Familiar foes to face off yet again

With one of their best players limited by injury, the Vincent Massey Trojans needed someone to pick up the slack in their biggest game of the season.

Ese Imiefo rose to the occasion.

The Grade 12 forward had her way in a 26-point performance to lead the Trojans to a 74-53 victory over the Sisler Spartans in the AAAA girls’ provincial basketball semi-finals at Investor’s Group Athletic Centre on Wednesday.

With the win, Massey extended its title defence and will play in its third straight provincial championship against the Dakota Lancers, back at IGAC on Monday at 6 p.m.

“It felt great, especially playing alongside my teammates, who helped me with every single basket I got, helped with every good pass they gave me,” said Imiefo, who also hauled down four rebounds. “So yeah, it felt really great.”

Born in Nigeria, Imiefo’s family moved to Winnipeg for a better opportunity when she was one. She didn’t pick up basketball until she reached high school, and her senior year has included plenty of adversity, as it began with a dislocated shoulder that delayed her campaign.

That’s not to say Imiefo’s outing was unlikely. Far from it.

Head coach Stacy Hawash says the 5-10 forward has been trending this way throughout the provincial championships.

“Ese scored more points today, but that’s what she does,” said Hawash. “Her inside force is good; she rebounds hard; defensively, she helps create stuff. Often with Uloma (Isinguzo), she’s the secondary person, and Emma (Yard), too. Emma has an injury right now that she’s just coming back from, so we’re kind of limiting her a little bit, too. But when you get all three of those going, they share everything, and whoever has the weakest link, I mean, that’s what you play to.”

Imiefo had 15 points in a first half where points were at a premium. The Trojans held end-of-quarter leads of 15-4, 30-18 and 59-33.

“Ese has been working hard all year and wasn’t starting for us because of play by others,” Hawash said, “and she’s taken this opportunity and run with it. So it’s great.”

Grade 11 guard Otito Okwumabua supplied 10 points, while Isinguzo chipped in with nine points and nine rebounds. Yard provided seven points off the bench.

For Sisler, Gurmandeep Chahal had 17 points, while Arabela DeGrano had eight points and Chanel Schulz had seven on a night the Spartans had a tough time finding the bottom of the bucket.

The Trojans will face a familiar foe in the Dakota Lancers — the same squad they’ve faced in the last three provincial finals.

“I’m actually so excited, honestly, it’s like back-to-back again,” Imiefo said. “We got it this year. It’s our year.”

In the second semifinal, the Lancers outlasted the Garden City Gophers 93-87 in a thrilling contest.

The Lancers are back in the provincial championship for the fifth year in a row — they won three in a row before falling to the Trojans last season.

Garden City held leads of 23-16 and 38-37 through the first two quarters, but Dakota answered with a strong second-half to get over the finish line.

Emilie McLean supplied a 25-point, 14-rebound double-double to lead the charge, and she was joined by a second star on this night in Grade 11 guard Madison Rach, who poured in a game-high 28 points.

“I feel like I really came to the occasion,” said Rach. “I feel like I played my best.”

Rach was lethal from deep range, including a critical three-pointer that extended the Lancers’ lead to six with 65 seconds remaining.

“She’s a gamer,” said head coach Eric Sung. “She goes against the grain a little bit sometimes, but yeah, she made some big shots for us. There was a big three down the stretch there, that was huge.”

The Lancers got help down the lineup, as Grade 10 guard Quinn Kelly chipped in with 15 points and Grade 10 forward Peyton Kyllo provided 13 points.

For the Gophers, Grade 10 forward Sierra Ferguson impressed with a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Seva Brar had 14 points and Paige Marcelino had 11.

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