Again, the girls had to face another set of ceremonies, as their athletics department made a statement and everyone in the gym held a brief moment of silence for Coach Kulakowsky. It was also their annual senior night, so after warming up, we waited and watched their speeches and gifts to their graduating players.

 

And then it was game time. Their first shot of the game was a 3-pointer which had Coach Thompson and I looking at each other saying, “Oh no, it looks like BCS all over again.” That one basket was the only scoring event over the first 3 minutes of the game, and their only scoring moment in the entire first quarter. SC scored five points in the period on two field goals by Erika and a free throw by Maya. It was already looking to be a hard-fought contest between two hard-working teams.  1Q Score: SC 5 - SdS 3 

The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with Allie leading us with four points. Unfortunately, our number of fouls (9) surpassed our number of points (8) and was a harbinger of issues to come. 2Q Score: SC 13 - SdS 13 

We said we were definitely in a game and that we needed to work hard on defence -- without fouling -- and keep it close to have a chance to win the game at the end. Charlotte impressively used the intermission time to remind the other players on specifics of presses and press-beakers. She is a cerebral young woman who acts as a player-coach on the floor. In the third quarter, the referee afforded a few opportunities to them as we continued to be called for fouls, resulting in SdS going to the free throw line. In fact, their only scoring finishes/attempts in that quarter saw them going 4/6 at the line. SC scoring belonged to Clara, and she alone in that quarter she was responsible for all six Spartan points, scoring more than the entire other team. With Clara leading the group and us maintaining a lead, it allowed us to rest Addie and Maya, who were both experiencing foul trouble. 3Q Score: SC 19 - SdS 17 

Resting Addie and Maya turned out to be very beneficial, as they both could bring their toughness to the final quarter, and both stayed in the game until the end. Miranda was a spark plug who caused many SdS turnovers thanks to her intensity, but she also managed to foul herself out of the game.  

 

Whereas the third quarter belonged to Clara, the final period was Maya's chance to shine. She also was the lone scorer for the Spartans, scoring as many herself (9) as the entire Barons team. She dominated her opponents and made spectators take notice of her positive skills and attitude. SdS did manage a little run when the score was 28-21 in our favour, as they scored 5 more points, but we closed the door on them with terrific defence in the last two minutes of the game. Final score: SC 28 - SdS 26 in a very tough game.

 

I am so proud of and happy for the girls for showing great effort and attitude over the past week or so. Next up, the return game with SdeS at home, followed by RSEQ playoffs on Saturday at SdeS.  

 

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* Update Feb 20: SdS forfeited the final league game, which means that the Stanstead Spartans are the RSEQ D4 Basketball League champions. This sets up a first playoff game against SdeS at 10:15 on their court Saturday. The second game (win or lose) is at 2:15. Good luck to the Spartans in the RSEQ playoffs.