Douglas – For the first time in the school’s 55-year history, a Junior girls basketball team from Opeongo High School (OHS) is the top team for A-level schools in Eastern Ontario.
The OHS Wildcats won bragging rights at the Eastern Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association (EOSSAA) tournament which they hosted last Tuesday.
The team won their two pool games to advance to the final, defeating Rideau and Tagwi, by scores of 43-37 and 32-22 respectively. In the final, they met St. Mary’s High from Brockville, the top seed of tournament. After leading by as many as eight points at one point in the final quarter, the Wildcats held off a late charge by St. Mary’s to win the title 52-50.
Head coach Wendy Moon said she felt like some parts of the final were almost scripted they were so beautiful.
“There were other parts that didn’t go so great,” she admitted. “Wow, the kids really came together and they sure played their hearts out.
“It was a pretty exciting day, that’s for sure,” she added.
She and OHS athletic director Michelle Harris submitted a bid to host the Junior Girls A tournament in the late summer because they thought they had a chance of playing in it.
Ms. Moon said before the season began, she knew there would be a strong group of new Grade 9’s coming in from St. Michael’s in Douglas who were part of the Grade 8 Renfrew County championship team there last year.
“And some of them from the River Dogs club, and they had some game experience, which was nice. I thought we’d be contenders in terms of making it to EOSSAA.
“Then with the try-outs and getting going, I was pretty excited about the team and about growing the group together,” she added. “But I did not think we’d win the whole thing, so that was a bit of a bonus.”
The team finished in third place in the league with a 7-2 record, its losses coming against the two AA schools, Arnprior and Bishop Smith Catholic of Pembroke.
“That meant we qualified to go on to EOSSAA,” she explained. “We were the seed going into the tournament, so I was hopeful we’d play well.
“But even with that, I thought the Number 1 and 2 seeds were going to be quite strong, but they turned out to be not as strong as I thought,” she added.
She said after the first win over Rideau, from Elgin, in a very competitive game, the Number 2 seed, she felt the team had a shot to go all the way. She hoped the initial win would inspire a good game against Number 6 seed Taquay in the second game, which proved true.
Despite the two wins, she said she was unsure how the team would do against the talented Number 1 seed St. Mary’s.
“I didn’t think they were totally out of our reach but . . .”
Ms. Moon said there were some tense moments in the final as St. Mary’s narrowed the Wildcats lead to just two points with about 30 seconds left to play.
“That happens in basketball a lot. It’s a game of momentum shifts, for sure.
“We had had some just absolutely beautiful shifts, the first quarter was amazing,” she added. “Then we had a couple different times where we really had the momentum going. But in those last two minutes, we have to give some credit to St. Mary’s, they really battled back.”
She said when she took a time-out with about 25 seconds left, she really just wanted to have the girls fall back into a zone defence, which really did not work that well either.
“But there was just so much excitement in the gym and the girls and the fans were so amped up … they were in a situation they’ve never been in before,” she noted. “They just did so many good things, and I’m not surprised it got a little hairy at the end.”
Coach Moon received some tough news the day before the tournament when starting guard, Alaina Matheson, arrived at school with a cast on her left wrist from a hockey injury on the weekend.
“That was a Monday morning surprise of a very, very bad kind. That was definitely a disappointment for us because she really is a great competitor and as one of the older kids, a bit of a leader.
“She’s a really good defender and finishes lots of lay-ups and stuff for us,” she continued. “That definitely affected us, but it sure was neat to see some of the other kids step up and play so well and take some of that responsibility.”
She credited Abbie Elliott for taking over by controlling the ball and bringing it up-court.
“She played really, really well and finished lots of lay-ups in the second half of the game.”
She also gave credit to Ava Enright and Rebecca Egan, the team’s “twin towers”, for their efforts in controlling the rebounds at both ends of the floor.
“They’re both really developing to be pretty good post players,” she said. “That first quarter, Rebecca was on fire, she was unstoppable.”
She noted while the Wildcats had several opportunities to put the game away with some late foul shots, but they were unable to sink any.
“I think the nerves kind of got the best of us and we weren’t able to finish some of those foul shots.”
She said most of the team were Grade 9 students and will be a pretty exciting group to watch in the future.
“They’re super nice kids and they work really hard,” she commented. “They’re quite talented.”
Ms. Moon said it’s hard to express how wonderful it was to win the title on their home court.
“It’s a cool accomplishment, for sure. The school has never won an EOSSAA championship for Junior girls basketball and to do that here with their family and friends … when they were presented with the award, it was pretty special.”
She said playing at home may have added to the nerves, but having family and friends on hand to support them outweighed any negatives.
Coach Moon thanked everyone involved in helping host the tournament for making it a special day for everyone.
