By BRUCE HEIDMAN, THE SUDBURY STAR Posted 9 hours ago
After only playing a few minutes per game during much of the regular season, Sam Cooper was a dominant force again Saturday.
Cooper, who suffered an ankle injury with the provincial team during the summer, never left the court during the senior girls Division I city basketball championship game and led the way with 28 points as the Vikings collected its fourth straight city crown with a 43-33 win over Sacre-Coeur in front of a home court crowd at the Lockerby gymnasium.
Not that it was an easy route for the Vikings. Lockerby faced a confident Griffons squad coming off a huge upset over the No. 1-ranked and previously unbeaten Notre Dame Alouettes in the semifinals two days earlier.
Not intimidated by the defending champs, the Griffons kept it close throughout the first half, talented low post Emily Tymchuk scoring seven of her 15 points in the opening half, while setting up teammates with smart passes out of the post when the Vikings defence collapsed on her.
However, Cooper was that much better on the other end of the floor, scoring from inside and out to collect 10 points to help spot the Vikings to an 18- 15 first half lead.
Cooper stepped it up in the second half when she was handed the assignment to guard Tymchuk, setting up a tremendous low post battle for the remainder of the contest.
Cooper made an impact right away in the second half, two three-pointers bookending a two to start the second half put the defending champs ahead to stay, with Lockerby holding a 31-24 lead at the end of the third quarter that they held for
the rest of the match. Long time Vikings head coach Mike Sheridan said his
team came into the final with a healthy respect for the Griffons. "We knew what we were
going into," he said. "They came in confident and relaxed after upsetting Notre Dame, but we made some adjustments at half time that helped. I made sure I kept Sam away from Emily in the first half so she didn't get into any foul trouble and Sam only had one after the first half, so the big adjustment was putting her on Emily in the second half and that was the difference in the game. Coop scored a ton and really kept Emily in check in the second half. That was the difference between winning and losing."
Cooper said the Griffons' play in the first half put some doubt in her mind.
"I was getting really nervous in the first half," the Grade 11 student said. "They came really ready to play and I was worried we wouldn't be able to pull if off again, especially in our home gym, that was hard."
"But like our coach told us, we're still the champions of the league until someone beats us, so it was nerve-racking for us for sure," she added.
Cooper enjoyed the game within a game against Tymchuk.
"Emily is a great player and a hard worker who really knows the game, so going against her makes me better in the long run, and it was hard to play against her, but it was fun," she said. "It shows what you have to work on and I love it."
Griffons head coach Justin Brogden was proud of what his charges, from one of the smallest high schools in the city, accomplished.
"We laid it all on the line and played to the end and that's all that matters," he said of his team, which was competing in Division II two years ago. "We had a whole pile of new players with two Grade 9s, three Grade 10s and three first-time basketball players, so to go to the big dance and upset the number one team along the way, you can't ask for much more. Cinderella can only go to so many dances."
Jamie Marrs added eight points for the Vikings, while Larissa Rivard scored seven for the Griffons.
The Vikings travel to North Bay for the NOSSA 'AAA' championship this weekend, while the Griffons host a challenge match tonight at against Division II city champion Confederation for the right to represent Sudbury at the NOSSA 'A' championship.
The Lasalle Lancers were easily the class of the junior loop after putting together a perfect 9-0 record in league play and were expected to run away with the championship game.
However, a determined effort by a hungry and motivated Lo- Ellen Knights side kept the final outcome uncertain until a late three-pointer with 1:50 left in the game by Lancers Grade 9 phenom Laura Graham, who scored all 10 of her points in the fourth quarter, put the game on ice as Lasalle celebrated a 40-32 victory.
Lasalle led 23-15 at the half, but Lo-Ellen came on strong in the third quarter to close to within three points at 28-25.
The turning point came with two minutes left in the fourth when Lo-Ellen missed a layup that would have brought them to within two points of Lasalle. Graham hit a three moments later, which stretched the Lasalle lead to seven points and effectively ended the game as the Lancers wore the clock.
"That was incredible, a great way to end the season," Lasalle coach Lisa Furchner said. "Lo- Ellen came out real strong and real hard with the best game they played all year and we had to fight to win this game. But that's the best thing about our girls, it doesn't matter if we are up or down, they play the exact same. There is no letting down and they play as hard as they can, so it was a really good game."
Furchner was impressed with Graham's cool under pressure when she hit the big three.
"She wanted it and she took it and sunk it and that was a game changer for us," Furchner said.
Lo-Ellen point guard Chelsea Noble had a tremendous game, scoring a game-high 11 points, while Shelia Fyfe added eight.
Kristen Ferguson, another Grade 9 Lancer who stars for the junior squad, also scored 10 points for Lasalle, while Keegan Anderson added eight.
"It was a tough game but I think we did really well," Anderson said. "It was a lot of fun. Basketball is a game of runs and they put a few good ones on us, so I'm just really happy we were able to win it."
The midget final was another good contest featuring Lo-Ellen and St. Charles.
It was Lo-Ellen's day in the midget final, however, the Knights prevailing 38-30 after holding quarter leads of 10-8, 21-14 and 26-22.
"It's always exciting when these two teams play," Lo-Ellen head coach Christi Bauck said. "The season was exciting back and forth between the two teams. We knew it would be a close game with both teams giving everything they got and it all added up to a fantastic basketball game."
Emily Cranston led Lo-Ellen with 13 points, while Katana Schroeder added 11.Taylor McNabb led St. Charles with eight points, while Emily Hrelja c and Brittany Reinhart added six points apiece.
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