You can take Barclay Walker out of the guidance office, but you can't take the guidance office out of Barclay Walker.

The Port High Blue Bears had yet to come down from cloud 9 after capturing the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association (SOSSA) single A senior girls basketball championship when Walker, the team's head coach and head of the high school's guidance department, began planning ahead

They were had the Reeb House celebrating the achievement with pizza and wings, and “talk about what the next steps for us will be.”

“It was more about the logistics of getting to Sault Ste. Marie than about strategy,” he said, adding with a chuckle that he resisted the urge to game plan X's and O's on a napkin.

This year's Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association championships tip off Thursday in Sault Ste. Marie, and Walker can't remember the last time Port High advance to the provincials in girls basketball.

He didn't have to be a history, however, to know the last time the SOSSA champion went on to win it all. The Jean Vanier Lynx earned the gold in each of the past two years, with the Confederation Jaguars taking back-to-back titles in 2009-10.

“For whatever reason, we have really been strong in girls basketball,” Walker said.

He said Port High will be feeling a “bit of pressure” to continue south Niagara's impressive winning streak at OFSAA.

“We want to go to represent SOSSA well.”

Port High, which ended Vanier's championship reign in the Zone 3 semifinals and upset the No. 1 seed Ridgeway-Crystal Beach Blue Devils in the final, improved to 16-8 overall with whistle-to-whistle wins at Thursday's regional qualifier in Hagersville.

Nicole Vannatter scored 12 points, Jazmin Kikkert-Labeau nine and Sephra Ruston seven in a 48-30 victory over the host Hagersville Hurricanes in the semifinals, while Kikkert-Labeau and Ruston netted 13 points apiece to lead the Bears past the Hamilton Christian Knights 45-28 for the SOSSA championship.

With Port High jumping out to a 15-1 lead, the final was over long before the final whistle.

“The Bears did not let up at any moment throughout the game,” Walker said.

bernd.franke@sunmedia.ca