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32 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2007 Irish three-pointers sink Titans Notre Dame pulls away in final quarter of senior final By Kevin Nagel SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER STUCK IN THE MIDDLE: Trinity's Lauren Morris (in black) is surrounded by Notre Dame Fighting Irish defenders during Thursday's Halton high school senior girls' basketball Division 1 final at Sheridan. The Irish drilled a pair of crucial three-pointers in the final quarter to break open a tight game and earn a 55-42 win. When Lauren Morris of Holy Trinity sank a two-pointer early in the fourth quarter, it put her team within three points of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Thursday's Halton senior girls' basketball Division 1 championship game at Sheridan College. It would be the last points for the Titans for the next six minutes, by which time the Fighting Irish had stretched the lead to 13 on the way to a 55-42 victory. The Mullins, Marie and Missy, each hit consecutive three pointers for the Irish during the 10point run to break the Titans' back and wrap up a third straight Halton title for the undefeated Irish. "It wasn't the quantity of big shots we hit, but the quality," said Notre Dame coach Mike Johnston of the Mullins' threes. "We got them when we needed them. I think it took their spirit away a bit." Alena Luciani of the Titans hit two threepointers herself early in the third quarter to keep her team close. She was blanked in the fourth quarter, however, and was overcome with emotion at the end of the game, her last as a high school player. "They have a good, experienced team," she said. "Our coach (Andrew Saulez) kept telling us to slow down (in the second half) -- we were a bit too nervous, I guess. But I'll always be proud to have been a Titan." While Luciani heads for a prep school in the U.S. in the fall -- she and Doreen Bonsu are the two graduating starters on the team -- coach Saulez can take solace in the fact that a strong core remains to fight another day. "In the four years they played here, I don't remember them missing a practice," he said. Missy Mullins led the Irish with 13 points, Marie Mullins had 11 and veteran Nicole Dooley added eight in addition to her usual stellar defensive play. "The first half was a little bit rough," admitted Dooley, who is coming back for another year in 2008. "We were a bit rattled by all of (Holy Trinity's) fans." The Irish led 15-14 after one quarter, 29-23 at the half and 43-36 at the end of three. Kat Owens, the Irish's strong outside shooter, made sure her last high school season continued at least one more game with another impressive effort. "I was impressed with Kat," Johnston said. "She's the only player graduating this year and she didn't want this to be her last game." Doreen Bonsu paced Holy Trinity with 13 points, Morris added 12, Luciani had 10, Katie Sinopoli contributed five and the other starter, Izabella Wozniak, had two to account for the Titans' total. Trinity went 9-1 in regular-season play (with its only loss coming at the hands of the Irish), then defeated Oakville Trafalgar 48-27 and Nelson 48-46 to reach the finals. OFSAA playdowns Notre Dame will host Hamilton's St. Thomas More Tuesday in the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference championship game, with the winner earning the right to represent the region at the all-Ontario AAAA championships in Windsor. The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders are the lone Oakville girls' basketball team still with a chance to qualify for OFSAA. The Raiders will face the Division 2 champion Burlington Central Trojans Monday at Aquinas (a 2:30 p.m. start) in a AA challenge game. If victorious, the Raiders would then need a win over a Peel challenger Thursday to advance to the provincial AA tournament. Upsets abundant in high school volleyball, football playoffs Blakelock into junior final, OT eliminated early T.A. Blakelock Tigers assistant coach Cheryl Robinson said what everyone else was probably thinking before Tuesday's junior boys' volleyball playoff meeting with the OT Red Devils. "I thought we were toast," she said. "It's OT and they have a big reputation in volleyball." OT has earned that reputation, winning four of the last seven Halton junior boys' titles and five of seven at the senior level. And although Blakelock finished the regular season with a better record (9-2) than Oakville Trafalgar (7-3), the Red Devils played in what appeared to be a much stronger Richardson Division, which included each of the four schools to win the junior title over the past decade. However, Blakelock -- and Volpe Division rivals Bishop Reding, which knocked off Richardson leaders Loyola -- proved that notion wrong as the Tigers scored a 26-24, 15-25, 15-12 victory over Oakville Trafalgar. "The guys were so focused," Robinson said. "They wanted it so bad." Bad enough that despite feeling several calls had gone against them, the Tigers rallied to take 12 of the final 17 points, coming back from a 7-3 deficit in the deciding game. "I was so impressed, the guys were able to drop (their frustrations in the third game) and just play for the next point," said Tigers head coach Steve Jobbitt. Blakelock carried that momentum into Thursday's semifinal, where it handily defeated another Richardson Division team, M.M. Robinson, 25-15, 25-15 to book its spot in Monday's final. Blakelock will face Georgetown in the final at 1 p.m. at Sheridan College. Jobbitt said the team has improved over the season, becoming more aggressive in its attack. He credits middle Evan Anderson with leading the way in that regard and with left-side hitters Lucas Jacques and Evan Sinclair following his lead, the Tigers have become a much tougher team to defend. The blocking of John Newhouse and the play of setters Alex Mann and Andrew Zamora and power Albert Shoihet have also contributed to the team's success. Trinity qualifies for first Division 1 Jr. gridiron final Holy Trinity earned a berth in its first Division 1 junior football final with a 39-13 rout of the perenially powerful Nelson Lords Thursday in Burlington. Zach Secord scored two touchdowns to lead the Titans, who capitalized on a number of Nelson turnovers. Ashton Rochester, Brandon Clarke and Robert Fusco also reached the end zone for Trinity. "It's huge for our program," said Titans coach Joe Moscato, allowing the win might be the biggest in the school's short football history. "Things just fell into place. Our boys came to play and we were lucky enough to take advantage of (Nelson's) turnovers." Trinity will face an even bigger challenge in the final, where it will meet the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Notre Dame hammered the Titans 42-0 in the final week of the regular season, handing Trinity its only loss of the year to date. "We're in the finals against a powerhouse football team," Moscato said. "I hope our kids come to play and give them a competitive game." The junior final is tentatively scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Hamilton's Ivor Wynne Stadium. That date is subject to change, dependent on how Trinity's senior team fared in its semifinal contest yesterday at M.M. Robinson (results were unavailable at press time). Aquinas visited Georgetown in the other senior Division 2 semifinal yesterday. Notre Dame defeated Iroquois Ridge in Thursday's other Division 1 junior semifinal. Aquinas juniors in Division 2 final St. Thomas Aquinas will also play next week at Ivor Wynne, as the Raiders will clash with the Lester B. Pearson Patriots in the Division 2 junior final. Game time is slated for 9:15 a.m. Thursday. Aquinas tripled up the Georgetown Rebels 21-7 in semifinal play this past week.