KENSINGTON – A discussion at halftime provided a spark for the Colonel Gray Team One Colonels.
The end result was the Charlottetown-based school capturing the girls’ championship of the third annual Aidan K. Harrington Memorial basketball tournament at Kensington Intermediate-Senior High School (KISH) on Saturday afternoon. Harrington, a former basketball star and athlete of the year at KISH, died suddenly in November 2016.
The Colonels trailed the host KISH Torchettes 23-17 after two quarters, but regrouped to outscore the defending tournament champions 29-15 in the second half en route to a 46-38 victory.
“We had a little heart-to-heart (talk at halftime),” said the Colonels’ Logan Gauthier, who was named the tournament most valuable player.
When asked to elaborate on what took place in the locker room, Gauthier added, “Jon (Lane), our coach, just said we have to get our act together, and that we all have to work together and communicate.”
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Gauthier, who plays the wing and point guard positions, scored 12 points to lead the Colonels while Jenna Frizzell and Rylee Connolly each sank eight points. Gray took its first lead of the game – 34-32 – with 56 seconds remaining in the third quarter, and never trailed the rest of the way.
“We just had to dig in and realize we have the skill to win this game,” said Connolly, who was presented with Gray’s player-of-the-game award in the final. “We just dug down deep and pulled it out.”
Coach pleased
Torchettes head coach Claya Cole was pleased with her team’s play, despite the outcome.
“We played a very hard strong offensive and defensive game, we got a little bit tired at the end, but the girls played very well and pushed right to their limit,” offered Cole.
Callie Champion held the hot hand offensively for the Torchettes, pouring in a game-high 17 points. Other top point-getters for KISH were Hillary Murphy 6), Ellen Cole (4) and Hillary MacLean (4).
Gauthier added one key for the Colonels in the second half was improved rebounding.
“We had to box out really hard, because we weren’t in the first half,” she added.
The Colonels also had to deal with injuries during the tournament.
“Two of our starters (Sydney Strain and Ruby Sharp) were out this game,” said Connolly, who plays the post position. “The people coming off the bench contributed well. Everyone played strong and hard.”
The final marked the second straight game between the Colonels and Torchettes. KISH won the final round-robin game between the two 2-0 (won-lost) teams on Saturday morning by a 49-34 score.
“Between the games we had a lot of time to reflect on what we didn’t do in the first game (against KISH),” said Gauthier. “But we also had to think about how we played (Friday), and tap into the intensity.”
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Scores
Girls’ scores in Aidan K. Harrington Memorial basketball tournament:
Round Robin
Kensington 57 Three Oaks Two 29
Colonel Gray One 56 Westisle 21
Kensington 59 Westisle 54
Colonel Gray One 53 Three Oaks Two 27
Westisle 60 Three Oaks Two 26
Kensington 49 Colonel Gray One 34
Championship Game
Colonel Gray One 46 Kensington 38
Standings
Girls’ standings in Aidan K. Harrington
Memorial basketball tournament:
Round Robin
W L
Kensington 3 0
Colonel Gray One 2 1
Westisle 1 2
Three Oaks Two 0 3
