Holy Cross Asserts Dominance With BC Catholic Win

On January 18, 2014, the Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the St Thomas More Knights by a score of 59-28 to win the BC Catholic Championship Tournament which they hosted in Surrey, BC.

In the Finals, the Crusaders were led by the tournament’s eventual Most Outstanding Player, Michelle Bos, who scored 13 points in the win.

“This is our 8th repeat win, so there was a lot of pressure in that for sure.” said Bos after the Championship victory which emphasized Holy Cross’ dominance in British Columbia’s high school girls basketball.

The pressure to sustain their reign was tested early as the Knights challenged the Crusaders despite a hostile capacity crowd. The Knights buoyed by young Point Guard, Zion Corrales-Nielson controlling the offense and Meghan Ho contributing on defense, managed to keep the St Thomas More squad within 4 at the end of a low scoring first quarter despite the noise created by the crowds chants, drums and noise makers.

This, however was as close as the Knights would get for the remainder of the game. An experienced Holy Cross were confident that if they were to stay the course and bide their time, that victory would eventually be theirs.

“This is my fourth time playing in the Catholics,” said Bos, “So I have kind of been here before. But this last one was definitely one that I had to finish with a win,” said the Thompson River University commit about not wanting to be denied this one in this her graduating year.

Their big break came in the form of a shift of momentum that was brought on by a big three pointer by Nicole Vander Helm, in the second quarter. It was then followed up by a quick steal just after the following inbound. That led to another quick bucket, which got the crowd into a frenzy. That quick five point swing seemed to have opened up a dam.

All of this would see the Crusaders go on a 36-14 run between the end of the first quarter through to the end of the third, which would see the home team up by an insurmountable 46-20 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

During that run, they would also execute several hustle plays that seemed to provide sparks that the rest of the Holy Cross team would feed off.

“I remember there was one play where everyone was jogging back and Ally Buck sprinted back so hard, got past every body and passed me the ball and that’s what really brought up the team and that’s what really helped me to play well too.”

The Knights’ were held in check throughout the game, unable to match the Crusaders’ firepower. They were held to single digit scoring in each quarter. Along with Holy Cross’ 22 point 2nd quarter, it spelled lights out for the visitors.

So why was the first quarter as close as it was? Bos attributes it to trouble starting the team’s engine.

“Basically, that is how we always do it. We always seem to come out a little bit flat…maybe a little bit too excited. Then, we just remember that individually, player to player, we are the better team. So, we just have to play a little bit more confidently, and then as soon as we get that run we just go on from there.”

The Holy Cross Crusaders are ranked third in the province, and are attempting to become the first team in BC, to win a Double-A title, then win a Triple-A title in back to back years.

Individual Awards

Most Outstanding Player – Michelle Bos – Holy Cross
Outstanding Defensive Player – Ally Buck – Holy Cross

First Team All-Stars

Meghan Ho – St Thomas More
Nicole Vander Helm – Holy Cross
Rachel Beauchamp – Holy Cross
Michelle Bos – Holy Cross
Amy Sprangers – Holy Cross

Second Team All-Stars

Jessica Hanson – Little Flower
Zion Corrales-Nelson – St Thomas More
Ashlyn Day – Immaculata
Angela Clarke – St Thomas Aquinas
Samantha Beauchamp – Holy Cross