The fall of 2008 is shaping up to be the year of redemption at the GBSSA finals, and St. Joan of Arc’s senior girl’s 44-27 win over Collingwood Collegiate fits the bill.

Having lost to Eastview by four points in last year’s final, and having come second in the junior final the year before, the Knights were ready to stake their claim.

“We’ve waited so long for this,” said Katelyn Putnam. “(This is) lucky number three.”

The Knights may have knocked off the Owls by 17, but the game was by no means a cakewalk.

True to their namesake, the Fighting Owls came out swinging and matched the Knights for the first quarter.

With both teams playing full-court-press defense, Collingwood held a 9-8 lead at the buzzer.

Scoring was also hard to come by in the second; a buzzer-beater by Kelcey Putnam put the Knights up by six, 20-14, heading into the half.

Collingwood managed to keep the game tight to start the second half, but St. Joan of Arc slowly and steadily began to pull away.

“We know we wear teams down,” said Knights coach Randy Norton. “I have such confidence in the girls. Even when it was close they didn’t panic.”

In the Knights’ semi final match against Bear Creek, they had a similar outcome. Up by six at the half, they won the game by 20.  

“The only team to beat out there was ourselves,” said captain Stephanie Truelove. “We played as a team and that’s how we got this far.”

Norton cites the team’s closeness as what has contributed to their success.

“They’re all friends. They stick together.”

As if to demonstrate, three players, Agnes Bartosik, Kelcey Putnam, and Truelove each contributed 12 points to the final score.

The team now travels to Sarnia for the OFSAA tournament on Thursday, Nov. 20.

“That’s all for fun,” said Putnam, and her coach agrees. “We’re just happy to go.”

In the junior final, Innisdale started its game against Eastview with an 11-0 run.

Although the Wildcats rallied back to bring the game within five heading into the half, 24-19, the Invaders refused to relinquish the lead.

“We were expecting a tough game,” said Innisdale coach Kelly Oprendek. “We knew we had to bring our ‘A’ game and we didn’t let our guard down.”

Similar to the senior Knights, it was a four-point loss in last year’s final that fueled the Invaders’ game.

“You’ve got to want it,” said Oprendek. “A lot of the girls stepped up their game.”

One of those players is Grade 10 captain Devenae Bryce, who put 29 points on the scoreboard for the Invaders.

“It was more intense than I thought,” said Bryce. “But this is what our whole season has been about.”

Alexis Nadeau contributed 23 points to the Eastview effort, and helped her team get within four points down the stretch.

“Even when it was close we realized we could win,” said Bryce. “We just kept on pushing.”