Girls Basketball Team Does it Again!!!

They Win South Peel Championship for the 5^th year in a row!

 Trueman sinks the winning basket…. as Hazel beats Thomas Street by 2 at the buzzer.

By:  Rebecca Babcock,  Editor

The Senior Girls Basketball Team, coached by Ms. Engeland and Ms. Pearson won the South Peel basketball finals for the fifth year in a row. The girls worked very hard throughout the year, from getting up early for morning practices to staying late after school. These girls ate, slept and breathed basketball.

The practices worked. Every team they faced, they came out victorious. Facing all the teams in South Peel, Hazel was undefeated going into the playoffs, posting a number of blowout victories. In the playoffs, Hazel faced a Valleys team that was overmatched and Hazel defeated them 36-17. This win advanced Hazel to the finals where they played the only team to have beaten them this year. The Thomas Street girls had lost to Hazel in league play but they had defeated the Hazel girls early in the year during the Thomas Street tournament. This game would decide once and for all who had the better team.

The Thomas Street girls were well coached but were one of the most aggressive teams in Peel. Going into the game, the girls knew it was going to be tough but they went through a tough week of practice and Coach Engeland kept telling them that the game wasn’t going to be easy.

The game started, and like all the rest of their games, Hazel scored the first basket. However, Thomas Street failed to lay down and give up. They matched Hazel basket for basket and the crowd enjoyed a game that saw both teams have the lead, only to lose it shortly afterwards. With 4 minutes to go Thomas Street held the lead by two points. Hazel began picking up the pace and started to press Thomas Street. The press worried Thomas Street and it forced a couple of turnovers that helped the girls tie the game.  

With 1 minute left, the adrenaline was pumping, the sweat was pouring off the face of the players on both teams and each shot taken forced the crowd to hold its breath. Playing awesome defence, the Hurricanes held Thomas Street scoreless but all their good work was for nought as Hazel couldn’t score either. Heather Paquette and Bethany Foster had excellent chances to score in the last minute but the ball just wouldn’t go in. Thomas Street had their chances, but they too couldn’t score.

With 35 seconds to go, The Thomas Street guard penetrated the key and tossed up a shot that looked good. The crowd held its breath as it rolled around the rim and out. Back up the court went Hazel with a chance at the last shot. Christie Park drove the lane beautifully, and as she was being double teamed she flipped a pass to Jessica Trueman. Trueman, surprised at first to see she had the ball with seconds to go, steadied herself and put up a shot off the backboard and SCORED!!

Having scored the last basket, the Hazel girls pressed Thomas Street and wouldn’t let them take the ball up the court. As the crowd went wild, seconds ticked away and the buzzer finally went, giving the girls their 5^th South Peel championship in a row. The team was awarded gold medals for their awesome triumph and their hard work.

The team included: Bethany Foster, Heather Paquette, Rebecca Babcock, Jessica Trueman, Angela Wu, Laura Measor, Cynthia Ton, Martina Ivanova, Sarah Hall, T’Keyah Dumoy, and our only grade 7, Christie Park. These girls did an amazing job all year.

The girls on the basketball team would like to thank Ms. Engeland and Ms. Pearson for all of their hard work through the year. If they didn’t do what they did, the girls would have never made it this far. By working as a team, sticking together, and by playing real, solid basketball, Hazel McCallion Girls basketball team became champions...for the fifth year in a row.