A steal at mid-court, quick run up the middle and Hail Mary shot that found mesh with one-and-a-half seconds left on the clock helped the Sacred Heart School Crusaders girls basketball team to a comeback win in the South East District Athletic Association (SEDAA) Grade 7/8 championship game last Thursday at Spruce Ridge School.
The Crusaders defeated the St. Mary’s School Monarchs 34-33 in a back-and-forth title game that saw Sacred Heart take an 11-10 lead after the first quarter and 20-16 advantage at the half. The Monarchs pressed in the third quarter with Hannah Mantei providing a defensive and offensive presence late in the frame making back-to-back steals and driving the ball in for layups to tie the game at 26-26 heading into the final period.
Sacred Heart went up 28-26 on a jump shot by Marci LeBlanc that was followed by a two from the top of the paint by Taeghen Hack giving them a four-point edge. Two quick steals and layups by the Monarchs’ Sarah Dacuyuay evened up the score before Myah Battersby put the Crusaders up 32-30.
St. Mary’s Queen Lontoc brought the score to within one on a foul shot with a little over a minute remaining, which preceded a basket from the side of the key by Mantei with 46 seconds left in the game putting the Monarchs up 33-32. LeBlanc then got the steal just inside the Crusaders’ half with a couple seconds left before driving across mid-court and launching the shot that would give her school the win.
Kaitlyne Graham, coach of the Crusaders, said her team came out strong, passed the ball well, worked the play down low and excelled on their defensive systems in the first half to get the lead. She said the Monarchs second-half pressure coupled with her team getting into foul trouble helped St. Mary’s get back into the game, but her girls once again showed off the determination they’ve had all season in overcoming difficult situations.
“In the beginning (of the season) it was a little rough,” said Graham. “I wasn’t sure how they’d play together how they were individually, but they came together and they just showed them what they had and they played well.”
Monarchs coach Agnes Garrioch said the final was tight the entire way and both teams should be proud of the way they played. She said her girls worked hard, hustled and did their best to win, but the game just came down to a final shot.
“The girls wanted to do well and their goal was to be at districts in the finals,” said Garrioch. “We made that goal and even though we didn’t win, being here at the finals and watching them play, I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
Across town at Pleasantdale School on Thursday, the Weyburn Junior High School Eagles boys basketball team captured the SEDAA Grade 7/8 championship with a 40-35 win over the Pleasantdale Bulldogs in the title game.
Despite falling behind 8-2 heading into the second quarter, the Bulldogs battled back to gain the lead shortly before halftime. Both teams traded baskets in the third quarter with the Eagles taking control in the final frame winning the game by the five-point margin.
Ryan Jutras, coach of the Bulldogs, said his guys were a bit tired in the title game after playing two matches earlier in the day to gain a berth in the final, but the team still left everything they had on the court. He said the team was pretty raw at the beginning of the season, so being able to make it to the districts finals at the end shows how far they’ve come.
“They developed into some pretty good basketball players by the end of the year,” said Jutras. “They worked hard all year and they gritted it out in the district tournament.”
