One year ago, they were in tears. On Saturday night in Timmins, they were also in tears, but this time for a different reason.
The O'Gorman High School Knights girls basketball team were crowned 2017 OFSAA 'A' champions with an impressive 52-39 victory over the team that defeated them on their home turf last year, the ESC Jean Vanier Lynx from Welland.
It was a rematch that almost seemed destined to occur. The Knights came into this year's tournament as the number one seed, and the Lynx, the number three. It is the exact opposite of 2016, and despite the very high calibre of play from all teams over the course of the three day tournament, a Knights-Lynx final was quietly what tournament organizers were expecting.
In front of a jam-packed and raucous crowd, the Lynx jumped out to an early 7-2 lead thanks to the stellar play of sisters Alexandra (grade 12) and Andrea Hebert (grade 9). But the Knights clawed their way back and ended up outscoring the Lynx in every quarter of the game.
A major contributor was O'Gorman's own grade 9 sensation, point guard Jadyn Weltz, who played the entire game and controlled the pace of play throughout.
"It's just crazy, like I can't even take it all in right now, it's absolutely crazy," she told TimminsToday just minutes after the final buzzer.
She and her teammates were boosted by the presence of former Knights star Emma Weltz, whose play last season was so impressive that she was recruited by Southwest Academy, an elite basketball program with professional coaching in London, Ontario. The elder Weltz sister was devastated a year ago after being defeated in the gold medal final to the same Jean Vanier Lynx squad, but made the trip home to cheer on her former team. Although Jadyn wasn't on the silver medallist team from a year ago, she was shedding tears of joy after the victory.
"We really wanted this win. Everyone was heartbroken last year, so we had to work extra hard in order to get the Gold this year."
The Knights top scorer was Arianna Gagnon, one of just two grade 12 students on an incredibly deep Knights team.
"It feels good. Last year we didn't win. This year, it's my final year, and we finally got the 'dub' and it feels great," she said.
Knights captains Arianna Gagnon, Hannah Culhane, and Gabriella Schaffner accept the OFSAA championship trophy and banner. Andrew Autio for TimminsTodayAll of her 21 points came on 3-pointers, her specialty, and she electrified the crowd with each shot. Although she missed a few open looks early on, once she heated up, it was simply too much for the Lynx to deal with.
"First shot, I was kinda off, but next shot, I knew it was going in. I was just thinking to myself, 'next shot is going in' I feel good, rhythm is good, everything was amazing," said Gagnon.
"No words can explain the win. It's just amazing. We finally got it."
She has certainly made a name for herself throughout the province with her deadly accuracy, and may take her talents to the next level.
"I'm thinking of going to college, playing ball, and then transferring to university. I have a few recruits from different places. I haven't chosen one yet, still undeclared," said Gagnon.
On the other side, the Lynx were also in tears after the tough loss. Head Coach Tara Poulin, undoubtedly one of the elite high school basketball coaches in the province, with four OFSAA titles since 2011 to her name, was able to hold her head high.
"We had a very up-and-down season. So we originally didn't even think we would be making OFSAA, the way our season had went. The girls tuned it around, I'd say, two weeks before the end of the season. So we didn't think we would make it here," she said in her trademark heart-on-her-sleeve style.
"Once we got here, we said 'let's try and go for a medal', and once we got to the finals we said 'let's try for the upset too.' We have beaten the hometown team four times in the past already."
She acknowledged the tremendous depth that O'Gorman possessed, which made defending a big challenge.
"We knew they could shoot the lights out, and we couldn't make any shots. So in that kind of game, you're never going to beat a team like O'Gorman," said Poulin.
One year ago, after capturing the provincial title, she predicted the Knights would in fact win this year, a premonition which came true on Saturday.
"We wanted to make it more of a game. We got good shots off, they just weren't dropping. They are a super patient team and well coached," said Poulin, adding that the Jean Vanier Lynx program will regroup.
"We're going to make it back to OFSAA next year. We're going to have the same goals. We're going to compete every year. It's what we do."
For Knights Head Coach Marcy McCarty, capturing the school's first provincial championship at this level was very special, but she gave all of the credit to her players.
"For the girls, it's amazing. For me, it's great too, but they've worked hard for this, after last year and everything, I'm over the moon for them," she said.
As she stated just before the tournament began her team wasn't overly focused on avenging a loss to the Lynx a year ago, but sticking to what they do best.
"We just focused one game at a time and we executed our game plan, every game. I couldn't be more proud of them," said McCarty.
2017 OFSAA 'A' Girls Basketball Medalists:
GOLD MEDAL - O'Gorman High School Knights - Timmins (#1 Seed)
Gracie Barbuto, Ally Burke, Abby Couture, Hannah Culhane, Brianna Dodd, Chloe Finnila, Arianna Gagnon, Brianna Hway, Jenna Katic, Holly McLean, Gabriella Schaffner, Mallory Turcotte, Jadyn Weltz
Coaching Staff: Marcy McCarty, Cathy Beard
PLAYERS BY GRADE: Grade 12 (2), Grade 11 (4), Grade 10 (5), Grade 9 (2)
SILVER MEDAL - Ecole Secondaire Catholique Jean Vanier Lynx - Welland (#3 Seed)
Alyssa Arcand, Danielle Brinker, Alexandra Hebert, Andrea Hebert, Mikayla Lafontaine, Gabrielle Lemay, Alexandra Levitt, Morgan McAvoy, Julia McPhail, Isabelle Sinclair, Madelyn Sturgeon, Ariel Wendling, Matteya Wendling
Coaching Staff: Tara Poulin, Tricia Poulin, Martin Vaillancourt
PLAYERS BY GRADE: Grade 12 (5), Grade 11 (3), Grade 10 (4), Grade 9 (1)
BRONZE MEDAL - Ecole Secondaire MacDonald-Cartier Pantheres - Sudbury (#2 Seed)
Mila Coco, Arielle Douillette, Dayna Fairwell, Meagan Hicks, Sophie Laforest, Arianne Saumur, Jasmine Wafer, Kaitlyn Winn, Clara Yanchuk
Coaching Staff: Sebastien Gervais, Ron Poulin
PLAYERS BY GRADE: Grade 12 (4), Grade 11 (5), Grade 10 (0), Grade 9 (0)
