THUNDER BAY – Nearly 48 hours after making history, the realization of their accomplishment is still setting in for the Hammarskjold Vikings senior girls’ basketball team.
The program became the first Thunder Bay squad to win an OFSAA hoops championship on Saturday night in North Bay, as they beat the E.L. Crossley Cyclones of Pelham with a score of 59-33 in the ‘AA’ title game.
“We’re all obviously extremely excited but I proud is probably the best word that I can use to describe what we’re all feeling,” Vikings coach John Clouthier said after the team arrived at Thunder Bay International Airport on Monday afternoon.
“It’s been an unbelievable ride this season with these girls and all the things they’ve overcome. The adversity that we’ve had through injuries and things both on and off the court … this is just an unbelievable way to end the year.”
Sara Clouthier, who returned to the Vikings for her fifth year of high school along with her twin sister Kirsten, said that the emotions hit her as the clock was winding down on Saturday night.
“I started crying because I just couldn’t believe it,” Sara said.
“I looked up at the score and the time that was left and said ‘Wow, this is crazy.’”
After winning the city title on Nov. 11 over the St. Ignatius Falcons and capturing the NWOSSAA crown at home over the Fort Frances Muskies on Nov. 16, the Vikings arrived in North Bay as the fifth overall seed.
They dominated their competition in their five victories as they outscored their opponents by a margin of 353-165.
Hammarskjold’s closest game was in the semifinal round as they beat the E.S.P. Louis-Riel Rebelles of Ottawa by 13 points.
“It was surprising that we had those big wins but we also had a really good team this year,” Kristen said.
“I expected us to have a chance of doing well this year because a lot of us have played for a long time. ‘Iggy’ was a pretty good team too, so when we beat them, that gave us a bit of confidence that we could do well at OFSAA.”
The win was also a special one for the Clouthier family as John got to coach his twin daughters and their younger sister Kate.
The siblings have all battled back through various aliments.
Kirsten tore her ACL and missed her entire Grade 11 season; Kate had a foot injury a year-and-a-half ago and Sara is back on the court after missing time due to a head injury.
“We never actually had all three of us playing on a team together until this year,” Kirsten said. “So it’s amazing to have this season happen with our dad as our coach and our mom (Jami) in the stands watching us.”
Looking towards the future, coach Clouthier hopes that the Vikings’ success is the start of more strong showings for schools throughout the region at OFSAA basketball championships.
“We kind of use our distance as an excuse as to why we can’t compete with the rest of Ontario and why we can’t produce those top-level athletes, particularly in basketball,” John said.
“I hope that this showing can shed some light on the fact that we can use those challenges as fuel and we can get out there and keep grinding on the courts. We can travel to these other places and make it happen instead of kind of sitting back and letting it happen.”