Seaway second at county basketball finals

nnSpartans upset first place Warriors, lose to Patriotes in close final.nnAVONMORE – With a record of three wins, six losses, making this years playoffs was not a guarantee for the Seaway Spartans junior girls basketball team. Only after the results were in from the final week of the season did Seaway land in the fourth and final playoff spot.nnSeaway traveled to Avonmore for the SDG Single-A school county championships November 8th, hosted at Tagwi Secondary School. Tagwi finished the regular season with a 6-3 record for first place. Last season, Seaway and Tagwi faced off in the county final, with Seaway earning a spot at EOSSAA.nnSeaway jumped to an early lead over Tagwi. Anna Henderson scored eight points in the quarter while Krista Strader scored four. Brooke Levere went one-for-two on foul shots. Seaway led Tagwi 13-2 at the end of the first quarter.nn

nnTagwi answered back in the second quarter out shooting Seaway 9-8. Ellie Adams scored seven of those points for Tagwi. Levere picked up four points for Seaway, while Henderson and Erin Gibbons each scored two. Seaway continued to lead Tagwi 21-11 at half time.nnHenderson scored all six of the Spartans’ points in the third quarter as Tagwi continued to close the gap between the two teams. Charly Stinson and Morgan Gallinger each had four points, while Katie Bender scored two for Tagwi. At the end of the third quarter, only six points separated the teams. Seaway led 27-21.nnThat lead evaporated quickly in the final eight minutes of the game. Adams connected a three-pointer from the line to bring the Warriors within three points of Seaway. Two more quick baskets by Adams and Makenna Brownlee put Tagwi in the lead 28-27.nnThe teams remained grid-locked as the pressure mounted. A number of turnovers by both teams mid-court left the teams scrambling for the ball.nnHenderson tied the game for Seaway with 5:47 left on the clock. Gibbons connected a two-pointer less than a minute later to put the Spartans back in the lead 30-28.nnThe Spartans pushed forward, regaining control of the ball, keeping the team in the Warriors’ end of the court. Henderson added three points from the foul line, to add some breathing room as the clock wound down.nnSeaway held on for the upset-win, defeating first-seeded Tagwi 33-28.nnThe team moved on to face the second-seeded La Citadelle Patriotes, who defeated the third-seeded North Dundas Devils 30-29.nnHenderson scored six points in the first quarter to give the Spartans a 6-4 lead over the Patriotes.nnSeaway continued to lead through the second quarter, with Henderson netting 11 of 13 points for the Spartans, Strader had two points for the team.nnThe Spartans defense held La Citadelle to just four points earned in the quarter. At halftime, the Spartans led the Patriotes 19-8.nnLa Citadelle held Seaway scoreless in the third quarter while picking up 12 points. Henderson was 0-2 on awarded foul shots. Going into the final quarter, the Patriotes led the Spartans 20-19.nnThe Spartans picked up eight more points in the final quarter, with Henderson scoring six, Levere and Gibbons one each. The Patriotes surged ahead in the final minutes to take the game, and the championship, 31-27.nnHenderson scored 23 points for Seaway in the game. Alexandra Aubin scored 23 points for the Patriotes as they move on to the EOSSAA championship in Arnprior November 17th.