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Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports 13 | Wednesday, July 3, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Loyola student leads FIBA Americas U16 tourney in assists Buzz awaits playoff opponent A couple of years ago, Jaelyne Kirkpatrick had a difficult decision to make. She was a strong soccer player, suiting up for the provincial team as well as the Ontario Youth Soccer League's Erin Mills Eagles. Kirkpatrick was also stellar at basketball, playing rep for the Oakville Venom and making the Loyola Hawks high school senior team -- a club that has won the past two Halton championships -- in Grade 9. In order for Kirkpatrick to reach the next level in one of the two sports, she felt the other had to go. She chose basketball, and it already seems safe to say Kirkpatrick made the right choice. The 15-year-old made her national team debut last month in Cancun, helping Canada to silver at the FIBA Americas under-16 championships. Kirkpatrick, Canada's starting point guard, led all players in the tournament with 3.4 assists per game as her team won its first four contests before falling to the heavily-favoured U.S. in the final. Canada lost the gold-medal game 8248, but did have at least a sniff of an upset. The teams were tied 9-9 after one quarter and 26-26 at half before the Americans pulled away with a 31-7 surge in the third frame. "Coming into the second half, they (changed) their press attack and we couldn't adapt to it," said Kirkpatrick, who played 29 minutes in the final. "The energy was so high when we got The Oakville Buzz will have to wait until tonight (Wednesday) to find out who it will play in the first round of the Ontario Lacrosse Association junior B playoffs. Oakville lost a pair of games last weekend to finish the regular season fourth in the East Conference with a 12-8 record. The Nepean Knights and Mimico Mountaineers are currently tied for fifth with 1010 marks, and Markham (9-10) would move into a three-way tie for fifth if it beats Mississauga tonight. Should Markham beat the 4-15 Tomahawks, Mimico would be awarded fifth place and face Oakville in the opening round. If Mississauga upsets the Ironheads, the Buzz would face Nepean. Regardless of tonight's outcome, Oakville will begin a best-of-three first-round series Friday. If the Buzz draws Mimico, the series would start Friday at Toronto Rock Athletic Centre (8 p.m.), move to Mimico for Game 2 Saturday and return to Oakville (if necessary) for Game 3 Tuesday. If Oakville takes on Nepean, the Buzz would allow the Knights to host Game 1 Friday before hosting the remainder of the series Saturday and (if necessary) Sunday. The Buzz stumbled to the regular-season finish line, losing four of its last six games. Greg Campbell and Sam Neeb both had two goals and an assist Friday in an 11-7 loss to the Halton Hills Bulldogs at TRAC. Colton Watkinson had a goal and three helpers, with Keyan McQueen and Nathan Maracle accounting for Oakville's other markers. Sunday, Oakville concluded the season with a 10-9 loss in Markham despite five-point outings by Todd Nakasuji (two goals, three asissts), McQueen (two goals, three assists) and Neeb (goal, four assists). Mitch Wales notched a goal and two assists, and Tyler Bender and Campbell added singles. Jaelyne Kirkpatrick surveys the court while being guarded by a U.S. opponent| photo courtesy FIBA Americas into the locker room (at halftime). Everyone was so supportive. Our team believed we could win. Throughout the game, I don't think we ever gave up." Kirkpatrick attempted just 14 shots during the five-game tournament, averaging less than four points per contest. She said she was more concerned about getting other teammates involved. "As a point guard, you have to be selfless. I think it's better to have several teammates scoring than you just scoring yourself," Kirkpatrick said. "There's more to it than just the scoring." Evidently, university scouts who have seen Kirkpatrick play agree. She has already received letters from more than 30 NCAA Division 1 schools, though official scholarship offers cannot be extended until the fall. Kirkpatrick also appears to have a bright future with the national program. She expects to play in the under-17 world championships next year in Slovakia. "In three years, there are the Olympics. Then in seven years, there are another Olympics," said Kirkpatrick. 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