The St. Ignatius Falcons didn't steamroll their way to a second straight championship, but a title's a title, says guard Cassandra Soulias.
The Falcons, normally an offensive juggernaut, were stifled on Monday in a combination of nerves and a determined Churchill Trojans defence. But good teams don't stay down for long and St. Ignatius proved its mettle in the second half, holding the Trojans to just six points and pulled away for a 25-16 title win.
"It feels great," said Soulias, author of a game-high eight points to lead the Falcons meagre scoring attack.
"I think we really worked hard and we deserved it."
It was the 16th win in 17 tries for St. Ignatius, but it got much harder as the season went on, Soulias said.
"We really needed to work hard, especially when the teams started to adjust to our offense and stuff," she said. "We really just had to play our game and play confident and I think we did that tonight.
The game, played at Lakehead University's Thunderdome, was a bit nerve-wracking in itself, she added, noting the team isn't used to playing front of large crowds.
It showed in the early going, when the Falcons missed their first seven shots and escaped the first quarter with a 7-4 lead, the difference a Soulias three-pointer three minutes into the contest.
"We were just missing shots and taking them too rushed. I think if we just took our time and got some open looks, it would be a higher score."
Teammate Katelyn Andrea said she's excited for the next stage of their long-planned journey, a provincial championship.
Next up for the Falcons is a trip to Dryden this weekend and the Northwestern Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association regional final.
"Hopefully we win and do really good at OFFSA this year," Andrea said.
Churchill put up a great fight, even taking the lead briefly in the second quarter after the Falcons offense stagnated.
"It was a pretty tough match-up for us. Their zone is pretty hard to break sometimes," the 16-year-old Katelyn Andrea said. "Not every game is going to be like a big win. We're just happy to come out with a win on this day."
St. Ignatius took an 11-10 lead into the half, and though they didn't exactly come out firing in the third quarter, their defence kept the Trojans at bay, limiting them to a pair of last-minute hoops that cut a seven-point lead to three.
Anna Kamerman, who led the Trojans with seven, netted the first, then Suzanne Templeman went coast-to-coast just before the buzzer sounded.
But Karissa Kajorinne had the answer in the fourth, driving to the net to re-establish a six-point advantage. The Falcons did the rest of their damage on the line, hitting five-of-seven down the stretch to put it out of reach.
"This was the first-piece of three pieces of the puzzle. The girls did a great job, they kept their composure. Churchill had been giving us a rough time the past couple of games. They were well-coached and well prepared. It was just a matter of getting the girls to stay focused and execute our game plan, which they did," said coach Franco Veneruzzo.
"The zone kind of bothers us a bit, but we've seen it all year. Our girls are talented enough to work through it. We're hoping to see a lot more man (coverage) when we move on to NWOSSA and hopefully OFSSA.
In the junior girls final, Shannon McKitrick had 11 points and Megan Foster contributed eight as the Hammarskjold Vikings won a second consecutive title, and fourth in six years, beating St. Ignatius 41-20.
