THERE’S NO DOUBTING the heart of a champion. Or that of Ashlee Daniel.
The league’s best player came good when it mattered most, scoring 22 second-half points, including all ten of Queen’s College points in extra time, as the reigning champs held on for a wild 39-32 overtime victory against Springer in Tuesday’s WIBISCO schoolgirls’ basketball title game.
It was an MVP-winning performance fit for a championship showdown at the Wildey Gym that was expected to see pre-season favourites Springer finally end their ten-year title drought.
But the perennial pretenders flattered to deceive again, coming up short in yet another heart-breaking finals performance despite playing against Daniel, who was limited with two injured knees.
Yet the roles were very nearly reversed, with QC looking like the chokers this time around after squandering a late five-point lead (29-24) inside the final minutes following Niara Forde’s fourth-quarter heroics.
Shaking off a turnover-filled first half, Renee Burke seemingly rebounded with a clutch free throw and a coast-to-coast lay-up before Skakeillia Smith knotted things up with a clutch put-back with 49.4 seconds left.
And Springer appeared to have the game’s last possession after QC committed a shot clock violation. However, Smith missed two potential go-ahead free throws before Springer handed the ball right back on an inbounds turnover ahead of the whistle.
Springer actually took the lead on an unlikely Tricia Phillips jumper, but Daniel immediately responded with one of her own before converting a nifty southpaw layup while being fouled on a euro-step move.
The play was so nice she did it twice, with Daniel going for the right hand instead just seconds later, and then capping the victory by going coast-to-coast for another layup.
It was a thrilling finish to a contest that lacked the early plays to match when both teams limped to a 6-6 start.
Springer had their own injury woes to deal with as national player Winmarie Bowen was limited with a hurt shoulder, and yet they still seemed certain of shaking the jinx by taking a threatening 15-7 advantage.
That lead didn’t last long though, not once Daniel finally put her stamp on the proceedings with two knifing drives that sandwiched a pair of crucial free throws.
And she was just getting started in that third quarter which featured a further euro-step move in transition and the eventual go-ahead jumper (22-21) to end the period.
Forde then appeared to put Queen’s College up for good with a clutch put-back and a step-through basket that gave the champs a 29-24 cushion with 2:29 to play.
Daniel eventually finished with a game-high 25 points and Forde added 11, while Zakiya Kirton was the lone Springer player in double digits with 12 points.
•justinmarville@nationnews.com