SPORTS
Wildcats juniors win hoops season
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
While the offensive strategy of the Wild- cats has served them well during their games, CoachMacDonald cited one aspect of the team’s defence as its greatest strength this season. «I think one of the biggest strengths of our team is our pressure defence,» he said. «We like to apply a lot of pressure, particu- larly after we score, and this leads to more offensive (scoring) opportunities.» Coach MacDonald noted that his whole bench is pretty well-rounded in their skills but he did single out one player as a linchpin for the Wildcats offence.
scene in Prescott-Russell this season. «Definitely, the dedication and com- mitment put forward by the kids,» he said. «When we don’t have a scheduled team practice, most of the boys can be found at the YMCA, honing their individual skills.» The coach noted that even theWildcats wouldn’t even let the weather hold them back from training this season. «We had a ‘snow day’ two weeks ago, and nearly the full roster showed up to a 6:30 a.m. practice,» he said. «They really understand that, if they want to succeed, they need to put in the work.»
«I would like to think that we’re a well- balanced team,» Coach MacDonald said, «but our offence is definitely geared around our point-guard Spencer Murray. He has the ability to control the game with his ball- handling and (court) smarts. He also has an outstanding supporting cast, which has helped contribute to his personal success.» The Wildcats nowmove on the Prescott- Russell finals series, hosting Le Sommet Wednesday, 1 p.m. in a semi-final match. Winner moves on to the league finals which are set forThursday, 1 p.m. at Rockland Dis- trict High School.
There are a lot of tired smiles at Rockland District High School. The Wildcats junior boys finished the regular season of high school basketball in championship style. “They’re undefeated, six and zero,” said Coach RyanMacDonald. “There were a few close games but, for the most part, we were able to keep things under control.” Coach MacDonald listed dedication as one of, if not the, biggest reason for theWild- cats dominating the junior boys basketball
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca Falcons take flight for basketball finals second overall with a six-and-one game record in the regular season schedule for senior boys basketball in the Prescott-Russell high school league. Their last game of the season on Feb. 11 saw the Falcons with a home-court advantage as they trimmed Le Sommet 37-27 in the early afternoon. They landed in second place after trying hard all season on the basketball court. Now the Falcons fromHammond are get- ting ready to wing it for a championship title shot this week in the Prescott-Russell high school series finals. The St. Francis Xavier Falcons finished
«They (Le Sommet) were a good three- point shooting team,» said Falcons’ coach Scott Stoqua, during a post-game interview. «But our (court) press worked well and we were able to generate some turnovers off that and keep our lead.» This is the start of the finals series with Feb. 17 scheduled for the semi-finals match between SFX and Russell High School. The Falcons would have the home-court advan- tage again as host school and Coach Stoqua expressed confidence that SFX would have the edge on the scoreboard against Russell High. «We’ve played them twice and beaten them twice,» he said, adding that the scores were close. «They have a lot of athletes, and they put on a lot of ball pressure that we’ll have to handle. ” Meanwhile, the senior boys basketball season is over for the Rockland District High School Wildcats (RDHS). The final game of the season last Wednesday at home against the St. Thomas Aquinas Ravens ended with a narrow victory for the visitors. “We were one point behind,” said Wild- cats Coach Teena Barton. RDHS finished the senior boys basketball seasonwith one win and seven losses, which takes theWildcats out of the running for the playoffs. Coach Barton agreed that the past season has been a development one for the school’s senior squad as she did not have many veteran players among her grade 11s though the team showed constant improve- ment as it went through the game schedule. “Every game, we’d been getting closer and closer to beating them (opponents),” she said, adding that strong self-confidence has proven theWildcats senior boys’ greatest asset. “Keeping their spirits up and they kept themselves motivated.”
“ I LEARN FROM EVERY QUIT ATTEMPT. ”
Last chance on the basketball court this season for the Wildcats senior boys. RDHS lost a closematch to the St.Thomas Aquinas Ravens in the final game of the regular season. InHammond, though, the SFX Falcons earned their wings for a shot at the Prescott-Russell title in this week’s league finals series.
THAT’S A VICTORY. JONATHAN. OTTAWA. NON-SMOKER. 998 DAYS.
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