Laird’s halftime halfcourt bombs provide inspiration for Warriors’ outside game

IDCI Blue Bomber Gavin Laidman (right) drives to the hoop against St. Mary’s Warrior Michael Agosu. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

It wasn’t clear if Woodstock St. Mary’s scorekeeper Jada Laird offered inspiration.

Or just the right amount of competitive challenge.

Either way, her halftime halfcourt hoops provided an example her senior male basketball counterparts could follow en route to a hard-fought 53-45 Thames Valley Regional Athletics Southeast victory over the visiting Ingersoll DCI Blue Bombers Tuesday, December 9 at St. Mary’s.

“That’s what we needed,” laughed Warriors coach Duane Kumala-Harris. “Get the crowd going.”

Partisan Warriors boosters bolstered by a buyout option were already ‘going’ through a competitive first half. The Warriors came out strongly in the opening quarter, knocking down a trio of three-pointers en route to a 16-6 advantage. The Bombers answered back in the second period however, Kolton Stewart punctuating a scoring reversal with a game-tying (22-22) corner three at the buzzer.

As both squads retreated to their respective dressing rooms, a pair of Warriors juniors - names withheld to make identification more difficult following ensuing ‘schooling’ courtesy of their scorekeeper - took to the vacated court to show off their long-range prowess. As they continued to struggle to find the net, Laird joined in, earning a loud cheer from the fans for knocking down a long-range bomb in the hoop to their left, completing a set with one to their right.

“Inspirational of course, of course,” smiled St. Mary’s senior Kymani Small, who emerged in time to see Laird knock down her second.

To be fair, it would be the combination of the Warriors’ fullcourt pressure person-to-person defence and pushing the ball in transition which first broke the game in their favour. With the Bombers maximizing their height advantage and presence on the boards through a 3-2 zone, St. Mary’s initially struggled from distance.

After a goaltending call on Ingersoll’s Quorron Kelly, teammate Gavin Laidman gave IDCI a 25-24 lead 55 seconds into the third quarter on an old-school three-point play, adding a free throw to the back end of a two-point field goal. The Warriors regained the lead on a coast-to-coast Johnny Bertoia runner, going up by three on a Kingston McPherson fast-break lay-in.

“We pressed them hard, played good defence,” said McPherson. “Our threes weren’t hitting outside so we had to go inside for layups.”

Michael Agosu found the Warriors’ missing three-point stroke on a late-clock three from the top of the key, Small following with a lay-in off a fast break. A nine-point run was broken off by a Laidman offensive putback, but Destiny Omirige re-established it with a three-pointer 4:34 into the eight-minute third quarter, set up again off transition from defence.

“At times they’d be more aggressive than us,” said Small. “When we started to fight back, that’s when we’d take the lead.”

The Bombers battled back from a ten-point deficit to within four on a Laidman drive to the basket, Kelly four-foot baseline jumper and pair of Stewart free throws. However, Jeremy Zamora hit the Warriors’ third trey of the quarter, Small following up with a drive to the hoop for a nine-point (42-33) lead which essentially lived for the duration.

“Rough loss,” summed up Laidman, strong on both the drive and boards resulting in a game-high 21 points in a losing cause. “Everyone gave it their all… it happens.”

The defeat was Ingersoll’s first on the young TVRA Southeast season, following earlier victories over St. Thomas Central Elgin and Lord Dorchester. Short three guards on the day, Stewart, who finished with 13 for the Bombers, looked forward to regrouping and getting back on the court at full strength.

“We’ll be ready to go,” he concluded. “We’ve got lots of games left.”

Kelly added four for IDCI, T. Strom and L. Cuthbert one field goal apiece. Emmanual Fadeyi had a field goal for the Warriors, Zamora and Agosu seven points each, Bertoia nine, McPherson and Small ten apiece and Omirige a team-high 11.

The win lifted the Warriors into a 2-1 record including a win over Woodstock College Avenue and a loss to Tillsonburg Glendale.

“We’re learning, trying things and the kids are committed,” Kumala-Thomas concluded. “That’s the main thing.”