The E.L. Crossley Cyclone have no regrets coming home with a silver medal from the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) AA girls basketball championships in North Bay after dropping a 59-33 decision to Hammarskjold Secondary School of Thunder Bay in the gold medal game.

“It was a great run and when we went in at halftime after the first half we recognized that team was just better,” Crossley coach Aaron Belding said. “So it wasn’t that we didn’t appreciate it. We recognized that the team was just better.

“We are very proud of the team that won the silver medal.”

It was originally believed to be the first OFSAA silver for a Crossley girls basketball team but some homework proved otherwise.

“I had a couple of moms with me and they went digging back and they found that back in the 90s they had won a couple of silver, a couple of bronze, and I think even back in the 70s they won a couple of silver,” Belding said. 

Addison Falardeau paced the Cyclone in the final with 15 points, six rebounds and two steals. Amelia Siolkowsky had eight points, seven steals, one assist and two blocks while Katie Luciani added five points, four rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocks and Leah Waslovich five points, two steals, two rebounds and an assist.

“All the girls were there, they were all able to contribute and make it an all-around great team effort,” Belding said.

The seventh-seeded Cyclone won four straight games to advance to the gold medal game.

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