OBL
Another successful OBL weekend for U14s
The U14 Spirit girls had another successful OBL weekend playing in Toronto, with two solid wins.
Their first game was versus first place Orangeville Hawks where the girls stepped up their defence in the second half and distributed the ball well on offence to finish with a 39-28 win. Whitney Milne lead all scorers with a career high 16 points, Sofia Edgett scoring 7, Julia Smith and Scarlet Clarke contributing 6 points each.
The girls came out firing on all cylinders versus Brampton Breakdown winning 45-11. Strong team effort from all girls on both ends of the floor. Paige McGrath lead the way with a career high 18 points and Sofia Edgett with 14 points. Other scorers were Riley Baldini with 4 and Whitney Milne with 9.
The team is off to Ottawa next weekend to play in the @gcbawolverines Mike O’Connor Memorial Tournament.
U12 double win at tri-meet
U12 Belleville Spirit girls won both games in their tri-meet with Kingston Impact and Brockville Blazers! A great team effort in spite of being down to 9 players.
The girls defeated Kingston Impact 39-18 in game 1. Audrina Carty was Player of the Game.
In game two, the girls defeated the Blazers 43-20.
Shelby Brant had team high 15 points, Kyrah Currin with 8 and Callie Lyall with 6. Player of the game with Liberty Bergen.
Equally great effort from the remaining players including:
Abigail Whiten, Avery McCullam, Nora Gabourie and Mila Kaliaieva.
Players that were unavailable (and missed by the team) included:
Zoey Hall, Myla Empey and Raya Holoway.
Next up: the girls play a controlled scrimmage with the U11 @belleville_spirits_basketball Boys January 30 at East Side Secondary.
U19 Profit 1-1 in OBL weekend #2
Final scores for the U19 Profit teams last OBL weekend. The girls are now 2-2 in their pool.
Next up: OBL weekend #3, Feb 18/19
London teams experience Belleville Energy
London teams experienced some Belleville energy this weekend as our U16 Spirits girls defeated London 86ers 56 – 20, then London Gold Medal 51 – 23.
In both games our girls set the tone early with an active press. This often forced turnovers leading to quick scores. Defense continues to dominate for these girls, often allowing transition to layups.
Olivia McFaul (Lou) led all scorers with 22 each game, the rest coming from multiple players. Most notable was how energized and active, at both ends of the floor, this team is becoming. They are still learning new concepts, and about each other, but their commitment to ‘be better’ is noticeable.
Well deserved wins girls! Great support, as always, from family and friends.
U12s split games in OBL weekend #3
Congratulations to the U12 Belleville Spirits Girls who split their games on Sunday in Week 3 of OBL Pool B action.
The girls won game one, defeating UA Canada Elite 38-26. Coach Sandro said, it was a total team effort by all 12 girls and their best game to date!
In the second game, they faced the undefeated #1 team in the pool, Burlington Force. The girls competed hard and came out on the losing end, 34-24, but a very respectable showing against a very good team.
The girls are headed to their 4 game OBL weekend February 11-12.
5 Spirits teams play this weekend
All 5 Spirits teams will be playing a pair of games this weekend as the second half of the season starts with a bang.
U16 Spirits capture provincial ‘AAA’ crown
Original story from The Belleville Intelligencer
The Belleville U16 Spirits girls basketball team has done something no other team has ever done in more than 30 years of rep basketball in Belleville. They were crowned Division 1 AAA provincial champions this past weekend at the Pan Am Centre in Scarborough.
Capping off a perfect 5-0 weekend, the Spirits defeated Brantford 54-44 in the gold medal game.
A balanced scoring attack and solid team defence was the difference. With multiple scoring threats, Brantford was unable to contain the Spirits led by Melina McLellan with 12 points, Brigid Bechervaise, 11, Grace Callahan, 10, Sydney Drain, nine, and Talia Vreugendhill, eight, including going six for six from the free throw line, four of them coming late in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
A balanced scoring attack and solid team defence was the difference. With multiple scoring threats, Brantford was unable to contain the Spirits led by Melina McLellan with 12 points, Brigid Bechervaise, 11, Grace Callahan, 10, Sydney Drain, nine, and Talia Vreugendhill, eight, including going six for six from the free throw line, four of them coming late in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
“They came totally prepared to finish of the season with one goal in mind. Anything less than a gold medal would have been disappointing,” Callahan said.
After a heart breaking two point loss to London Gold Medal in the OBLX final three weeks earlier, Belleville had revenge on their minds in the semifinal Sunday morning. Matching up against the No. 1 seed with a trip to the finals at stake, Belleville played their most complete game of the year and dominated London from the opening tip.
Belleville never trailed in this game and maintained their 13 point half time lead throughout and finished with a 52-39 win.
Melina McLellan again was the leading scorer with 17 points, eight of them coming in a three-minute span in the third quarter. Coaches said McLellan was unstoppable this game, getting to the basket at will, all the while drawing a tough defensive assignment covering London’s best player. Bechervaise chipped in with 10 while Callahan and Vreugendhill and nine and seven, respectively.
“This was a game the girls really wanted. Their only two losses of the season had come against London and they were determined not to let it happen again,” Callahan said.
Heading in the weekend, Belleville was the No. 2 ranked team in Ontario with and impressive 38-2 record. Aside from running the table in the OBLX league with a 13-0 record, Belleville took home gold medals from tournaments in Ottawa, Markham and Hamilton.
Grouped with Brantford, Oakville and Inner City, Belleville would have to battle through pool play to get to the medal round.
The opening game with Oakville was a battle the entire game, as the Spirits managed to escape with a 45-41 victory.
Sydney Drain and Vreugendhill paced the Spirits with 11 points apiece while McLellan and Bechervaise each had eight.
Next up for Belleville was Inner City Saints from Toronto and the Spirits were too much for the GTA club and coasted to a 54-35 win, getting scoring contributions from eight different players.
The final round-robin game would determine first place in the pool. Matching up with Brantford who were also 2-0, Belleville had another hard fought game but prevailed 56-48. Drain led the way with 14, McLellan 12, Vanessa Wilton and Bechervaise each with eight.
Coaches Jeff Bechervaise, Darryl Drain and Callahan are very proud of the girls accomplishments.
“For a team from a small centre like Belleville to compete against the best teams across the province and win is a major achievement,” Callahan said.
“Going into the season, the coaches knew we had a solid team and hoped to be competitive in the upper divisions but as the season progressed, the girls were dominant at times, beating teams handily. As the new year rolled around, team goals shifted from being competitive to competing for a title,” he said.
Team members are Sydney Drain, Talia Vreugendhill, Gracie Burris, Grace Callahan, Vanessa Wilton, Brigid Bechervaise, Kira Fair, Melina McLellan, Aleisha Rose, Cassi Yeatman, and Hannah Goad.
Team members include: Sydney Drain, Talia Vreugendhill, Gracie Burris, Grace Callahan, Vanessa Wilton, Brigid Bechervaise, Kira Fair, Melina McLellan, Aleisha Rose, Cassi Yeatman, Hannah Goad, and coaches Jeff Bechervaise, Darryl Drain and Tom Callahan.
