Rams win Kawartha junior basketball title
The Kenner Collegiate junior girls basketball team is off to COSSA on Tuesday after winning the Kawartha high school A championships Monday.
The Kenner Rams beat Brock High School 53-21 in the finals at Kenner on Monday afternoon.
“It was a big win. Kenner has never gone this far, so it’s really awesome,” said Jordan Mills.
Emily Martinez was the lead scorer in the game with 18 points, followed by Mya Jolley, who earned 17.
“It feels really good,” Jolley said of the win.
The Rams first took out Norwood District High School in the semifinals to take first place.
Mills, a 15-year-old Grade 10 student, attributes the wins to the team’s dedication.
“It’s the hard work and determination that each player puts in at every practice and every game and it just adds up in the end,” Mills said.
The junior girls went undefeated in the regular season 14-0, which Jolley said was exciting.
She thinks her team took the top spot because of their strong bond, on and off the court.
“We hang out all the time, we understand each other so it makes it a lot easier on the court,” Jolley said.
All but one of the girls played on the team last year and coach Fred Blowes said they’ve really come together this year.
“They care for each other and they support one another and that’s important,” said Blowes, who coaches the girls with Jamie Hutchinson.
The girls undefeated season is partly due to their offence, Blowes said, which they’ve really stepped up.
That said, they also have a very strong defence, he added.
“We put a lot of pressure on the ball and create turnovers and then we get the fast break out and some nice easy baskets,” he said.
The Rams will face Quinte Christian High School at COSSA at Belleville’s Nicholson Catholic College at noon on Tuesday.
Brock High School will play Nicholson Catholic College, and the winners from each game will compete at 4 p.m.
Having coached girls basketball for more than three decades, Blowes said his teams have had a few good runs over the years, but nothing like this.
“We’ve gone undefeated in a regular season — that’s never happened in 33 years.”
And that makes the longtime coach very proud.
“They’re a great group to be around. They really believe in each other, so it makes my job easier.”