North of the Border Beatdown: Crestwood Prep Outlasts The St. James academy in a Classic Platinum Championship
The energy inside the Durham College gym was electric. Bleachers were packed to capacity for the Platinum Division Championship on Day 4 of the Chris Smalling Tournament, setting the stage for an authentic North American showdown: Canada’s No. 2-ranked Crestwood Prep squaring off against America’s top ranked powerhouse, The St. James Academy.
From the opening whistle, it was a showcase of elite prep hoops—intense, physical, and relentless. When the dust settled, Crestwood proved their grit on both ends of the floor, pulling away in the fourth quarter to secure an emphatic 84-70 victory.
“They can be physical. We know that they're talented, but so are we,” Evans reflected after the game when asked about facing a top-tier U.S. program. “We wanted to make sure we played as aggressive as they do. I feel like we showed that today.”
The St. James Academy refused to fold. Emily Forrester halted the drought with a baseline jumper, sparking a quick 6-0 burst. South Carolina commit Jezelle “GG” Banks took over in transition, relentlessly attacking the rim. Even when The St. James Academy switched into full-court pressure and shifted to a 2-3 zone, Crestwood Prep answered with a corner triple from Maayan Gorin. Yet Banks kept coming, capping an electric first quarter with a tough and-one finish over Arije to bring The St. James Academy within striking distance at 24-21.
A Second-Quarter Slugfest
The second frame became a tactical war of attrition. While Crestwood hit a cold stretch from beyond the arc, their offensive rebounding kept possessions alive. Grace Pongang repeatedly snatched second-chance opportunities, while Fajemirokun turned away driving lanes at the rim.
Foul trouble began mounting on both sidelines. The St. James Academy picked up technical and intentional fouls amid chippy box-outs and contested perimeter closeouts. Meanwhile, Evans steadied Crestwood’s half-court offense, picking apart defenders to spoon-feed her teammates for high-percentage looks.
With Banks sitting briefly in foul trouble before checking back in at the 3:12 mark, Ashley Maccalla took command for The St. James Academy, scoring in traffic to tighten the score to 36-33. Coming out of a late Crestwood timeout, Arije broke down her defender for a buzzer-beating layup, sending Crestwood into the break holding a narrow advantage.
At the half, Banks (13 points) and Maccalla (10 points) paced The St. James despite foul trouble, while Crestwood’s balanced attack saw Fajemirokun post 10, Arije add 9, Pongang contribute 8, and Evans orchestrate with 6 points and multiple assists.
Grinding Through the Third
The St. James Academy exploded out of the locker room as Banks converted a transition pull-up triple to turn up the heat. But Fajemirokun proved virtually unstoppable on the low block, sealing deep and finishing through contact to push Crestwood’s cushion to 51-41.
Maccalla kept slicing into the lane to keep The St. James Academy within striking distance, but the game turned physical and bruising. Floor burns, loose-ball scuffles, and hard fouls defined every possession. Crestwood suffered a scare when Grace Pongang went down hard following a foul, yet they maintained composure to carry a 62-50 lead into the fourth quarter.
Execution Down the Stretch
The final frame brought high drama. Arije drilled an early three, but The St. James Academy answered with perimeter shotmaking to cut the deficit to 10. The turning point arrived with 6:56 remaining, when Banks picked up her fifth foul on a blocking violation, sending the dynamic playmaker to the bench for good with 19 points.
The St. James Academy mounted one final push behind Maccalla, trimming the gap down to seven at the free-throw line. But Crestwood’s poise proved decisive. Arije scored a spectacular acrobatic finish at the rim, followed by an Evans transition three that stretched the lead to 80-68.
With The St. James Academy overplaying passing lanes to generate late steals, Crestwood head coach Chris Francis drew up an out-of-bounds masterpiece from the sideline, springing Arije backdoor for an uncontested layup.
“They've been overplaying us all game,” Coach Francis said about the late-game design. “So I thought in a late-game situation, they would have been overplaying still. We knew if we just cleared one side and had Avery go back door, I felt like that would be a good option for her to be open.”
Moments later, a flopping technical foul disqualified Khloe Ison, and an ensuing technical on The St. James Academy bench sealed the contest for good.
The Verdict & Accolades
Avery Arije led all scorers with 24 points, while Gabby Fajemirokun was a force inside with 18 points and multiple blocks. Ashley Vande Ven chipped in 13 points, and tournament MVP Stella Evans flirted with a double-double, finishing with 9 points and 7 assists.
For The St. James Academy, All-Star selection Ashley Maccalla tallied a team-high 21 points, while Jezelle “GG” Banks put up 19 points before fouling out.
The victory marked Coach Chris Francis’s first tournament championship at the helm of Crestwood Prep.
“I feel good. It was a good win,” Francis said. “It was a very physical game. We matched their physicality and we came up with the victory. This started from day one of practice where we told them no team is going to be more physical than us, and we're going to be guarding the basketball. We've been building on that ever since.”
For Evans, the championship validates the preparation put in over the off-season. “We play great as a team,” Evans said. “All the work we put in is paying off. We played well together, played very aggressive. I’m proud of our team.”
Gold Division Note
In the Gold Division Championship earlier in the day, No. 6 Lincoln Prep held off a furious late push from No. 10 Seminaire Saint-Francois, grinding out a 49-45 win. Frances Vollett took home Gold Division MVP honors after anchoring Lincoln Prep’s clutch execution in the final minutes.
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