Mustangs stampede to victory in girls hoops finals

It was cheers and moans, victory and defeat April 15 at Northeastern Public School in Garson, as the Rainbow Board of Education staged its girls and boys intermediate elementary basketball championships.

Both contests would go right down to the wire, with the MacLeod Mustangs edging the R.L. Beattie Barons 28-24 in the girls matchup, while the lads from R.L. Beattie got that one back with a 35-32 win over the host Northeastern Cougars.

Both encounters provided a handful of memorable moments, though none moreso than a buzzer-beating three point shot from Cass Yurich of MacLeod, a one-handed heave that came from a couple of strides on her side of the half-court line.

The Mustangs were trailing 17-11 in the third quarter when Yurich made a more conventional three with fewer than 30 seconds to play, cutting the deficit down to three. When a rebound came out on the ensuing possession by Beattie, Yurich took centre stage.

"I just ran up, dribbled and threw it," said the youngster, who earned a standing ovation from fans of both teams, not to mention a boatload of hugs from players representing both MacLeod and Beattie.

"I didn't think that it was going to go in at all. In practice, I have gotten a few, but never in a game like this. It felt amazing. The crowd was so pumped, my team was jumping, it felt really good."

Still, with the game tied at 17-17, and Delaney Bourget of Beattie matching Yurich with three-point baskets (albeit from somewhat more reasonable range), and the Barons' Sami Dunlop-Bassett making her presence felt on the inside, there remained some work to be done.

With the Mustangs trailing 24-22 and only minutes to play, Steffi Leers stepped up. One of an impressive core of girls who also play local club basketball, Leers came through with back-to-back baskets, giving her team the lead, and topping it off with a key steal that would lead to an insurance basket from Abby Frick.

"Our defense, for sure, was the No. 1 thing," said Leers after the game. "Everyone on their team is so skilled, they can shoot, they can drive, so we had to make sure our defense was at the top of our game."

Facing a 10-7 deficit early in the third quarter, MacLeod adjusted their game plan, only slightly, with coach Antoinette Purdon firm in the belief that success was just around the corner.

"We've played them before, and it was really close, and fairly low scoring," said Leers. "She (coach Purdon) really wanted us to keep driving. We were doing that and drawing fouls, but we weren't making as many foul shots as we should."

Leers topped the offensive stats for MacLeod with 12 points, with Yurich and Frick chipping in with six and four respectively. Bourget finished with a game-high 13 in a losing cause, while Dunlop-Bassett hooped in five points of her own.

Following is a complete stat-line for both teams:

MacLeod Mustangs: Steffi Leers (12), Cass Yurich (6), Abby Frick (4), Dylann Mazzuchin (2), Heidi Lamothe (2), Jessica Tilson (2)

R.L. Beattie Barons: Delaney Bourget (13), Sami Dunlop-Bassett (5), Victoria Adams (3), Jayme Anderson (2), Bronwyn Mantle (1)

Members of the gold medal winning girls team included Steffi Leers, Dylann Mazzuchin, Heidi Lamothe, Cass Yurich, Veronica Dynes, Erin Gaffney, Tessa Cain, Meagan McMahon, Jessica Tilson, Aliesha Spourdalakis, Cream, Abby Frick, Maria Clarke, Taylor McCue and head coach Antoinette Purdon.