It was the third tournament medal finish for the club’s U11 team this season after capturing the bronze medal at the Sudbury JAM Invitational held at LoEllen Park Secondary School in November and a silver at the Ancaster Magic tournament in Hamilton in December.
The JAM opened the tournament against the host Guelph squad. A tremendous defensive effort put the JAM ahead 12-0 at the half. The second half saw the Sudbury squad take control with a 12-1 third quarter to cruise to a 37-10 victory.
Dylann Mazzuchin, Giulia Wilson and Victoria Adams paced the JAM offensive attack with 10, six and six points respectively while Grace Tresidder and Arianna Ghorbani led a relentless Sudbury defence that held Guelph without a field goal until the final quarter.
In the second game, Sudbury took on the Port Colbourne Hornets.
The JAM offence was in full speed from start to finish as Sudbury defeated the Hornets 56-15.
Mazzuchin paced the offence with 15 points followed by 14 points from both Delaney Bourget and Grace Smrke. Ally Elliot and Shannon Clarke rounded out the scoring with six points each.
Maggie Emery disrupted the Hornet offence throughout the game with great ball pressure and hustle.
In the semifinals, the JAM faced the Oakville Venom, who had earlier defeated Tillsonburg and Dundas.
The Sudbury squad continued their strong play offensively and defensively, jumping out to an early 19-8 halftime lead and never looked back.
Mazzuchin led all scorers with 12 points followed by Bourget and Clarke with six and five respectively.
Cassy Yurich, Smrke, Wilson and Adams all found the scoresheet as the JAM advanced to the final with a convincing 40-14 win.
In the final, the JAM squared off against the Toronto Huskies, who had advanced to the championship game in dominating fashion winning games by considerable margins with tenacious defence and an up-tempo offensive attack.
In a game that was marked by intensity of effort from start to finish, the JAM overcame an early deficit to take a 20-16 lead into the halftime break. The second half provided even more excitement as the Toronto squad continued to battle and took the lead with two minutes left in regulation time.
Stellar defence by the JAM disrupted the Toronto attempt to stall in the last minute and Sudbury regained possession of the basketball leading to a crucial pair of free throws awarded to Wilson with little time remaining.
Down by one, with less than a minute remaining, Wilson showed great poise knocking down both shots to take the lead. Toronto then came back to make a free throw of their own and the championship would be decided in overtime.
In the extra period, Sudbury took control early with a basket and one from Bourget off of a screen and roll pass from Mazzuchin. Clarke added a clutch basket and Bourget sealed the victory with a pull-up jump shot and some free throws as the JAM defeated the highly regarded Toronto team 42-34.
The JAM utilized strong defence from Ghorbani, Emery, Tresidder, Smrke and Adams. The JAM attack was paced by Bourget with 21 points. Clarke added seven more and Mazzuchin, Yurich, Wilson, and Elliot rounded out the scoring.
The Sudbury squad was acknowledged by the tournament organizers for their teamwork, effort and fair play throughout the weekend. The JAM will represent Sudbury in Hamilton as they compete in the 26 team Blessed Sacrament tournament February 22-24.
