Ben Smith has coached many a youth basketball team over the years.
To be sure, he’s had his share of memorable teams with winning records, those squads that amass more than a tournament banner or two along the way.
To the best of his memories, however, he has not had a team quite as special as the 2025 St. Benedict Bears junior girls team.
To be clear, this goes well beyond the wins and losses, though a 26-0 record speaks to their on-court dominance. Given the talent on hand, this kind of success was not a big surprise.
The spark of this team, however, was the unique meshing of 10 young teenagers and how so much of their experience transcended the multiple three-pointers or the full-court pressure that gave opponents fits.
“All of our personalities worked really well together this year,” said Emma DeMarchi, a Grade 9 freshman at St. Benedict and the offensive catalyst to a team that could unveil a multitude of weapons. “On and off the court, it’s just been a fun dynamic.
“We hang out together a lot — and we’re pretty energetic, most of the time.”
The team cruised through league play and captured quite comfortably the SDSSAA (Sudbury District Secondary School Athletic Association) Division I Junior Girls banner as well as the NOSSA (Northern Ontario Secondary School Athletics) Junior “A” final as well. For as much as this team could pile up the points with the best of them, the players will maintain that is not necessarily the key cog that drives their game.
“Even though offence is important, defence wins everything,” noted guard Kallie Smith. “We did a lot of trapping this year, pressing teams hard. If you can’t defend, you will never get stops.”
Not surprisingly, there is a core of this team that also transitions directly to club basketball (Sudbury Jam), as soon as the high school season is done. But the truth is that for more than 50 per cent of the roster, their basketball quota for the entire year will come courtesy of that relatively brief three-month stint from September to November.
Finding a way to make these two worlds work in near-perfect harmony is seldom easy, but it’s a test that the 2025 St. Benedict Bears appear to have passed with flying colours.
“It’s been so good to see some of these players come into their own and really step up,” noted DeMarchi. “We do try and push them to keep trying things.”
“In high school (basketball), you can get your shot off easier, you can drive easier,” added Smith. “You can try different moves, work on something you’ve never done before, just so it prepares you if you need to use it when you are playing against rep teams.”
For as much as the Smith – DeMarchi tandem was front and centre on the scoring charts in most games, the depth of the Bears was illustrated again at the year-end SDSSAA Junior All-Star game when teammate Kendra Nebenionquit went off for 17 points, earning game MVP accolades.
By all indications, much of this team will make the jump to the senior ranks next year, even those who are still only in Grade 12, with the girls sure to benefit from an increased level of competition.
And for as much as they realize that duplicating the success of this past fall is extremely unlikely, it is all of the ancilliary elements that made this such a magical run that are likely to remain as a once in a lifetime experience.
Cherish it while you can.
Rounding out the St Benedict Junior Girls roster are Allie Vaillancourt, Azizah Abiola, Isabella Rocca, Sloanne Hall, Chyna Brown, Maryam Animashaun and Casyia Wilson.
Randy Pascal is a sportswriter in Greater Sudbury. Pursuit is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.