A quick scan of the roster of the Lo-Ellen Prep Knights basketball team reveals that, as one might expect, the bulk of this team are Sudbury born and raised - with a sprinkling of athletes from elsewhere around the north.
As for those who move north from the Great Not-So-White South, some of them might still have northern roots.
Eighteen year-old Kaitlyn McMillan left her home in Waterloo to come and join the Knights, a bit of an interesting decision until one is informed that her mother is an Andlar, with several relatives still in town and a cottage that Kaitlyn often frequented in her youth about thirty minutes west of Sudbury.
Her teammates were more than happy to welcome her to the nickel city, rewarded for their trust in her ability as McMillan netted 30 points on the weekend, helping Lo-Ellen earn a split with Bond Academy, beaten 67-64 on Saturday but rallying in posting an 89-77 victory the next afternoon.
Adjusting to Sudbury was not going to be an issue for McMillan - but some of the other changes definitely caught her attention.
"Getting used to the routine is a big thing, practicing twice a day every day of the week," she said. "One thing that makes it a lot easier is the bond, the connection with all of the girls."
"I just love coming into the gym every day to see them."
One of the key reasons why McMillan was even looking for a home in 2023-2024 is due to the fact that she missed all of last year following reconstructive knee surgery. "We have strength sessions twice a week, so it's just been a matter of building that strength and the confidence back," she said.
"That's been key for me."
Earning the split with the now 9-4 Bond Academy, the Knights improved to 9-6, jumping ahead of Excel Hoops Prep for fourth place in the nine team Trillum Division of the OSBA (Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association).
Though these marked the first two meetings of the year with this particular opponent, Lo-Ellen head coach Jennifer Bourget and her squad were more than well prepared.
"We do film sessions before our games so that we'll know our matchups and what kind of defense and offense they usually play," said McMillan. "We look at the personal matchups and see what we can do with that, see what we can throw at them."
Chatting after the loss on Saturday, the very outgoing teen already had her sights set on the minor tweaking needed to change the "L" to a "W" some 24 hours later.
"We have to continue to play hard like we do for forty minutes," said McMillan. "We have to keep the pressure on them not just in the fourth quarter, but every quarter leading up to the fourth."
"Just play Lo-Ellen basketball."
Aniya Lawrence showed the way for the visitors in game one, leading her team with a 21-point performance, followed by Megan Jasie and Kymora Stafford with 15 and 10 points respectively.
Lo-Ellen countered with McMillan at 13, Cadence Pecore and Annie Balfe (ten points each), Keira Chow (8) and Bree Bourget and Sidney Skrobot (seven points each).
On Sunday, McMillan (17), Sarah Guignard (15), Chow (14) and Skrobot (12) all hit double digits as the Knights overcome a first quarter deficit of 26-15, knotting the contest by half-time (44-44) and pulling away in the final twenty.
Jasie finished with a game high 25 point effort for Bond Academy, with the short visitors bench also receiving key contributions from Stafford (14) and Lawrence (12).
Lo-Ellen closes out OSBA league play with one final home affair next Saturday, playing host to Essa Prep (2-10) for a noon tipoff.
