The E.L. Crossley Cyclone took no chances Wednesday in their Niagara Regional High School Athletic Association Zone 3 senior girls basketball final versus the Centennial Cougars.

The Cyclone pressed early and hard, building an early 22-0 lead en route to a 59-25 victory and a berth at the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association AA championships next week at St. Francis.

“The girls are still learning how to do it (press) so I needed to have a game situation where they could put it on so they could work on positioning and being able to run it properly,” Crossley coach Aaron Belding said.

“They are progressing. There’s still a long way to go, we picked up a lot of fouls on it, but definitely we want to enhance that going forward. It did the trick. It got the girls going, got the energy up and that’s what I’m looking to have, that intensity.”

Crossley’s Leah Waselovich explained how challenging it can be to run a press properly.

“You need to get there before the player does and so you don’t get blocked and know where you’re going and try and anticipate the best you can. You can’t let them turn at all. You have to be on them all the time. 

“If you really need to win, you have to do it.”

Waselovich said there are drawbacks if the press is not properly executed.

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