Captains veterans girls games close out TVRA Southeast season on high note

Huron Park Huskies Violet Caskanette (centre) and Regan White (right) combine to block IDCI Blue Bomber Victoria Blair from going to the basket. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

The 2025 Girls Captains/Veterans Basketball Games hit all the right notes in closing out the Thames Valley Regional Athletics (TVRA) season.

With one notable exception.

“That weird song that came on when you were shooting foul shots,” Woodstock College Avenue senior Knight Julia Baer reminded her teammate Maddie Miller. “Random synthesizer piano keys, out of tune. It was so bad.”

That brief musical moment aside, the Thursday, Nov. 20 event at Woodstock CI’s Devildome was a fitting finale for a fruitful fall campaign featuring a TVRA AA semi-final appearance for the Knights. The annual event celebrates high school girls’ basketball in Oxford County along with TVRA Southeast compatriot Lord Dorchester. Selected captains and veterans from College Avenue, Woodstock CI, Huron Park and St. Mary’s, Ingersoll DCI, Tillsonburg Glendale and Dorchester are combined in Team Black and Team Blue rosters, tipping off in what could be termed the basketball equivalent of ‘friendlies.’

It’s nice to both meet and play with players from other teams said Baer, given the competitive nature of most regular and post-season action.

“Sometimes it’s not as fun an atmosphere, but this was cool.”

Sponsored T-shirts for each player, draw prizes, a series of basketball-related contests (bump, centre-court shooting and most baskets in a minute) and live announcing courtesy of host Red Devils coaches Eric Molinaro and Jason Poole contributed to a lively, celebratory atmosphere. The $550 in proceeds from the event support the WCI Festive Campaign for CAS.

The Knights’ Emily Pye was among those selected for the half court shooting contest, converting initial one-handed overhanded tries to a two-handed, underhanded approach popularized from the free throw line by former NBA star Rick Barry.

“The granny shot had to work eventually,” Pye smiled. “One more round I was going to get it. Should have started with it.”

She was ultimately unsuccessful in that contest, but her five points, six rebounds and block did garner Team Blue (CASS, Huron Park, Glendale and Dorchester) MVP honours, albeit in a 44-19 losing cause to Team Black. Dorchester’s Clare Currie added four for Team Blue with teammate Thea McLellan and Huron Park’s Jorja Mayes and Carli Minnaar added a field goal apiece.

“It was our last senior game,” said Minnaar, looking back on a positive high school experience with Huskie teammates including Mayes. “We played the last shift together.”

Ingersoll DCI’s Calie Nicholls closed out Team Black scoring with a final buzzer-beating field goal, WCI’s Mikka Runstedler added three points, St. Mary’s Warrior Marissa Blain and Red Devils Avril Craven, Kate Hooker and Dakota Thomson four each, WCI teammate Ava Bickell 11, including a three-point field goal and victories in the ‘most baskets in a minute’ and bump competitions, and St. Mary’s point guard Aliyah Anthony with a team MVP performance featuring 12 points, five rebounds and a trio of assists.

Team Black Junior (WCI, IDCI and CASS) had opened the evening with a 42-12 win over Team Blue (Huron Park, WCI, St. Mary’s, Glendale and Dorchester).

“It was a nice balance between friendly and wanting to win,” summed up IDCI Blue Bomber Dani Lynn Gill.

Huron Park’s Regan White took Team Blue MVP honours based on a six point, seven rebound and two steal performance. Glendale’s Kate Bruder added four and Huron Park’s Violet Caskanette one field goal.

Makayla Claessens had one free throw for Team Black, WCI’s Jillian Trepanier one field goal, College Avenue’s Kat Pye and WCI’s Hannah Thistlewaite four points, Ingersoll’s Mackenzie Pirrie six, Red Devil Addison Weicker 11 and WCI teammate Natalie Sutherland a game-high 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals.

“TVRA, WOSSAA and now this,” concluded Team Black MVP Sutherland. “It’s been a fun year.”