Juvenile Jam girls golden at London tournament

A four-for-four weekend was capped off in style as the Sudbury Jam Juvenile Girls (U17) knocked off highly-touted Sarnia Valhalla 50-43 in the championship final of the London Gold Tournament.

Starting things off against the host London CYO, the Jam quickly secured their spot in the top half of the draw, chalking up a 46-32 win. Andrea Zulich recorded her first double-double of the season, leading the way with 12 points and adding 10 rebounds, with Laura Graham also chipping in with eight points of her own.

The northern girls kept on rolling in Game 2, showcasing a complete team effort in defeating the Kingsville Class from Essex County 64-35. Graham and Zulich once again led the way with 20 and 12 points respectively, with Megan Desormeaux also hitting double digits with 10.

Chelsea Laderoute was not only a force on the boards, leading the Jam in rebounds, but also shot 75 per cent from the free-throw line. The victory secured first place in the preliminary round as the Sudbury girls prepared for the elimination games.

Facing a very athletic opponent in the Durham Eclipse in the semifinals, coach John Desormeaux changed his defensive strategy, achieving the desired results with a 57-42 win. Graham (16), Nicole Conlin (12) and Zulich (11) all featured prominently on the scoresheet, with Sheila Fyfe continuing to do some excellent work grabbing key rebounds at both ends of the court.

The Jam completed their weekend run, capitalizing on their overall team speed to take down Sarnia Valhalla in the gold-medal encounter. Graham added another 20-point effort to her tournament stat line for the winners, while Zulich netted 16 points and scooped another six rebounds.

“The team played so well together, and every player was on the scoreboard,” said Desormeaux.

The 2013-2014 edition of the Sudbury Juvenile (U17) Jam includes Nicole Conlin, Andrea Zulich, Chelsea Laderoute, Laura Graham, Megan Desormeaux, Sheila Fyfe, Emily Hreljac, Kristin Ferguson, Bailey Laforest, Emily Derks and coaches John Desormeaux and Rod McHugh.