There were jeers, there were tears, and there were plenty of cheers.
The 2016 OFSAA Provincial 'A' Girls Basketball Championship tournament came to an exciting conclusion on Saturday night in Timmins.
The gold medal final featured the number one ranked E.S.C. Jean Vanier Lynx from Welland taking on the hosts and hometown favourites, the number three ranked O'Gorman Knights, who were playing on their home court.
In front of a raucous capacity crowd, the Knights jumped out to a big 17-5 lead after the first quarter, but Jean Vanier stormed back with a dominant second and held a two point lead at the half.
The gymnasium maintained a significant decibel level during the break thanks to the Knights' mascot, who was given an absolute clinic on how to properly 'do the stanky leg' by Diana Gharib, a senior guard for the E.J. Lajeunesse Royals from Windsor, whose team played in the Bronze medal match earlier.
The third quarter saw the Knights push back to take a one point lead into the fourth. There was a strong battle between each team's starting guards, Keturah Balabyekkubo and Alexandra Hebert for the Lynx, and Brianna Dodd and Emma Weltz of O'Gorman.
The tournament saw quality, yet inconsistent officiating. The definition of traveling was anybody's guess, and some of the hand gestures confused even high school basketball aficionados.
"You're awful" shouted a Jean Vanier supporter towards the referee in the third, after what he perceived to be a particularly bad offensive charge call against the Lynx.
In the fourth quarter, the Lynx were able to pull away, thanks to ferocious defense and capitalizing on turnovers, and came away with a 51-45 victory.
Balabyekkubo led her team with 15 points, Weltz scored a game high 19 for the Knights.
Jean Vanier head coach Tara Poulin was ecstatic with her team's ability to deal with adversity.
"It feels amazing. Obviously it was a hard fought battle, we started off not how we wanted. Our girls have never been down, basically all season, we had one loss all season, so it took a lot in them for them to come back, I think they got hit hard in the beginning. However, we have some solid players who were able to calm themselves down a little bit and play through those nerves" she said.
She talked about how her team got behind early in the game.
"We had watched a lot of game tape before, and we had set up a game plan, and the girls weren't following the game plan. I think the fans got into it, and the girls couldn't hear us and they forgot what our original game plan was. Once we were able to call the timeout, and review what we had set out to do, we only got better from then on" said Poulin.
Balabyekkubo's efforts on both sides of the ball were described by her coach.
The ESC Jean Vanier Lynx embrace just after the final buzzer sounded off to seal their provincial title. Andrew Autio for TimminsToday "She's a hard fighter. She made provincial team last year, which helped her game a lot. She was able to play hard competition. She's often times everyone's enemy. Fans want her to get another foul, refs are all over, but she doesn't care, she just plays basketball. You can't ask for anything else."
Poulin said the O'Gorman Knights were a very well coached team
"Last year when I saw them, when all those kids were in grade 9 and 10, I didn't want to meet up with them. I got lucky when they lost in quarterfinals, because in my opinion, they're just like my girls. Our biggest strengths are our speed, our defense, our athleticism, and its the same thing for them. Often times we get the mismatches, but they created a lot of mismatches. They're an excellent shooting team, number 21 (Weltz), 11 (Dodd), 14 (Arianna Gagnon) they do their job. I love 42 (Hannah Culhane) she's a wicked post player. They leave everything on the floor, and you know what? They're going to get it next year, I truly believe that, with the experience they got this year, and last year."
Although the loss was a painful one for the Knights, as many players shed tears afterwards, they were one of the youngest teams in the tournament, and will likely return their entire roster next season. Tara Jensen was the only senior and graduating player.
When asked if the long drive up to Timmins was worth it, Poulin replied "Hells yeah!"
The victory was a crowning achievement for the veteran laden Jean Vanier side, who Poulin has coached for four years.
"Its the best feeling ever, especially in your grade 12 year" said Lynx forward Natasha Desjardins, who gave all the credit to her coaches for her development as a player.
She said her team was a bit shellshocked in the first, but described how her team was able to overcome the early deficit.
"I don't know how they got up that much, our first quarter has been rough all tournament, but I think that the fouls they were giving us, we were making them at the line and thats what got us into the game, and opened up the net for us to score more."
Desjardins said her team was able to withstand the influence of the boisterous, pro-Knights crowd.
"Its our second time being hometown killers, and the fourth time in JV (Jean Vanier) history, so a loud crowd doesn't really bug us" she said.
In the bronze medal game, the LoEllen Park SS Knights out of Sudbury went home victorious with a 47-19 win over EJ Lajeunesse.
GOLD MEDAL - Ecole Secondaire Catholique Jean Vanier Lynx - Welland (#1 seed)
Keturah Balabyekkubo, Danielle Bilodeau, Emily Charron, Natasha Desjardins, Julia Doucet, Kendel Dunn, Alexandra Hebert, Mikayla Lafontaine, Gabrielle Lemay, Julia McPhail, Isabelle Sinclair, Sophie Vaillancourt, Kyara Wendling, Matteya Wendling
Coaching Staff: Tara Poulin, Tricia Poulin, Morgan McAvoy
PLAYERS BY GRADE: Grade 12 (7) Grade 11 (5) Grade 10 (1) Grade 9 (1)
SILVER MEDAL - O'Gorman High School Knights - Timmins (#3 seed)
Ally Burke, Hannah Culhane, Brianna Dodd, Chloe Finnila, Ava Fregonese, Olivia Fregonese, Arianna Gagnon, Brianna Hway, Tara Jensen, Natasha Loone, Holly McLean, Gabriella Schaffner, Mallory Turcotte, Emma Weltz
Coaching Staff: Marcy McCarty, Cathy Beard
PLAYERS BY GRADE: Grade 12 (1) Grade 11 (4) Grade 10 (5) Grade 9 (4)
BRONZE MEDAL - LoEllen Park Secondary School Knights - Sudbury (#2 seed)
Jayme Anderson, Maria Best, Delaney Bourget, Kyla Bruni, Shannon Clarke, Kate Dahmer, Mireille DiMaio, Samantha Dunlop-Bassett, Julie Juhas, Steffi Leers, Taylin Legault, Dylann Mazzuchin, Morgan Smith
Coaching Staff: Jen Bourget, Dawn Russell, Jessica Juhas
PLAYERS BY GRADE: Grade 12 (1) Grade 11 (3) Grade 10 (3) Grade 9 (5)
