That’s about all the time it took for the Walther Zadow Wildcats to turn a 14-14 tie into a 20-14 lead in quarter-final action versus our very own St. Joseph’s Jaguars in the annual girls’ tournament held today at St. Joe’s. Zadow eventually took the contest 22-16, and went on to handily defeat fellow top-four seeds McNab and Cobden to take the championship honours for the day.
A tough loss, to be sure, but certainly nothing to feel bad about.
The Jaguars were full measure for the first half of the game, taking a lead into the half-time intermission. But playing in back-to-back playoff time slots looked like it might have caught up with them, and team fatigue began to rear its ugly head, especially on team defense, where the creeping sluggishness was most felt. That, coupled with the onset of some lights-out perimeter shooting by the Wildcats, left the Jags with a six-foot reach using a four foot stick. A couple of ghastly turnovers, likely the result of that very same fatigue, led to consecutive baskets for the Yellow Cats, and Bob was pretty much your uncle for the rest of it.
Nevertheless, a great day.
Jaguars played their very first game of the day against a very good team from Eganville, one that rolled over every opponent before losing a last minute 6-4 squeaker to Central in another quarter-final. Again, St. Joe’s was in every aspect of the game, and had there been either 30 seconds less or 30 seconds more, the Jaguars might likely have come out on top. As it was, the Jags dropped a 14-12 decision, and Eganville powered on to the Top Four.
St. Joesph’s went into their second match in full fighting trim, going to toe-to-toe with A.J. Charbonneau of Arnprior, another team that had fallen victim to Eganville. The Jaguars nursed a four-point lead into the final three minutes of the first half, before exploding for 6 points to close out the first frame. Again, in the second-half, the Lady Jaggers maintained a slight advantage, before again busting out in the final three minutes, posting a decisive victory.
An unfortunate result to a coin toss resulted in St. Joseph’s being seeded seventh, leading to a playoff qualifying match-up versus their recent opponents A.J. Charbonneau. This game was very similar to the previous featuring these two teams, except that St. Joe’s staked themselves to a larger lead earlier, and finished it off more explosively.
That set the stage for the game against Zadow. And we already know what happened there.
Some thoughts, upon reflection, are appropriate.
First, we have a top-notch basketball team. Yes, another team walked away with the trophy, and they were full-value for it. They are deserving of our congratulations.
But we have a team that came together in December, practiced tirelessly twice a week, and subjected themselves to all manner of drills, concepts, challenges, systems, and motivational speeches. They viewed video, they received instruction from older girls in the Jaguar program, and were walked through theory that featured guest stints from coaches in our Junior and Senior programs. And they did all this without complaint, doing their due diligence, and doing so in good humour. And that begs the critical question:
Do you have to be holding the trophy to be a champion?
The answer, of course, is no. As has been proven beyond any doubt by our team today.
Our Jaguar basketball program, if these girls are the measure, is in wonderful shape. Added to our existing Junior program, these young ladies represent the future, and what a bright future it is. A special thank you goes out to each and every one of them, and to all those who stand behind them. Together, we move forward.
The trophies, one day, will come. The champions, on the other hand, are already among us.
Those girls from Zadow will hear from us again.
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