
The transition has been pretty much seamless, said Mae, saying both sisters have been made to feel welcome from the start. The District 8 league isn’t as competitive as what they encountered in Oregon, she said, but competing at weekend tournaments has more than made up for it.
“It’s different than what we’re used to, but everyone is really friendly and Stu (Julius) is a great coach,” said Mae Drost.
“My team in the States last year was one win away from going to the state tournament, which was pretty upsetting, so I really want to go to the state tournament here.”
She meant to say provincial, of course, and the Cavaliers appeared to have the necessary tools to reach the Nov. 22-24 allOntario OFSAA single-A championship in North Bay.
From afar, the Drost sisters could pass as twins. Kate is slightly taller but they wear identical Nike headbands and knee pads.
On the court, Mae is a strong ball handler who doesn’t hesitate to launch an outside shot, while Kate is a post player who is strong on the boards and a good inside shooter. Watch them long enough and you’ll also notice Kate shoots with her right hand and her sister is a lefty.
On Wednesday, Mae Drost scored the game’s first basket
just seconds after the opening tipoff and the Cavaliers never looked back. They led 14-2 after the first quarter and 26-10 at halftime. Kate Drost and Alanna Parker added 13 points each and Jenna Duimering had eight.
Brooke Cameron had nine points for Monsignor Doyle.
VanderHoef, a multi-sport athlete at Woodland who will play soccer at the University of Guelph this fall, said the team is prepared for run at a D8 title and beyond.
“We have a nice, deep bench and we all get along really well, which really helps on the court,” she said. “Mistakes happen but we don’t get frustrated with each other and when good things happen, they usually happen as a team.”
Having an experienced coach won’t hurt either.
Stu Julius has been involved in the game for decades, and spent 18 years at Lakehead University before moving on to a nine-year run at Wilfrid Laurier.
The Cavaliers now boast an overall record of 23-1, have won two tournaments while finishing second in another and defeated the top team in the WCSSAA league, the KCI Raiders, in an exhibition game.
As far as history with Friday’s opponent goes, Woodland defeated St. Benedict 58-29 and 59-32 in regular-season meetings.
The Saints advanced to Friday’s final (8 p.m., Woodland Christian) with a 50-44 win against the Père-René-de-Galinée Chevalières. Kyle D’Souza and Trinity Lombardi turned in 17point performances for the winners, Olivia Holness and Alliyah Rowe led Père-René with 21 and 13 points respectively.
The St. David Celtics will face the St. Mary’s Eagles in the D8 junior final, a 6 p.m. start at Woodland.