In one fell swoop, last weekend, the Lo-Ellen Park Prep Knights tripled their win total - and they did so in drastically different fashions.
The net result is not only a 3-6 record for the local team in their inaugural season of Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association play, but also a current stretch of three wins in their last four games, all on the heels of an 0-5 start to the 2018-19 campaign.
Friday night at the Abilities Centre in Whitby, the Knights bolted to a 23-13 first quarter lead, increased it to 47-24 by the half and cruised to a 78-49 victory over Durham Elite.
While post Emilie Lafond showed the way with a 20-point performance, Lo-Ellen managed to distribute the ball with ease, as Dylann Mazzuchin (12), Sami Dunlop-Bassett (8), Shannon Clarke (8), Claudia Pellerin-Olutayo (8), Delaney Bourget (6), Kyanna Thompson (6) and Abby Frick (6) all contributed nicely on offense.
That early cushion was nowhere to be found on Saturday versus Father John Redmond, the Knights looking at deficits of 10-7, 24-14 and 32-31 through the first three quarters of play.
Thankfully, a 20-9 outburst through the final eight minutes of play would be enough to send coach Jen Bourget and company home happy, as the Knights outlasted their GTA opponent, 51-41.
Pellerin-Olutayo (16 pts), Bourget (11) and Thompson (10) sparked the Lo-Ellen attack, accounting for more than 70 per cent of their team's total scoring, with Pellerin-Olutayo netting half of her game output in the fourth quarter alone.
The Sudbury crew will close out their pre-Christmas schedule with two more games, one at home and one on the road.
This coming Sunday, Dec. 9, the Knights will tip-off at 1 p.m. at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School opposite the Caledon Basketball Academy (2-5), slowing things down, for the holidays, after their encounter with Central Tech (1-5) in Toronto next Friday, Dec. 14.
