Rams dominate WOSSAA basketball

 St. Joe's defeats Woodstock College Avenue in the junior girls basketball AA final,

 42-21, after disappointing the fans of host St. Mike's in the semis

  November 17, 2022

By Rob J. Ross 

STRATFORD, Ont. - Their constant offensive attack and defensive prowess made the St. Joseph's Rams WOSSAA champions.

St. Joe's defeated Woodstock College Avenue Knights, 42-21, in the gold medal game at WOSSAA AA junior girls basketball, Wednesday, at St. Mike's high school.

"We did good on defence and we really worked as a team. We pulled through and fought to win," said Hailey Titchner.

Promise Atkinson had 12 points for the Rams, while Rylee Wilkinson chipped in with eight points and Emily Chapman and Titchner, both had six.

"It was a little hectic at points but we pulled through. It feels amazing," added Chapman.

The Rams jumped on the Thames Valley champs early, to lead the Knights, 18-7 after one quarter. It was 28-17 Rams at half.

"We had great defence throughout the the year and it showed here again," said Rachael Wolfs, co-coach, alongside Joe Lamon. "We knew it was going to be a battle. We didn't let our emotions or feelings get the best of us, because of bad calls."

Earlier in the day, the Rams disappointed the home team's fans, downing host St. Mike's Warriors, 59-27. Atkinson dropped 16 points, Titchner, 11 and Jayla Oum, seven.

"Our bench was in it and giving us the energy we needed," said Wolfs. "It wasn't like the first game. The first game against St. Mike's, they had their school here. There was a ton of energy. (The final), we had to create our own energy and momentum."

St. Joe's finished fourth in the District regular season, before winning the AA title, defeating John Paul II, in the final.

"We always practiced hard for every game and we got better every practice. We made sure our warm-ups were intense so that we played intense during the game," Titchner said. "We started to work better as a team and could read each other and read what the defenders were doing, which helped us a lot for our passes and our steals."