If not for the unlucky bounce of the ball, the GSBA (Greater Sudbury Basketball Association) U14 Storm girls would have earned a split on their opening weekend of OBL (Ontario Basketball League) play - and this despite having just three practices to draw upon to date.

That lack of cohesion was apparent as the Storm drew the 2025-2026 divisional champion Scarborough Blues in game one, beaten by a final score of 44-22.

But with improvement noted with every passing quarter, the Sudbury squad took the Huntsville Hurricanes right down to the wire, trailing by two with four seconds to play only to have a potential game-winning shot heartbreakingly miss the mark.

Still, the pillars of positivity were obvious to coach Ray Harris, who looks forward with anticipation to the second weekend of OBL play, a four-game grind come December 4th and 5th.

The 2026-2027 edition of the Sudbury U14 Storm girls team is comprised of Anina Jijo, Anjolie Gauthier, Delilah Bourcier, Dulcy Tatho, Evangeline Jacob, Jane Hanley, Kilary Aliman, Michelle Mbah, Rosie Ramon, Shoni Chiblow Carpenter, Thaliah Harris and Zahra Bichara.