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39 · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, November 13, 2009 · www.oakvillebeaver.com Titans' first loss a costly one But Trinity can still qualify for girls' basketball OFSAA By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF IRISH MISSTEP: Notre Dame's Sibohan Manning (in green) stumbles as she attempts to elude Holy Trinity defenders Doreen Bonsu (23) and Cydoney Curran during yesterday's Halton high school senior girls' basketball Division 1 final at Sheridan College. Notre Dame downed the Titans 46-32. NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER The Notre Dame Fighting Irish capitalized on its second chance. Now the Holy Trinity Titans will have to do the same to keep their season alive and earn a spot in the provincial high school senior girls' basketball AAAA championship tournament. Holy Trinity came into the Halton Division 1 final undefeated in league play, a mark that included a victory over Notre Dame. But yesterday (Thursday) at Sheridan College, the Irish shut down the Titans in the third quarter, going on a 10-2 run that solidified Notre Dame's 46-32 victory and its fifth consecutive Halton title. The Titans' season is not over, though. They will get an opportunity to earn a berth in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) tournament Wednesday when they face the winner of St. Mary's and Bishop Tonnos. The Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference is entitled to two OFSAA entries because Hamilton is hosting the tournament. Despite having beaten Notre Dame once this season, the Titans' Amanda Perrotta admitted the Irish still presented a formidable opponent. "It is a little intimidating," she said of going up against Notre Dame's 6-foot-2 centre Jamie Ruttle and 6-foot forward Melissa Mullins, a member of the national junior team. Ruttle had missed the regular-season meeting between the teams and having to guard both provided a tough challenge. Though Trinity relied more on its outside shooting to avoid Notre Dame's twin towers, the Titans certainly conceded nothing to their opponents. "(The Titans are) really good at following their shots," said Ruttle. "That's why they're so good at rebounding. Most teams will watch their shot, but they shoot and run to the basket. The whole team just collapses on you." It was Notre Dame's pressure on the ball that was ultimately the Titans' undoing. "We knew about their pressure and we prepared for it," said Titans coach Vic Juzenas, "but they caused too many turnovers. You can't give that team that many chances." Notre Dame jumped out to an early advantage but Perrotta's three-pointer, a putback by Kristin Sprukulis at the end of the opening quarter and a basket by Doreen Bonsu early in the second had the Titans within three. However, over the next 12 minutes, the only points surrendered by the Irish were a pair of three-balls by Perrotta and Amanda Swinhoe. "We tried to look inside for quick looks and if not, pass it out," Perrotta said. "But they had a lot of isolation on Doreen." That stretch allowed Notre Dame to build a 34-20 lead heading into the final quarter. Another three by Swinhoe to open the final quarter gave Trinity some hope but the Irish refused to yield and maintained its 14-point advantage midway through the quarter. Should the Titans face favoured St. Mary's, yesterday's final will have been good preparation. Perrotta said St. Mary's also boasts "two huge girls." Though the Titans may not have generated as much offensively as they hoped, they can take heart in a strong defensive effort. Olivia Wozniak, assigned to guard Ruttle, did an admirable job in limiting the Notre Dame centre to 14 points. "Our defence did a good job," Juzenas said. "Our defence has definitely improved." Swinhoe led the Titans in scoring with 11 points, all coming in the second half. Perrotta scored eight and Bonsu contributed seven. THE HST and YOUR CEMETERY PLANS An important message from Glen Oaks Memorial Gardens. If your surname begins with N to Z and you have purchased cemetery spaces or related services, please contact us immediately regarding the pending HST. Coverage of late games to come Continued from page 38 Two other finals Two other Halton finals were contested yesterday at Sheridan, both ending after the Beaver's press deadlines. The Iroquois Ridge Trailblazers took on Georgetown's Christ the King Jaguars in the junior girls' Division 2 title game, while the White Oaks Wildcats and T.A. Blakelock Tigers collided in the senior girls' Division 2 final. Coverage of those games will be available online at www.oakvillebeaver.com this afternoon (Friday), and will appear in Wednesday's edition of the Beaver. Devils in the driver's seat, but the Longhorns returned the favour with the fourth quarter full press, outscoring OT 16-9. Christina Smiarowski led all scorers with 12 points for Corpus Christi, while Cyrus, with 11, and Bonnelli, with 10, hit double figures for OT. Longhorns' Molly Laberski scored nine points, had a clutch steal to draw a foul in the last minute and hit a threepointer in the fourth when the Longhorns were mounting their comeback. 905-257-1100 www.icesports.com 905-845-6989