NGBA Fend Off Windsor To Claim JUEL Prep Title

On May 19, 2019 the top ranked NGBA Warriors defeated the eighth seeded Windsor Valiants by a score of 79-71 to claim the JUEL Prep League Title.

JUEL Prep is an Ontario province wide league for Rep teams, with players in Grade 10 or younger. This season, 17 teams competed for the league’s championship, starting back on the first weekend of February.

Emma Koabel led all scorers in the title game with 27 points for the Warriors. She also collected 8 rebounds en route to helping her team to the win that took place at the University of Guelph.

The upstart Valiants had developed a bit of a Cinderella story throughout the playoffs. Prior to reaching the Finals, they had defeated the fifth ranked Advantage Titans, the third ranked SBA Lady Blues and the the second ranked Blessed Sacrament Yellow Jackets.

Early in this game, It looked as though the Windsor, ON team had some of the magic left that had gotten them this far to begin with. They had jumped out to an early 17-5 lead in the first quarter against their Welland, ON based foes before the frame had ended 17-9.

The Warriors began to find some success in the second quarter. They were able to dig themselves out of their first quarter hole by halftime where the game was knotted up at 35.

The Valiants came out of halftime with their most productive quarter, scoring 27 points and running up the lead to 62-53 with one quarter remaining. The Warriors once again answered the call, ending the game on a 26-9 run to earn the victory and gold medal win.

The Windsor Valiants were led in scoring by Reaghan Dales who scored 17 points, including four 3-pointers and added 8 rebounds, Kira Atherley who scored 15 points with 11 rebounds, Kaelyn Batten who scored 12 points and Ashanti Christian who scored 9 and collected 8 rebounds.

Along with Koabel’s contribution, the NGBA Warriors also received 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots from Corrynn Parker, 13 points and 11 rebounds from Alexis Wright and 11 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists from Natalie Picton.