Tigers ’09 junior girls live up to program’s tradition with city title

“It’s an impressive record, and the older girls remind them of it,” says St. Matthew coach Rick Despatie, whose club downed St. Mark 44-30 in this year’s city final on Monday, Nov. 23. “They just reminded (the Grade 9s) in the dressing room after the game in fact – you guys have to carry the mantle next year. I think the quote was actually, ‘Don’t screw up.’”

One key statistic that provides a testament to the Tiger program’s success is that out of the top-five scorers from last season’s National Capital final game, only one played for this year’s junior city champion team.

“That’s the way it’s supposed to work,” Despatie notes, saluting the depth provided by so-called bench players. “Each year our seniors step up a little bit. Next year, the next group will step in.”

Despatie, who coaches three St. Matthew girls’ teams including the Grade 7/8 squad, is hoping the trend will continue into senior girls’ competition next season.

The 2007 junior girls’ city champions will reunite in the senior ranks next year, searching to end what can be considered a senior championship drought of several years for the powerful basketball school.

“We don’t have as much variety as the team we’ll have next year,” says Grade 10 player Nana Wandji, who led St. Matthew with 17 points in the final, noting this year’s junior team had many players who are all very good at the same skills. “I think we’re going to be quite a powerful team.”

Meanwhile, the senior Tigers, who fell to Louis-Riel at last week’s city final, are currently in Hamilton for the Nov. 26-28 Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations ‘AAAA’ championships.

St. Matthew is seeded 14th of 16 teams, and opened the tournament in the evening on Thursday, Nov. 26 against Brampton’s St. Marguerite d’Youville.

“We’ll go out and have some fun and see what happens,” Despatie shrugs, noting their opponents come from schools with almost double their student population. “Hopefully we’ll upset a few people – that’s our plan.”