By Larry Moko
The St. Thomas More Knights have an unblemished record heading into the second month of the 2024 Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic girls' high school basketball season.
More remained in sole possession of first place and improved its record to 10-0 with a 54-44 decision over the visiting Bishop Tonnos Titans Tuesday.
With the outcome, Tonnos' record slipped to 5-4.
The Knights, who have captured OFSAA gold five times in the past 20 years, led 21-11, 32-19 and 46-37 at the end of each quarter.
Tonnos coach Len Moccia said More appears to have a strong team and the Titans showed improvement from their Sept. 24 meeting when the Knights won by 21 points.
The game's top scorer was Savannah Gallea of the Knights, who netted 10 points in the first quarter en route to a 21-point effort.
"She's a monster on the glass, both offensively and defensively," More coach Ralph Bozzo said of Gallea.
A 5-foot-9 Grade 10 student, Gallea says she's trying to play more like a guard and attack the basket this year. In the past, with the Transway club organization, she was always relatively tall and used as a post player.
Izzy More added 17 points for More, while Caitlin Connolly and Milania Bozzo contributed seven and five, respectively.
For the Titans, who snapped the Cathedral Gaels 90-game winning streak on opening night this season, Avery Hedley and Bridget Dinning scored 10 points apiece. Rylan White chipped in with nine.
Elsewhere, the St. Jean de Brébeuf Braves won their first game in 10 starts with a 57-41 decision over the St. Mary Crusaders and the Cathedral Gaels topped the Bishop Ryan Celtics, 51-47, to move into a third-place tie with Tonnos. The second-place St. John Henry Newman Cardinals (7-2) were idle.
This weekend the Knights host their annual More Hoops tournament. Eight teams -- four from Hamilton Catholic -- are entered.
Photos by Bob Butrym, RFB Photography
More photos on the HWCDSB Athletics Facebook page here
