‘Never give up team’ wins Nova Scotia championship

The Digby high school girls got past New Germany for the first time this season, having being beaten twice before by the South Shore team

“The theme all year is never give up, keep working hard,” coach Tyler Colwell said Monday.

It’s a philosophy that got them through the tournament’s opening games against Halifax Grammar, 64-56, and the number one seeded Springhill, 56-54, but it was tested in the first quarter of the championship game.

“We started down 12-2,” said Colwell. “I called a time out because they were pretty worked up. They started to think the game was lost before it even really started.”

The Mariners recovered and trailed by just three, 14-11, at the quarter, but they got an emotional lift when Joleesa Robinson hit a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded.

Though they trailed for almost the entire game, all the Digby players were contributing and keeping things close, Colwell said. That was the game plan, keep close, save the time outs and use a full court press.

Helping the girls was the crowd support. The other teams stayed and were cheering the underdog, Colwell said.

The last two minutes were back-and-forth scoring by both teams, and with six seconds left on the clock Lyndi Daley sank the winning shot.

Up by just one point, the drama wasn’t over.

New Germany in-bounded the ball, and then Robinson stole it cleanly avoiding a foul on the New Germany player. Without an option, New Germany fouled Robinson who then sank one of two foul shots to give Digby a two-point lead and secured the championship.

Among the fans cheering were Robinson’s parents who had gotten up at 4 a.m. Saturday to drive up for the championship game.

Robinson was the high scorer, with 22 points. Kate Chute was also in double figures with 12. Lynn Wall added nine, with five from Daley—including the game winner—four from Rebekah Cook and two from Kirby Melanson.

A full court press also helped Digby win the game against Springhill in the semi-final, but it again came down to the final seconds when the Mariners squeaked past 56-54. Robinson again led all Digby scorers with 20. Wall and Cook each had 10, and others were Alyssa Oliver, nine; Chute, six; and Daley, one.

The opening game against Halifax Grammar wasn’t quite as tight at 64-56, perhaps because Robinson dropped in a game-high 35 points. Wall and Cook again added 10, with three by Chute, and two each by Cook and Daley.