Ivanyshyn locks up Gemini junior girls’ hoops victory from free throw line

Gemini Ashlynne Ivanyshyn (foreground) hits the deck in a battle for possession with Huron Park’s Jasreet Sohi. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Post Correspondent

The Tillsonburg Gemini 37-31 Thames Valley Regional Athletics (TVRA) win over the Huron Park Huskies Thursday, October 8 in Woodstock, was every bit a junior girls’ basketball game.

And then some.

Some great plays, some turnovers, considerable unpredictability, high tempo, enthusiasm and scoring runs in both directions, and lead and momentum changes capped by a dramatic come-from-behind victory guaranteed to raise the heart rate of both coaches.

In short, some things to work on, some to celebrate.

“It was something,” smiled Gemini coach Kait Buchner close in its aftermath. “We pulled out the win - it was good.”

Tillsonburg hit the court running, exiting the first quarter with a comfortable 10-3 lead, powered by six points from point guard Ashlynne Ivanyshyn. As easy as it seemed during the opening eight minutes, it became equally hard for the Gemini to score during the second period. Huron Park rallied with a 14-7 run to square accounts at 17 heading into halftime.

Huron Park stayed in the game offensively with a pair of three-point field goals in the third quarter, the Huskies’ third and fourth on the game. The home side opened up a narrow 25-24 lead early in the fourth, extended with a 6-0 run beginning with 5:27 remaining. Huron Park’s Zoey Moser received a tipped pass along the left baseline, draining a 10-footer. The Huskies forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds, Moser finding Clarie Dow for a 12-foot shot from the right elbow extended. Huron Park extended its lead to seven, 31-24, on a contested Brianna Lapointe lay-in, finished on a bank shot down the heart of the key.

“That was a little ‘stressy,’” admitted Gemini Sarah Scholten. “But then we played hard and got it back.”

Tillsonburg’s comeback began with 3:20 to play, Ivanyshyn driving down the right sideline and subsequently the baseline, finishing a contested old-time three-point play from the free throw line. Kate Bruder created a turnover on the inbounds, finding Ivanyshyn under the left ‘corner’ of the basket. Inanyshyn then finished off an 18-second, game-tying seven-point run from the foul line, fouled on the offensive rebound of her own preliminary miss.

Bruder picked up an assist on the go-ahead basket, pulling down a defensive rebound and hitting Dannah Cadotte in stride down the right sideline. The latter finished off the glass, lifting the Gemini into a 33-31 lead with 2:02 remaining. That narrow advantage stood through a tense 110 seconds, Inanyshyn fouled on a drive to the basket.

Through the game’s earlier stages, she had struggled from the charity stripe, 1-10 into the third quarter. But with the game on the line, she knocked down seven consecutive free throws, her final two with 12.6 seconds to go to give Tillsonburg a little breathing space.

“I thought none were going to go in,” Inanyshyn was able to laugh following the game’s conclusion. “But then right as we needed them, they started.”

Huron Park had one final try, Jasreet Sohi’s three-point attempt rimming out with 6.7 seconds remaining. Tillsonburg’s Nathalie Phongsavath rounded the final with a buzzer-beating fast-break lay-in.

Ivanynshyn finished with 20 points, Phongsavath four, Bruder and Scholten three apiece and Cadotte and Kailey Clark each a field goal. Dow had 14 for the Huskies and Moser six.

The Gemini know both sides of a tight finish, having opened their regular season with a tough 30-29 loss to Woodstock College Avenue. However, after a second setback, this to the Ingersoll DCI Blue Bombers, they entered the win column Tuesday, October 6 with a 38-26 victory over St. Thomas Central Elgin.

Despite the tension and drama, Bruder says she enjoys close games, loving the challenge while building confidence with the win.

“We’ve got two wins under our belt,” she concluded. “Hopefully we can carry this into the other games.”