Red Devil senior girls expanding their wardrobes at OFSAA A

The Woodstock CI Senior Red Devils captured both a WOSSAA A gold medal and a berth to the OFSAA A provincial championship tournament in Breslau from Nov. 21 to 23. (Photo Courtesy of WCI Athletics.)

Jeff Tribe

The Woodstock CI (WCI) Red Devils senior girls’ basketball team has earned the opportunity to expand their wardrobes with 2024 Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Associations (OFSAA) memorabilia. 

“All the girls were like ‘We’re getting a (OFSAA) sweater,’” recalled coach Jason Poole following the Red Devils’ dramatic 54-47 overtime Western Ontario Secondary Schools Athletic Association (WOSSAA) A championship victory over the homecourt Strathroy Holy Cross Nov. 13. “I was like, yeah, you’re getting a sweater and I’m getting a sweater. We’re all getting a sweater.”

As the lone A representative in the TVRA Southeast senior girls division, WCI (7-1 in league play) received direct entry into the WOSSAA A draw. The Red Devils opened with a hard-fought 40-35 semi-final win over St. Marys DCVI, despite trailing by nine at one point.

“I think that really woke our girls up,” said Poole, of a reminder not to look ahead to the final. “We’ve got to focus on right now.”

He appreciated an inspirational message from starter Payton Barron, unable to play, but able to tell her teammates that one mistake didn’t decide a game, and to not get down.

“We had to battle in that semi-final, battle and persevere.”

As has been the case for the Red Devils this season, coach Poole said the defence picked up the offence.

“They had two girls who would pound the boards - we had to adjust.”

With that adjustment and secondary scoring from WCI’s bench, the Red Devils were able to overcome a significant deficit and advance to the WOSSAA A final. While game planning for either potential opponent, Poole admitted a measure of surprise that Holy Cross beat Mitchell DHS by 13 points (61-48). Holy Cross was led by a 6-foot-4 forward who scored 30 of her team’s 47 points in the final.

“I still think we did an okay job isolating her,” said Poole, of a diamond-plus-one zone/person-to-person combination with denial fronting.

The game played out as two gritty, hard-working teams doing battle he continued, with the outcome a measure of who would break first. Woodstock CI took a three-point lead into the final minute, however Holy Cross got possession back with 17 seconds left in regulation time. They were frustrated in trying to get the ball inside to their primary threat, but an offensive rebound led to a game-tying three-point field goal with seven seconds remaining.

“It was like someone popped a balloon,” said Pool of a massive momentum switch and letdown.

Red Devils co-captain Morgan Smith surprised her coach during the brief break before overtime, declaring their opponents looked tired and WCI had to keep pressing.

“She’s very quiet, she never speaks,” said Poole of a message which seemed to resonate through all four minutes of overtime. The Red Devils scored 13 points in the extra period to six for Holy Cross, locking up the WOSSAA A title and its attendant OFSAA A berth. They also avenged a WOSSAA A junior championship loss involving many of the same players two years previously.

“It looked like all the hard work and conditioning and fitness we did pay off,” said Poole. “The girls had four more minutes in them and Holy Cross didn’t.”

The OFSAA A senior girls basketball tournament is being hosted by Woodland Christian High School in Breslau from Nov. 21 until Nov. 23. The draw will be available via the website: https://www.ofsaa.on.ca/championship/basketball-girls-a/.

Poole looks forward to a fitting conclusion to his seniors’ basketball careers, a hard-working, focused team he anticipates being seeded in the draw’s top half.

“This crew deserves it,” he concluded of an opportunity to compete - and pick up a sweater following a true test at WOSSAA. 

“I have never been more proud of a team in my life.”

The Woodstock CI Junior Red Devils celebrate WOSSAA A gold medals earned through a 44-23 championship victory over St. Marys DCVI on Nov. 13 at Strathroy Holy Cross. (Photo Courtesy of WCI Athletics.)

WOSSAA A Junior Championship

The Woodstock CI juniors made it a Red Devils sweep, proving to be the class of the field with a 43-22 final victory over St. Marys DCVI, a game which said coach Eric Molinaro, seemed closer than its score indicated.

“It was really tight and intense,” he said, respecting the St. Marys players and coaching staff. St. Marys had orchestrated an 11-point comeback in its semi-final and eventual 33-30 overtime win over Ecole Secondaire Monseighneur-Bruyere. “We knew what they were capable of.”

WCI opened its WOSSAA  draw with a comparatively comfortable 56-14 semi-final success over Wingham FE Madill, able to roll five-member substitutions and head into the final rested. In that final, the Red Devils opened with full-court pressure against tired legs, created a number of turnovers and rebounded well at both ends of the court.

Offensively, Brooke Halward dominated inside during the first half, notching some ‘old school’ three-point plays, hoop, and the harm (free throw). In the second half, Brooklyn Donais picked up the torch, both finishing with double-digit scoring contributions.

“Kind of a tale of two halves between the two girls,” said coach Molinaro.

The victory also represented a measure of revenge for the WCI junior Red Devils, who were defeated in last year’s WOSSAA A semi-final - in what proved to be the effective final - by St. Marys.

“We kind of used that as motivation,” Molinaro concluded.

TVRA Southeast AA Semi-Finals

Tuesday, Nov. 5

Senior

St. Thomas Parkside 51, Woodstock College Avenue 31

Junior

St. Thomas St. Joe’s Rams 60, Woodstock College Avenue Knights 28

It’s not that Emily Pye has anything against learning about flappers, suffragettes and speakeasies in Mr. Mckenzie’s classroom. It’s just that she happens to love basketball a little more, a fact made apparent by her and fellow Knights teammates’ quick exit toward noon-hour practices.

“We all run from history class.”

The focus will be back on post-WWI Canadian events following a season-ending TVRAA AA semi-final loss to the powerhouse Rams. St. Joe’s took control early and led comfortably at halftime before College Avenue battled back to tighten the final score.

“We all work hard, we try,” said Elora Baker, enjoying not only noon hour but after-school practice as well.

“That’s our biggest thing, we try regardless of if you’re a starter or a bench sitter,” added Pye, already excited to come back and play next year.

Jill Strik led the Knights offensively with 11 points, Julia Baer added six, Baker five, Kaitlyn Vanderspek three, Payton Jones two and Pye one free throw.