By Brendan McConnell
The Gloucester Wolverines Major Midget girls’ team were crowned Division 2 champions at their Ontario Cup on April 28, earning Ottawa’s best result to date at the basketball provincial championships, which run from March to May for various levels.
After steamrolling the competition through their first three games, the U16 Wolverines went on to edge out the first-seeded St. Catherines CYO 42-37 on the final Sunday – a win that validated the hard work and dedication the 14- to 16-year-old girls had been putting in all season.
“It’s a dream for a coach to have kids who are as competitive as they were,” says Wolverines coach Fabienne Blizzard.
The group’s competitive nature was most noticeable when they were down by one point in the final at halftime.
“A couple of them basically made the comment that this is not going to happen,” recounts Blizzard. “And then they said we’ve got to change this right now. I didn’t even have to say anything, that’s what they said.”
The Wolverines went into the second half and built a 10-point cushion within the first five minutes – an edge that ensured when the clock struck zero, the girls struck gold.
“It was an exciting season and I can’t be more proud of a bunch of girls,” adds Blizzard, noting that any player in her lineup could be a top scorer and if someone was struggling, the team would back them up. “It’s a team that really, really cares about each other. I don’t think I’ve seen a team just bond so well.”
Another Gloucester team narrowly missed a Div. 2 gold medal, as the U14 girls had to settle for silver with a defeat in the final by a single basket.
Next Level eye Div. 1 gold
Kanata to play in Div. 1 U16 boys’ Ontario Cup in Ottawa
The Kanata Next Level U16 boys will become the first local team to compete in a Div. 1 championships when the Major Midget Ontario Cup comes to town May 10-12.
A fierce passion for basketball is what’s allowed the Next Level to excel and enter the event as the fifth-ranked team in the province, says coach Dave Brady.
“I’ve coached a lot of different programs before but with these guys you finish a two-hour practice, they shoot around for another 15 minutes,” Brady highlights. “Then you drop them off at their places and they go to the gym and play more basketball.”
Burlington, Toronto, and Kitchener-Waterloo are the top-seeded teams, but Kanata is gunning for the top playing at home.
“We’re going in to win,” says Next Level shooting guard Harry Range. “We’ve played all these top teams. I think we have a good chance of beating them.”