KENSINGTON – It’s always special to win a tournament, but that accomplishment took on extra significance for the Kensington Torchettes on Saturday afternoon.
The Torchettes defeated the Charlottetown Team Two Raiders 50-36 in the girls’ final of the second annual Aidan K. Harrington Memorial basketball tournament hosted by Kensington Intermediate-Senior High School (KISH).
“It’s a really big honour to win it,” said the Torchettes’ Ellen Cole, who was named the tournament most valuable player. “He (Aidan) was such a really good basketball player.”
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Harrington, who proudly wore Torchmen basketball jerseys from 2007 to 2014 and was named KISH’s 2014 senior male athlete of the year, passed away suddenly at the age of 20 in November 2016 in Halifax, N.S., where he was attending university.
“We are really proud to win it,” offered KISH point guard Hillary MacLean, who was named a tournament all-star along with Kinkora’s Abigail Rogers, Rural Team Two’s Lila Willdey and Westisle Team Two’s Emily Matthews. “It was really nice to see (Aidan’s sister and KISH senior boys coach) Hannah here, and the family was here to watch. It means a lot.”
Aidan’s father, Alan, recognized the efforts of Brianna MacKay and Mitchell Bernard, who were the driving forces behind the development and organization of the inaugural event in 2017.
“It means a lot to us,” noted an appreciative Alan.
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Undefeated
The championship capped an undefeated weekend for the Torchettes, who completed the two-day tournament 4-0 (won-lost). The Torchettes, who are 7-1 in league play, are seeded sixth out of 16 teams in the latest P.E.I. School Athletic Association basketball rankings released Sunday night.
“We are doing pretty good,” assessed Cole, who is from New London. “We are small (with eight players) but mighty!”
Ellen Cole of the Kensington Torchettes drives to the basket while being defended by Molly Birtwhistle of the Charlottetown Rural Team Two Raiders. The action took place during the girls’ championship game of the Aidan K. Harrington Memorial basketball tournament at Kensington Intermediate-Senior High School on Saturday afternoon. The Torchettes prevailed 50-36.
Top scorer
In the final, which featured the top two teams of the round robin, Callie Champion poured in a game-high 17 points to lead the Torchettes. Casey Currie led Rural with 11 points.
It was the second of back-to-back games between the two teams after KISH defeated Rural 51-32 in the final game of the round-robin on Saturday morning.
“It was a really good game, and we played really, really well in the end,” commented Cole, a 15-year-old Grade 10 post player from New London. “They came out really hard, and I thought we did a really good job of keeping them at bay.”
Click here for story on KISH soccer pitch named in honour of Aidan K. Harrington:
After taking a 21-18 advantage into halftime, KISH outscored Rural 20-10 in the third quarter to open up a 41-28 cushion.
“I don’t think we were expecting them to come out as hard as they did because we had just played them, and that (round-robin) game wasn’t as tough,” said MacLean, a 16-year-old Kensington resident. “They really showed up, and so did we.”
Cole, despite being whistled for three early fouls, was a force on the boards.
“At the end I had a burst of energy, started getting my game going and getting blocks,” said Cole.
When asked what is the key to strong rebounding, Cole noted “being able to jump” and positioning is very important.
“You have to that sense of where the ball is going to go when they shoot it,” added Cole.
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Results
Following are the round-robin results:
Kensington 51 Kinkora 9
Top scorer for Kensington – Callie Champion (9). For Kinkora – Rebecca Green (4).
Subway players of the game were Emily MacDonald (Kensington) and Madeline Hamill (Kinkora).
Charlottetown Rural Team Two 43 Westisle Team Two 18
Top scorer for Rural – Lila Willdey (10). For Westisle – Hayden Chaisson (6).
Subway players of the game were Maria Mullally (Rural) and Hayden Chaisson (Westisle).
Kensington 47 Westisle Team Two 14
Top scorer for Kensington – Ellen Murphy (10). For Westisle – Hayden Chaisson (5).
Subway players of the game were Ellen Murphy (Kensington) and Maggie Gard (Westisle).
Charlottetown Rural Team Two 33 Kinkora 16
Top scorer for Rural – Molly Birtwhistle (15). For Kinkora – Maddy Moffat (6).
Subway players of the game were Molly Birtwhistle (Rural) and Rebecca Green (Kinkora).
Westisle Team Two 39 Kinkora 27
Top scorer for Westisle – Emma Lee Lyon (15). For Kinkora – Rebecca Green (8).
Subway players of the game were Emma Lee Lyon (Westisle) and Rebecca Green (Kinkora).
Kensington 51 Charlottetown Rural Team Two 32
Top scorer for Kensington – Hillary MacLean (17). For Rural – Lila Willdey (11).
Subway players of the game were Ellen Cole (Kensington) and Megan Phelan (Rural).
