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30 Sp Sports SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2011 Wildcats ld conclude l d dominant d season with h Jr. Tier 2 f final l win By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF IM-PRESSED: White Oaks Wildcats players Geena Frew (40), Kathleen Charlebois (22) and Esha Bhattia (45) surround King's Christian Collegiate ballhandler Adi Beckett during yesterday's Halton junior girls' basketball Tier 2 final at Sheridan College. White Oaks' press helped the Wildcats limit King's to two firstquarter points in a 44-13 White Oaks win. ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER Richard Stewart admits he might be his own worst enemy. The King's Christian Collegiate coach trains White Oaks starters Imani Stewart and Vanessa Garcia through his Advanced Basketball program. So when King's met the Wildcats in yesterday's (Thursday's) Halton junior girls' Tier 2 basketball final at Sheridan College, Stewart shouldn't have been in for any surprises. But the Wildcats threw one at him anyway. After the Yesterday's contest Cavaliers gave White Oaks its between White Oaks and toughest test in an undefeatKing's Christian was just ed season -- a 36-27 Wildcats one of four Halton title victory in the final week of games played at the regular season -- coach Sheridan. Ryan McLaughlin devised a Burlington Central new look for the final. took on Milton District "Our girls are fast and in the senior girls' Tier 2 they're bigger," McLaughlin final, Abbey Park faced said. "Last time we played a Georgetown in the junior zone, so this time we opened girls' Tier 1 title game with a press." and Loyola battled Notre It was effective. White Dame in the senior girls' Oaks held King's to just two Tier 1 final. points in the opening quarter Coverage of those on its way to a 44-13 victory. games can be found on "We weren't prepared for www.oakvillebeaver. that," said Stewart, "and once com, and stories from we figured out how to get the games involving Oakville ball over half, we couldn't hit teams will appear in our shots." Wednesday's edition of White Oaks also struggled the Beaver. with its shooting early on but hit its stride in the second quarter when it struck for 17 points -- all it would need, as it turned out. McLaughlin, who coached the Wildcats' seniors last year, wasn't sure how long it would take the junior squad to come together. The team had finished 5-5 last year and was bounced in the first round of the Tier 2 playoffs. He thought the team looked good in practice, but he remained cautiously optimistic until the players got some games under their belt. But after winning their first three games by an average of 26 points and holding two of their three opponents to less than 20 points, he knew they had something. "We didn't know what to expect," said Katrina Mioc, who had a game-high 11 points in the final. "We all knew we had to focus and everyone came together." And Mioc means it when she says everyone. Eight different players had at least four points and nine players in total put up points in the Halton final. With the Tier 2 title under their belt, McLaughlin anticipates the Wildcats will make the jump to tier 1 next year. While that will present a new challenge, the White Oaks coach believes his team will be able to compete. "We played STA in a tournament and took them to overtime," he said. "They finished second (in Tier 1) and only had one loss so we should be able to compete." Garcia had seven points for White Oaks while Mila Krunic had six. Nicole Bailey, Geena Frew, Ashley Bowbyes, Esha Bhattia and Steph Mordie each had four. Tayo Dosunmu led King's with three points. -- Herb Garbutt can be followed d on Twitter at @Herbgarbutt Blades raffle ff to benefit f local organizations, cancer awareness The Oakville Blades are adding a raffle to ensure this year's Pink In The Rink event is a real draw and help out community organizations at the same time. The Blades recently unveiled plans for the Oakville Blades Jr. A Hockey 2012 Raffle in Support of Minor Sports, a unique initiative that generates revenue for cancer awareness while creating fundraising opportunities for community organizations. Under the program, the Blades and their community partners are selling tickets on an array of prizes, ranging from a 2012 Chevy Cruze Lt and a Caribbean vacation to golf g p packages, g , summer camp registration and restaurant gift certificates. The unique design of the program allows other organizations -- such as the Oakville Hornets Girls Hockey Association -- to sell tickets and use the raffle as a fundraiser for their teams as well. "The intent of this campaign is to build upon our support for the fight against cancer, underline the commitment of the Blades to the local community, and raise funds to help our community partners and the Blades youth development programs," said Blades president Carlo Coccimiglio. "Our community partners can support cancer awareness and share in the fundraising proceeds. It's winwin-win." The sales effort will culminate with the grand draw for the Chevy Cruze Lt at the fourth annual Pink In The Rink breast cancer awareness event Jan. 27 at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, when the Blades will host the Orangeville Flyers. Last year's Pink In The Rink raised more than $8,000, and Coccimiglio said the team is shooting for significant improvement on that total. The Blades president said the team's players will be leaders in promoting and selling the program as well. "Our players are role models for the youth of this community and we expect them to grow into leaders in the future," Coccimiglio said. "Being an Oakville Blade comes with responsibilities and expectations off the ice, too." Tickets for the raffle cost $20 each and are available through the Oakville Blades website at www.oakvilleblades. com Teams and community groups looking for more information about participating in this community initiative and raising funds for their endeavours can contact Laura King at lauraking@cogeco.ca g g