Going to OFSAA
[attach]1024[/attach]For two days in November the Northern Red Knights senior girls pursued their OFSAA basketball dreams.
But en route to qualifying they hit a roadblock by the name of Thomson Titans Nov. 19.
Losing 57-46 to the east-enders, Northern coach Wendy Luck said a flat-footed first half was the cause.
“I think that it was just getting the nerves out,” she said. “I don’t know if that was what it was, but … we work best when we get our ball inside of the post and feed it back out, and once we started doing that more effectively in the second half that change started to happen.”
Coughing up too many boards in the first half was another problem as Titans Kayla Grossett and Jasmine Harris continued to take advantage, accumulating 25 and 14 points respectively.
After a halftime roundtable the Red Knights were fueled by their OFSAA ambitions. One of the hungriest was Kate Easton, who sunk five consecutive treys, part of her 20 point total.
It was an energy Luck said she wanted to see from the beginning.
“I’m just surprised (Easton) never got them off in the first place,” she said. “It’s not unlikely to get into that rhythm and when she does she’s a force.”
Easton credited her perimeter blitz to a desire to win.
“We beat them earlier in the year, so we were hoping to make it to OFSAA,” she said. “I think we played really well as a team — we came back from a very big hole.”
Two days earlier it was a test of patience for the girls against Dr. Norman Bethune. They won 42-24 over a pass heavy Bears offence.
Northern had to keep their heads when they went on the defence, Luck said Nov. 17.
“The teams from the east favour that type of a game,” she said. “The last couple of years it’s killed us, and I think seeing that a few times over the course of the season, we’re a little bit more ready for it.”
Steely nerves paid off for Northern as point guard Emily Gilbert and Easton both forced four turnovers each.
Those turnovers also helped centre Sophie Beutel in amassing 20 points on the game. She also added three steals and pulled down 10 boards en route to a double-double.
Still, there’s a backdoor chance the girls can make it to OFSAA Nov. 20, but it will be against Eastern Commerce, a team they beat 46-40 to enter the citys.
“We’ve beat them twice already regular season and the other in the championship match,” Luck said. “They’re gunning and they’ve got our number. Every game has been close, so let’s just hope we can pull on through.”
The girls advanced to OFSAA with a 45-32 win.
