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SportsOakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 201032 Titans show both potential and youth in loss to Irish By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF When assessing Holy Trinitys chances of winning the Halton senior girls basketball championship, the Titans are somewhere between 12 months and 12 minutes away from challenging for a title. In a rematch of last years Halton final Tuesday in Burlington, the Titans showed they could play with the five-time defending cham- pion Notre Dame Fighting Irish throughout the first half. But a lapse of a dozen minutes proved to be devastating. A much smaller Irish team used its speed to force turnovers and didnt allow Trinity to set up its offence during a 21-0 run that doomed the Titans in a 44-28 loss. Of course, theres no shame in losing to a team that sports a 66-3 record in league play over the past five years. Trinity handed Notre Dame one of those losses last season but the Irish exacted revenge in the Halton title game. The Titans graduated four of their five starters, though, and returned to the court this season with a much younger team. Though there are four Grade 12s in the start- ing lineup, only one, Sam Ernest, was a starter on a full-time basis last season. Its a transition year for us, said Tara Boyce, who coached Trinitys juniors to a 9-1 record last season. We struggled with their pressure in the second half and panicked a lit- tle. Thats going to come with experience. Trinity effectively clogged the lanes and dominated the boards early but still trailed at the half largely because of Notre Dames three-point shooting, which accounted for more than half its points. Ernest showed the ability to score from long-range, putting the Titans on the board with a three-pointer, and from the paint. Notre Dame managed to shut down Ernest whose last of her team-high 11 points tied the game at 23 early in the third quarter and her teammates by forcing them to take low-percentage shots before they could get into position to rebound or by stripping them of the ball on the way up the court. On defence, the Titans had to guard against the three but the Irish took advantage of the extra space inside to drive to the basket and vastly improved its percentages with layups instead of long bombs. By the time the Titans were able to stifle the Irish, it was too late. We were playing pretty good defence, said Boyce, whose team allowed an average of just 28.7 points in its three wins to open the season. We just have to do it all four quarters. We need to compete hard all the time. We have to play hard-nosed and tough. With four of their starters, including Meaghan Perrotta who made the jump from the junior squad, handling the bulk of the minutes for the first time, the Titans are bound to improve as the season progresses. In addition, Trinitys entire bench which is just three players deep is comprised entirely of junior- aged players, including Grade 9 Lauren Jamieson, who contributed four points Tuesday. How quickly they improve and adjust will determine how much playoff experience the Titans gain this season. Loyola still undefeated Trinity's loss leaves the Loyola Hawks as the lone undefeated Oakville team. Loyola got 19 points from Marti Killeen as it defeated Assumption 56-30 on Tuesday. The Hawks and Notre Dame square off today (Thursday) at Loyola at 3:30 p.m. FINALS REMATCH: Notre Dames Siobhan Manning (right) tries to draw a charge against Holy Trinitys Selena Singh Tuesday in Burlington. Notre Dame handed the Titans their first loss of the sea- son in a rematch of last years Halton senior girls basketball final, using a 21-0 run to defeat Trinity 44-28. NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER