ODDS girl’s basketball team compete at OFSAA

By Brian Lockhart

The Orangeville District Secondary School Scarlet Bears girls' senior basketball team has completed a stellar season that saw them win the District and Region championships, earning them the right to compete at the provincial championships at OFSAA.

The Bears finished the regular season in first place in the District 10 standings with a 12-2 record.

At the University of Guelph, they won the District championship with a 62-49 win over Centennial Collegiate in the final game on Nov. 11.

Winning the District allowed the girls' team to go to the Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association competition in Guelph on November 17 and 18.

In their opening game, then 66-63 to Assumption Catholic High School in overtime. They rebounded with a 72-54 win over Waterloo Oxford in the second game of the day.

In the playoff round, they won 74-58 over KCI to make it to the final.

The Bears won CWOSSA with a 49-47 win over Assumption in the final game.

With the CWOSSA title on the record, the Bears prepared to go to the provincial level and compete at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations in Hamilton on November 23-25 against the top girls' basketball teams in the province.

On day one of the OFSAA competition, the Bears won their opening game, 49-45, over Sir William Mulock. Game Two saw the Bears win their second in the competition, leaving the court with a 48-43 win over St. Roch.

In the quarter-final game, the Bears lost 42-27 to St. Patrick's to end their run for the season.

What makes this achievement as a basketball team so outstanding is the fact that most of the girls on the Bears team are Junior-level players who stepped up to create a Senior squad for the school.

“The girls were absolutely amazing,” said coach Koven Padayachee. “They finished sixth in the country, winning two games at OFSAA. As the youngest team in the tournament, the girls represented Orangeville really well. We look forward to getting back to it their next year.”