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38 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday October 20, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Riding into the future Hawks narrowing gap on basketball Lords By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER VIRTUAL REALITY: Erin Atkinson-Kaufman (right), a cyclist with the Oakville Cyclepath Race Team, tests out the Virtual Reality Trainer while Michael MacMurray of Virtual Reality Cycling looks on. Oakville Cyclepath held its first annual Ladies Wine and Cheese Night last week, giving local women a chance to view 2007 product lines from the store's suppliers and get tips on fitness, training and nutrition. If the Nelson Lords are going to repeat as Halton high school senior girls' AAA basketball champions, they're going to have to work for it. The Lords went undefeated last season, winning 11 straight games (none by less than a dozen points) as they cruised to the Halton and Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference titles. Though Nelson has more than half of its starting five back this season, the Loyola Hawks served notice Wednesday that they will battle them tooth-andnail for the championship. The Hawks, who lost last year's Halton final to Nelson 54-36, may not have surpassed Nelson just yet but they demonstrated they have narrowed the gap considerably. Nelson needed Carly Bokor's tie-breaking jumper from the top of the key with 1:06 to play to edge Loyola 58-54 . "They weren't intimidated by us," said Nelson's Alaina Porter, who scored a game-high 26 points. "They were ready to play." The teams, who both entered the game sporting 4-0 records, battled through an entertaining game that saw the lead change hands five times in the final quarter. Porter proved to be the difference in the game, going 9for-11 from the free-throw line in the second half. Despite being into bonus territory a full three minutes before Nelson in the second half, Loyola was unable to capitalize, going just 3-for10 from the line in the final two quarters. "That hurt us. We got into bonus and missed a couple opportunities," said Loyola coach Gary Laurin. "When you're playing a game as tight as this you can't do that and (Nelson was) strong near the end. They shot really well." Missed free throws costly With the game tied 41-41, the Hawks had a chance to pull away when they went to the line four times in the first two minutes of the final quarter. However, Loyola only made two of seven shots, both by Kristen Keith. Keith would hit a three-pointer to put the Hawks up 47-44 but Porter answered that when she scored, drew a foul and capitalized on the freebie. A pair of baskets by Loyola's Jen O'Brien, who shared the team scoring lead with Keith with 15 points, put the Hawks in front with two minutes to play. A foul shot by Natalie Stacey, who had 11 points, and Bokor's clutch shot from just inside the three-point arc put Nelson ahead for good. When the Lords forced a turnover in the final minute, Loyola had to resort to fouling its opponent. Laurin downplayed the need to atone for last year's final but said his team was just looking forward to playing a high-caliber team. "We really weren't even thinking about last year's game. It's two new teams. All we want to do is compete and we did that. It came down to two baskets," the Loyola coach said. "Any time you play a team as talented as them, you're going to get up for the game. The girls were excited and they practiced hard this week." Nelson, which had won each of its games by at least 20 points this year, was also looking forward to the challenge. "Neither of us has had a game of this caliber," Porter said. "I think our slow start was because we haven't had to come out as hard." Loyola led 18-9 thanks to 10 straight points in the opening quarter, largely because of superior rebounding. Nelson responded by pressuring the Hawks into turnovers as it fought back with an 11-2 run to start the second quarter. It was the last big run of the game for either side as they were never separated by more than four points over the last 22 minutes. Laurin believes it is more than a two-team race for the Halton crown, with Abbey Park and Assumption also in the mix. Still, you can be sure the Hawks will be looking forward to the rematch with Nelson in the regularseason finale, Nov. 6 at Nelson. WAL-MART CORRECTION NOTICE Due to circumstances beyond our control the 8-Roll Christmas Wrap (#303197/222/43/71229...) advertised in our current flyer (expiring October 20th) will not be available. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. COME AND LEARN ABOUT THE ATLANTIC SALMON AND EFFORTS TO RESTORE THE FISH TO THE BRONTE CREEK! APPLEBY ICE CENTRE 1201 Appleby Line, Burlington October 26 Kerrtiques CLEARING STOCK! UP TO Doors open at 6:00 p.m. with presentations beginning around 6:30. Learn more about the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Program and ways that local landowners, teachers and clubs can get involved. Attendees will aso be given a chance to win a Banrock Station Prize Package. For more information, please contact Sarah Lewis at sarah_lewis@ofah.org or 705-748-6324 30% OFF LOOK FOR (905) 849-0866 - Phone 362 KERR ST., OAKVILLE IS THE GAME PLAYING YOU? Great Stuff! Great Prices! 4 Page Flyer in We can help... ADAPT Services Problem Gambling · Free · Professional · Confidential Today's Paper! * delivered to select homes 905-847-6547