Woodland queens of District 8
BRESLAU — The school needed someone to guide its basketball program and a prominent coach needed the occasional use of a gymnasium to offer individual training.
Four years later, with former Lakehead and Wilfrid Laurier coach Stu Julius at the helm, the Woodland Cavaliers are champions of the District 8 senior girls basketball league. Mae Drost scored 20 points and the Cavaliers rolled to a 55-23 win against the St. Benedict Saints in Friday night’s title game at Woodland Christian High School.
The rise to the top started when Woodland principal John VanPelt spoke with Julius about raising the quality of the school’s basketball program. The two put their heads together and a deal was reached.
“They gave me the use of the gym and I gave them the use of my services,” Julius said. “Pam Danis (a former coach at the University of Manitoba) coaches the junior team and we’ve been working with most of these kids for four years and I think it’s showing.”
The Cavaliers have been dominant in District 8 play, posting an 11-0 regular-season and playoff record, while outscoring their opponents 644-238 along the way.
Sydney VanderHoef and Jenna Duimering chipped in with 11 points each on Friday and Kate Drost added seven. Angie Tran scored 10 for St. Benedict, which was down 20-0 when Tianna Ansourian scored its first basket.
The Cavaliers received a welcome lift at the start of the season when Kate and Mae Drost moved to the area from Oregon.
Alexis Hessels has been a defensive rock throughout the campaign, Alanna Parker has been strong on the boards, and VanderHoef has been the team’s undisputed leader at point guard.
“Sydney is one of the best guards I’ve coach in a long time and I’ve worked with some pretty good guards,” Julius said. “She sets the tone and she’s so unselfish, sometimes to the point I get on her to be more selfish. How she goes is how we go.”
The Cavaliers will compete at the Central Western Ontario (CWOSSA) single-A championship in Kincardine next week. The Saints are headed to the triple-A tourney in Kitchener.
Eagles win junior title
In the junior final, Shelda Collins scored 11 points and the St. Mary’s Eagles recorded a 40-34 win against the St. David Celtics. Sophia Urosevic and Taya Johnson added nine and eight points respectively for St. Mary’s. Grace White and Iva Ballata had eight apiece for St. David.
The Eagles got a huge boost at the end of the third quarter when Allison Murray threw up a threepoint bomb as time expired to give her team a 30-25 lead.
The Eagles move on to the CWOSSA triple-A tournament and the Celtics will play at the double-A event in Cambridge and Waterloo.