The six hour ride back to Sudbury was made much, much more enjoyable for the GSBA (Greater Sudbury Basketball Association) U14 Storm Girls after the team went four for four in OBL (Ontario Basketball League) play in Belleville late last month.
Competing in OBL Pool C (the U14 age bracket includes groupings right up to Pool I), the Storm showed no signs of road legs at all in their opener, trouncing the Inner City Saints 74-25.
Mattia Mullen paced the Sudbury attack with a 17 point effort, with Beatrice Moulton (14) and Sunny Dunlop (12) both close behind while teammate Sophie Roy controlled the boards with a game-high nine rebounds.
In a marginally closer game two, the Storm calmed the Huron Lakers 61-33 as Ellie Sauve netted 23 points and also chipped in with nine rebounds and an equal number of steals.
Mila Beljo and Sophie Zubert hooped in eight points apiece while Kyra Lefebvre was stellar defensively, as usual, registering five rebounds in the game as well.
The one-two punch of Ellie Sauve and Mattia Mullen combined for 35 points, spread out as evenly as possible, as the Storm improved to 3-0 with a 50-27 win over the WPA (Windsor Pinoy Athletics) Suns.
Mila Beljo added another six points to her weekend stats while Sophie Loiselle (four steals) and Avery Smith (three rebounds and a block) also did their part to help the northern girls keep things rolling.
The stiffest test for the Storm would come in game 4 as the North Toronto Huskies remained within eight points, dropping a 41-33 decision to the GSBA reps. Ellie Sauve stepped up big time, offensively, enjoying a 24-point performance to cap off her trip to southeastern Ontario.
Mattia Mullen (9) and Sunny Dunlop (8) also contributed to the locals' ability to overcome a 23-13 deficit at the half, with Dunlop dropping some clutch free throws down the stretch.
"With come from behind victories in two of their four games, the girls displayed excellent mental toughness, with determination shown by all members of the team," noted coaches Steve Dunlop and Ghislain Roy.
