Challenge match victory propels Panthères to NOSSA

A second-half surge propelled the Macdonald-Cartier Panthères senior girls basketball team to a berth at the NOSSA A Championships in Sault Ste. Marie this weekend.

Holding a slight 13-12 edge at half-time of the A Challenge match on Monday, the Panthères ran away from the Marymount Regals in the second half, cruising to a 44-22 win.

Back-to-back three-point baskets from Megan Desormeaux early in quarter three kicked off a 15-2 run for the homeside, which finished just two points ahead of Marymount in the final standings with a record of 9-2 (versus 8-3 for the Regals).

Desormeaux and Lina Audet both finished with a dozen points for the winners, with Ericha Hendel adding nine. Sidney Smith registered nine points in a losing cause for Marymount, with Sidney Smith three points back at six.

"Our coaches have really been preparing us well for this game," noted Hendel. "We weren't quite sure what their game plan was going to be, so we wanted to focus on our game plan. Because we were a little unsure of what we would be walking into, we wanted to make sure that we were ready for anything."

After beating Marymount 51-17 back on Sept. 17, the Panthères found themselves trailing 4-3 following a very sluggish opening eight minutes, grabbing a one-point advantage as they went to the dressing room.

"I don't think that it was so much panic, as much as it was frustration with the girls," acknowledged Hendel. "Mostly, we were upset with ourselves, because we knew the focus just wasn't there. Our intensity was there, the effort was there, but we really had a lack of mental focus."

Following is a complete breakdown of the scoring stats from the Challenge game:

Macdonald-Cartier 44: Megan Desormeaux (12), Lina Audet (12), Ericha Hendel (9), Alexis Belanger (4), Sophie DiMarco (3), Kaitlyn Brisebois (2), Gabrielle Nellis (2)

Marymount 22: Sidney Smith (9), Hope Joly (6), Julia Szalai (3), Gabrielle Schwabe (2), Tiffany Hodgins (2)

The Panthères will join the White Pines Wolverines (SSM), Algonquin Barons (NB) and Elliot Lake Atoms in Sault Ste. Marie this weekend to contest the Northern Ontario championship, with the winner moving on to OFSAA in Cornwall from Nov. 20-22