By Larry Moko
A remarkable winning streak in Hamilton high school sports came to an end at the Cathedral gym on Tuesday.
The Cathedral Gaels senior girls’ basketball team had strung together 90 consecutive league, tournament and playoff victories over the last three seasons before bowing 48-39 to the Bishop Tonnos Titans.
It was the opener of the 2024 Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic Athletic Association regular schedule.
“It was an exciting game against the three-time defending OFSAA champions in their gym,” Tonnos coach Len Moccia said. “They had an animated crowd in there. I’m very proud of the effort by our girls who kept their wits about them.
“When things started going the wrong way we kept it together.”
Tonnos held a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and Cathedral went ahead for the only time in the contest – 14-13 – before Titans went on a 14-4 run heading into the intermission.
The Gaels cut the deficit to three points early in the third quarter but trailed 38-30 to begin the fourth.
“The streak is done,” said coach Kevin Daly, who guided Cathedral to all three of those Ontario AAA titles. Daly’s twin daughters, Keira and Nicole, along with their cousin, Rachel, were also key contributors as players.
All three signed on with university basketball programs. Keira and Nicole joined the UBC Thunderbirds while Rachel is a member of the Western Mustangs.
“We’re a very young team,” coach Daly said. “We only have one returning starter (Beatrice Clausen). I was really happy with what happened today.
“We’ve been preaching that we’ve just got to work hard at every practice and every game to get better. And I think we will get better. It will be a lot more balanced league this year.”
Avery Hedley and Bridget Dinning were the top scorers for Tonnos with 25 and 16 points, respectively.
Naomi Stanley replied with 18 for Cathedral while teammates Ellaiva DeCosta chipped in with nine.
“They were a challenge for us,” Grade 11 point guard Hedley said of the Gaels. “They played well and put up a good fight. For three years they won every game. We played our hearts out. It was a great team effort. Everybody contributed in their own way.”
Hedley said the Titans were rewarded for pushing the ball forward and communicating on defence.
“I think we’ll do well this year,” she said.
Stanley, a Grade 10 centre, provided a late spark when she scored a three-point play and followed that up with an impressive rejection under the basket. That made the score 46-39 with one minute, 42 seconds remaining.
“Naomi was fantastic,” the Gaels coach said, pointing out that she may have been credited with as many as seven blocks overall. “She’s a real monster defensively. She’s super long.”
“At the start of the game we told (the Gaels) to fan out and make them drive because if Naomi is in there she’s very tough to score on. She does a great job blocking shots without fouling.”
In addition, Daly said Stanley attacked the rim effectively on offence.
“Speed and guard play are our biggest assets,” the Titans coach said. “We need to work on guarding some of those bigs. But I think overall speed and rebounding will help us.”
In other senior girls’ basketball action the Bishop Ryan Celtics topped the St. Jean de Brebeuf Braves, 55-37, and the St. Thomas More Knights edged the St. John Henry Newman Cardinals, 49-46.
Photos by Bob Butrym, RFB Sport Photography
More photos on the HWCDSB Athletics Facebook page here
