St. James Lions put brakes on losing skid in senior hoops
FERGUS –The St. James Lions put an end to a losing streak of 19 games in District 10 high school senior girls’ basketball play Thursday when they slipped by the Centre Wellington Falcons 50-47 at Centre Wellington.
That was the first win for the Lions, champions of the league in 2019, since they scored a 40-22 victory over the Orangeville Bears on Nov. 30, 2021, in a COVID delayed and shortened season.
The 2020 season was cancelled due to the pandemic and the 2021 season saw teams play each other once during the regular season rather than the normal two times. That made the regular season six games long for each team. The Lions went 4-2 in the regular season, but started their losing skid with a loss in their final game of the regular season and then lost their semifinal match. They also lost the bronze-medal game in the league’s one-day championship tournament.
The Lions were 0-10 last year when the league operated with six teams. They also lost in the quarter-finals.
This year St. James started with five setbacks before the win over the Falcons, who didn’t compete in the league last year. The loss keeps Centre Wellington winless this season.
Arielle Balmelero had 22 points for St. James while Natalie Abra had 20 for Centre Wellington.
Guelph CVI 53 Ross 47
Molly Hannay struck for 19 points for GCVI while Jasmine Liban had 14 and Margherita Fumei added 12.
Ross also had three players reach double digits in scoring — Abby Blashuk with 17 points, Sierra Curvan with 13 and Sam Tesfit Ezra with 12.
Centennial 63 Lourdes 28
Hayley McMillan netted 20 points as Centennial remained undefeated. Jenna Davey contributed 19.
Sophie Power-Rossi and Ciara Hayne each had eight for Lourdes.
Junior Girls’ Basketball
Ross 44 Guelph CVI 21
Scoring leaders not reported.
Centre Wellington 39 St. James 37
Maggie Long hit for 12 points for Centre Wellington.
A. Lewis had 13 for St. James.
Centennial 26 Lourdes 25
Libby Anderson connected for nine points for Centennial while Camryn Stam added six.
Jwokmeer Omot had a game-high 14 for Lourdes while Nevaeh Cyr had six.
- Guelph Sports Journal