BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
In the biggest basketball game of her life,
Sudbury's Lisa Furchner scored the best performance of her
life.
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Lisa Furchner will continue to play
for Lasalle Secondary School after proving her worth to
Team Ontario. |
Playing for the Under-17 Ontario girls' squad
at the 2005 Canada Summer Games recently, Furchner helped the
team win gold.
Furchner, who made the team as the sixth man,
was outstanding during the entire tournament, averaging 17
minutes a game. She also racked up
seven points and five rebounds per
game.
In the championship final against Alberta,
Furchner proved her ultimate worth when early in the fourth
quarter of the intense match, Ontario's
captain, Kalisha Keane, was fouled out of the
game, leaving an intimidating hole in the squad.
The Ontario coach never broke a sweat, and
looked at Furchner on the bench to step up. She wasn't
disappointed.
After blowing a 22-point lead in the second
half of the game, Ontario was on the ropes. Alberta tied the
game with only five seconds left, sending the gold medal game
into overtime.
Furchner and her teammates overcame the
adversity and disposed of Alberta in the first overtime frame,
giving Ontario the coveted gold. For her part, Furchner dumped
in six crucial points in the late stages of the game.
"Lisa played amazingly for us," said Andrea
Hawkins, Team Ontario head coach. "She knew exactly what her
job was and got it done. Lisa's job was to run the floor,
dominate the boards and defend in the post, and that's exactly
what she did. It was very comforting to know that we had
someone as talented as Lisa coming off the bench for us."
Furchner was at her best in the gut-wrenching
final.
"Lisa's most impressive game was the gold
medal game, where she played 28 minutes," said Hawkins. "Our
captain was fouled out early...and Lisa stepped in and played
fantastic. Lisa is one of the quickest, smartest big players I
have ever coached."
Furchner, who plays basketball at Lasalle
Secondary School, made Team Ontario after a January try out and
proved her worth at several training camps leading up to the
games.
"It was an amazing experience," said Furchner
with a golden smile. "It's the best thing I have ever done in
my life."
Furchner was actually happy the final game
went into overtime.
"I was past being nervous," said Furchner. "I
was terrified, but it was a great thing for me to be involved
in and do. Playing in a big game like that helps a lot. I can
bring back that experience to Lasalle and help my team if we
are ever in a game like that."
Furchner, 17, played centre and was very
impressed with the Ontario team's overall commitment to
defence.
"We held provincial championship teams to
just 30 points in games," said Furchner. "We won by playing
defence. Holding provincial teams to 30 points is great,
especially since we were scoring 90 points a game."
Furchner, who has played four years in the
Team Ontario system, was ecstatic about playing a major role
this year. (Last year, Furchner played at the Juvenile Canadian
Championships, but mainly sat on the bench.)
"Last year, I sat on the bench and cheered,"
said Furchner. "I was prepared this year. I had more confidence
and it was great to play a bigger role.
This is something I will remember
forever."
Furchner will play her final high school year
with Lasalle in 2005-06, and has her sights set high.
"We want to win gold at the provincial
championships."
