A Trio of FEIA Falcons Help Ontario Win National Cage Championships

By Michael Clarkson

FEIA is in the national spotlight once more!

Bolstered by three players from our school, Team Ontario won the Canadian National Basketball Championships in both the Men’s and Women’s Under-17 divisions on Aug. 8 in Sherbrooke, Que.

Portia Reisen of the Falcons was crowned the nation’s Most Valuable Player in leading the Ontario Women to a 74-48 victory over Alberta in the title match as she scored eight points and had five steals.

Reisen, an Ottawa native, who helped Team Canada to a fourth-place finish in the recent World Championships, had 19 points and five steals in an earlier 72-58 win over Alberta.

Jaeda Tomlin, of Waterloo, Ont., also had a good tournament as Ontario went 5-0. She had 15 points, three steals and three rebounds in a 79-67 triumph over British Columbia.

In the men’s division, Kvontae Walters, of Toronto, had 10 rebounds and five points as Ontario beat Quebec 75-68 in the finals.

For Quebec, Grady Kapuanya, of Montreal and now FEIA, had four rebounds. In an earlier 61-55 loss to Ontario, Kapuanya tallied nine points and eight rebounds. Walters had seven points and five rebounds in that game.

Also in the tournament, Falcons’ Abby Peterson, of Shelburne, N.S., was named to the U-17 Women’s second team all-stars, playing for her new province of New Brunswick, which had a 2-4 record. Peterson had 14.8 points per game and shot 66 per cent from the field.

In the Women’s Under-15, Lauren Gillis of FEIA and St. John’s Nfld., was a first team all-star, averaging 21.5 points per game as her Newfoundland and Labrador team finished in sixth place.

All six players will be on the court this coming season for the Falcons. Only Reisen and Tomlin are returnees – the other four will be having their inaugural seasons in Fort Erie.