TVRA 2026-27 season tips off inside packed WCI Devildome

St. Mary’s Warriors (left) and (centre) battle for the ball against WCI Red Devil Addison Weicker (right). (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

There are few better places to kick off the 2026-27 Thames Valley Regional Athletics Southeast season than a Woodstock CI Devildome packed with a student buyout in support of The United Way.

Loud, raucous and upsold even further courtesy of MC Jason Poole’s player introductions, it was an atmosphere even the visiting team could appreciate.

“It was fun,” said Woodstock St. Mary’s Warrior senior girls’ basketball forward Samantha Nelson Sept. 24 at WCI. “The adrenaline and the nerves, and they’re a really good school.”

Each high school team opens its season with a mixture of excitement and expectations, the Warriors and homecourt Red Devils being no exceptions.

The latter hit the court running, bringing the crowd to life as Natalie Sutherland pulled down a defensive rebound off a rimmed Warriors three-point attempt, outletting to a streaking Avery Molinaro for a fast-break lay-in. The Red Devils followed up with 1-2-1-1 full court pressure, a high-octane combined offensive and defensive assault which established early control of a game finishing 60-12 in their favour.

“We came out pretty strong,” said Sutherland, very much liking the atmosphere. “I think it made it better.”

“Off to a good start,” agreed WCI forward Brooke Halward, excited to get into what historically has been a full year of high school athletics. “The gym had good, loud energy, it was great.”

Reese Crown paced the Red Devils attack with 13 points, Halward added nine, Molinaro eight, Sutherland seven, Eden Fraser six, Layla Graham, Hannah Thistlewaite and Addison Weicker four each, Jillian Trepanier and Lilli Taylor three apiece and Alison Van Der Wyngaard one field goal. E. McCormick led the Warriors with six, Perkins added three and Oriana Belmonte and Nelson two apiece.

As Red Devils coach Eric Molinaro reaffirmed, his goal each and every season is winning the league and qualifying for and winning Western Ontario Secondary Schools Athletic Association (WOSSAA) finals, thereby earning a provincial championship berth. That annual outlook is enhanced by WCI’s successful bid to host the Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Associations (OFSAA) 2027 AA senior girls basketball tournament.

Looking toward being competitive provincially within that longer-term vision is backdropped by this season’s goal of seeing a young team adapt and compete at the senior TVRA and WOSSAA level, a challenge the Red Devils have historically proven up to.

“Hopefully that’s the case this year,” he said.

Those two goals are in the minds of the Red Devils, the season-opener the first step along that journey.

“So, we got at it early with high intensity,” said Halward.

Bringing that level of intensity consistently and cohesively will be a key, says Sutherland.

“Positive energy and trusting each other.”

St. Mary’s coach Cooper Wilson says the Warriors are looking at more of a development season but is equally excited to get it underway.

“Our goal is to have fun, become better people, learn basketball and enjoy the game,” he summed up.

Cooper’s two in-game targets were to hit ten points - achieved - and break the Red Devils press.

“We did not, but we showed some progress.”

The Warriors also gave a 32-minute effort, staying positive throughout.

“That’s probably the number one thing,” Nelson concluded, noting that if players get down, the whole team gets down. “And that’s a loss right there.”