Huntsville Forester

The AHSS junior girls’ basketball team took to the courts in Sudbury this past weekend to participate in the 14th annual “Air Time” tournament. The tournament included teams from North Bay, Sudbury, Elliot Lake, and Temiskaming

The Highlanders first matchup was against École Secondaire Catholique Champlain on Friday night.  Right from the tipoff Champlain could not match the fast paced game set by the Almaguin girls. The final outcome was a lopsided 69-23 victory. The second game of the weekend was against the Marymount Regals from Sudbury. Both teams seemed to be evenly matched in the first quarter, which ended in Almaguin’s favour 14-8. To start the second quarter Almaguin hit the Regals with a full court press and took control of the game, ending the half with a 27-10 lead. Over the next two quarters the Regals clawed their way back to within a few points but could not get the job done, allowing Almaguin to hold on to a 42-38 win.

The win over Marymount earned the Highlanders a birth in the Championship game against Macdonald Cartier. From the start of the game Almaguin was outsized and being outplayed, falling behind quickly 8-0. After a much needed timeout the girls stormed back to take an 11-8 lead after the first quarter. The rest of the game was a seesaw battle between the two teams as they traded baskets throughout the game. As could have been expected, the game came down to the final seconds of play. Tied 31-31 with 8 seconds remaining in the game, Almaguin intercepted a Cartier inbound pass and stormed up the court with only seconds left on the clock. Carley Polangio cut towards the basket and was fouled with two seconds left. She took her place on the free throw line and calmly hit the shot to win the game and send Almaguin fans into a frenzy. The final score of the game was 32-31.

“It’s been a long time since an Almaguin girls’ basketball has won a championship tournament” said head coach Chris Bell. “All the girls played extremely well this weekend and I’m proud of what they have accomplished.”

The team has started the season off 4-0 and will now focus back on league play this week against rivals Bracebridge and Huntsville.