Simard drains 19 as Barons beat Raiders

In the rematch of last year's senior girls basketball finalists, the E.S.C. Algonquin Barons defeated the Chippewa Raiders 46-36 on Thursday evening at the Raiderdome. The Barons exploded offensively in the 2nd quarter, scoring 25 points including two key 3 point shots by Mila Paris midway through the 2nd stanza, that enabled them to open up a 33-18 halftime lead.

Tanya Simard was the dominant player of the game, scoring 17 of her 19 points in the first half. Simard was 11 for 17 from the foul line. Paris added 15 points, will first year player Geneviève Dumas scored 7 points. Rounding out the scoring for the Algonquin was Kimberly Gibson and Catherine Sénécal with 2 points each and Alisha Perron added a foul shot.

For the Raiders, Laura Graham and Kaytlyn Faucon each scored 9 points, while Sara Gourlie and Paula Cook chipped in 7 and 5 points respectively. Sam Loretto added 3, while Nina Connell scored 2 and Holly Preweda added 1 point.

Barons head coach Tim Lowe believes the second quarter was the difference.

"We really tried to push the ball and drive hard to the basket, and we were rewarded," Lowe said.

"Tanya went to the line 10 times (scored 7), and that's a double-whammy - we score and they get the foul," he added.

"Then with Mila hitting 2 big 3 pointers, it allowed us to relax and start playing a more controled game. This was an unexpected outcome against what I still consider the team to beat this year. We can't sit on this game, Chippewa beat us in 2 of the quarters, and we tied the other, so the score was not indicative of the outcome of the game. We must improve our offensive execution and be more intense on defense," Lowe said.

"Also, Tanya played outstanding defensively. She added 7 rebounds herself. She's playing with so much confidence and she so fast, which makes her no fun to play against."

Next up for the Barons is the West Ferris Trojans Invitational on the weekend.

Submitted to BayToday.ca