Senior Girls Prep Basketball Battle

Here is a recap of our Senior Girls Prep Basketball games in Toronto last weekend.

Game 1 - Friday Night vs Royal Crown (Scarborough, ON)
This was a physical battle, and playing against the home team for the event proved difficult for our KES players. RCA had scouted us well, and we were slow to make adjustments which led to several turnovers and points going against us. Offensively, Vanessa Vaughan ‘22 led KES with 11 points, and defensively we were led by a trio of Gala Holm ‘22, Lauren Boon ‘23 and Kate Jahnke ‘23. The game ended in a tough 87-58 loss to Royal Crown. (0W - 1L)

Game 2 - Saturday Morning vs Southwest Academy (London, ON)
This was a second chance to measure ourselves versus one of Canada’s best programmes as Southwest had dismantled us in the event in Montreal. Our girls were looking forward to this game to gauge their hard work. This game saw both teams start out “tight”, and you could see both programmes had made major adjustments to game plans and personnel. While KES managed to get most of the shot attempts we were hoping to, we just couldn’t score the ball in this game, and Southwest proved once again to be on another level, one that KES Prep is quickly approaching, defeating the Highlanders 79-54. Vanessa Vaughan continued her strong play with an 18-point game. (0W - 2L)

Game 3 - Saturday Evening vs Redmond Prep (Etobicoke, ON)
This game was viewed as a battle of teams that have been compared to each other on the national scale. Very similar types of players, and both clubs knew how important this game was going to be. The injury bug started to sink its teeth into us, as energy spark plug Lauren Boon was injured during the game. Redmond Prep eventually built a 20-point lead in the third quarter, and KES was stuck in neutral, trying to get into gear. Another frustrating shooting night was upon us, and Redmond made big shots at crucial times during the game. Gabby Shaw ‘25 entered the game in the fourth quarter and, as the game continued through the period, Gabby was literally trying to will us to win, spearheading a comeback that whittled the lead down from 20 to only seven points with approximately only a minute to play. A missed three pointer that would have put us into striking distance, was the dagger in our efforts, and Redmond held on for a 79-72 win over KES. (0W - 3L)

Game 4 - Sunday Morning vs Northstar Prep (Winnipeg, MB)
Both teams arrived to tip off on Sunday with bumps and bruises for this last game of our weekend. A battle of teams that were winless for the weekend, both clubs were looking to put one in the win column. Gabby Shaw started her first game at the prep level and continued her excellent play. Julia Field ‘23 found her range and was leading the team on offence with 11 points before an unfortunate collision knocked her out of the game. While we had some difficulty with the Northstar Prep “Bigs”, our team battled to take a nine-point lead into halftime. Northstar battled back to make it a two-point game early in the fourth quarter and Gala Holm displayed great leadership and courage, on both ends of the floor, and along with Rain Jhaj's ‘22 and Kate Jahnke’s solid play, KES pulled out a 72-69 win over Winnipeg. (1W - 3L)

Our prep team is battling hard in each game and is still ranked in the top 16 in Canada, this season being ranked as high as #11, and being within minutes of a win that would have put us firmly in the top eight. The win over Northstar broke a losing streak and is the elixir needed to propel us forward.

Next up are exhibition games here at home on November 27 and 28 vs Halifax West and North Nova. See you then!