There are big things happening in St. Thomas Aquinas girls basketball, with the latest proof coming last Wednesday when the Fighting Saints topped Whistler Secondary 78-61 to win the North Shore senior AA title.
Most of the players on the team tasted success last year as STA won the provincial title at both the junior and Grade 9 levels. They’ve moved up to senior this season and the big wins are still coming even though there isn’t a single Grade 12 player on the team. Against Whistler on Wednesday the Saints jumped out to an early double-digit lead and held it through most of the game, holding off all comeback attempts to claim the North Shore banner on their home court.
“We’re coming together at the right time,” said head coach John Prescott, who will lead his team into the Lower Mainland championships starting Feb. 14 at St. Thomas More. “We can play a lot of kids in the game, we go very deep on our bench. We play with tremendous emotion and we play with tremendous defensive intensity, and that’s something that we can count on every single game.”
It’s a sister act that powers the Saints, with 6-3 Grade 10 forward Jessica Clarke acting as the focal point for the team’s twin towers attack. Beside her in the starting lineup is her sister Rebecca Clarke, who is in Grade 11 and stands 6-1.
“They work very, very well together,” said Prescott. Throw in 6-1 forward Gemma Cutler, who doesn’t miss a beat when she rotates into the lineup, and the Saints have power and size that few teams can match.
In the North Shore final, however, Whistler focused their defence on stopping the STA forwards, which allowed guards Pasley Vandermye, Kristinn Black and Caelan Prescott to step up and hit some big shots.
“We had some timely shooting from our guards,” said Prescott. “We had some guards come out and shoot really, really well, and I think that’s what kind of pushed us over the edge. They wanted to cave down on our post players, so we had two or three guards come out and shoot really well.”
The North Shore title win was the latest triumph in a strong season for STA that saw them finish second in the North Shore premier league behind AAA Carson Graham. The Saints also scored a big victory in January when they won the BC Catholic Basketball Championship, claiming that title for the first time in 23 years.
With the success that this young team has racked up this year on top of last year’s double provincial titles, it appears as though STA may be in the midst of a golden age of girls basketball. Just don’t expect to hear such talk from the STA players, said Prescott.
“The kids don’t really talk about that historical stuff at all,” he said with a laugh. “I think it’s just something adults talk about. They’re just looking forward to the next game, who’s the next team. They get excited that way. They just want to play.”
