In the regional qualifiers and Regina city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Winston Knoll Wolverines nipped the Michael A. Riffel Royals 54-53 in overtime as Rhea White scored 18. Amanda Foraie led the Royals with 11. The Royals also included Chelsea Jacubowski, Megan Barss, Alyssa Kajati. …………………………………………………… The Sheldon-Williams Spartans torched the Thom Trojans 71-39. Jessica Fox led the Trojans with 10. The Trojans (coached by Kelsey Panko) also included Cassandra Hubrich, Christine Patterson, Tara-Shae McArthur. …………………………………………………… The Campbell Tartans defeated the Luther Lions 60-53 as Megan Chamberlin scored 23. Megan Hewson led the Lions with 10. The Lions also included Jordyn Halvorson. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Balfour Redmen clubbed the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns 94-80 as Erin Trowell scored 28. Leah Matthewson led the Golden Suns with 36. The Golden Suns (coached by Jim Gallagher) also included Jennilea Coppola, Kim Robinson. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Sheldon-Williams Spartans dispatched the Winston Knoll Wolverines 55-44 as Rayna Belyk scored 15. Rhea White led the Wolverines with 17. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Campbell Tartans defeated the Balfour Redmen 82-75 as Megan Chamberlin scored 25. Erin Trowell led the Redmen with 17. …………………………………………………… In the bronze medal match, the Balfour Redmen clipped the Winston Knoll Wolverines 66-57 as Erin Trowell scored 17. Becky McKinnon led the Wolverines with 25. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Sheldon-Williams Spartans torched the Campbell Tartans 72-52 as Rayna Belyk scored 28 and Desiree Ates 12. Kelsey Lothian led the Tartans with 17. Megan Chamberlin added 12.
In the regional qualifiers and Saskatoon city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded St. Joseph Guardians spanked the 8th-seeded Evan Hardy Souls 70-39 as Morgan Wingate scored 23 and Natasha Weninger 12. Kendra Cooper led the Souls with 21. Sabrina Wasyliuk added 7. …………………………………………………… The Marion Graham Falcons whipped the Bethlehem Stars 85-51 as Kelsey Bates scored 21 and Miranda Ollenberg 20. Noell Loran led the Stars with 16. Alex Swidzinski added 15. …………………………………………………… The Holy Cross Crusaders torched the Bishop J. Mahoney Saints 67-41 as Lauren Lichtenwald scored 17 and Jen Knibbs 14. Brittany Shockey led the Saints with 11. Jordyn Clark added 7 and Robyn Knight 7. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Walter Murray Marauders dispatched the Aden Bowman Bears 61-49 as Mariah Van’t Hof scored 26 and Trisha Carriere 9. Riley Humbert paced the Bears with 19. Robin Beck added 13. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Marion Graham Falcons defeated the Holy Cross Crusaders 74-60 as Tracy Holloway scored 27 and Miranda Ollenberg 22. Lauren Lichtenwald led the Crusaders with 20. Jen Knibbs added 17. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the top-seeded St. Joseph Guardians blasted the Walter Murray Marauders 62-40 as Morgan Wingate scored 23, Cameo McKerlie 16 and Elyse Leslie 10. Marian Van’t Hof and Victoria Cowan each scored 13 to pace the Marauders. …………………………………………………… In the final, the St. Joseph Guardians edged the Marion Graham Falcons 74-73 as Morgan Wingate scored 23, Cameo McKerlie 23 and Sarah Gryba 16. Kelsey Bates led the Falcons with 19. Tracy Holloway added 14, Kristi Bachiu 14 and Miranda Ollenberg 13.
In the quarterfinals, the Regina Balfour Redmen thrashed the Saskatoon Marion Graham Falcons 80-59 as, for the third consecutive year, Regina schools dispatched their Saskatoon counterparts in all four quarterfinals. Erin Trowell paced the Redmen with 22. The Falcons (coached by Stacy Hanson) included Tracy Holloway, Taylor Hanson-Wilson, Kelsey Bates, Kristi Bachiu, Taelor Frederickson, Jamie Harms, Miki Inayoshi, Angela Magill, Tenneya Martin, Martin McNally, Gillian Mitchell, Brianne Uhryn, Jenelle Ziwarch, Miranda Ollenberg.
The Regina city champion Sheldon-Williams Spartans dumped the Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders 70-56 as Rayna Belyk scored 22. Jen Knibbs led the Crusaders with 15. The Crusaders (coached by Kevin Harbidge) also included Marissa Lindquist, Natalie Jarrett, Kendra Bast, Lauren Litchenwald, Katie Hillis.
The Regina Campbell Tartans defeated Saskatoon Walter Murray Marauders 68-51. “We were excited to win that one, but we’re not satisfied,” Lothian told the Regina Leader-Post. “It’s my Grade 12 year and I want to win gold. (Finishing third last year) made us work that much harder leading into Hoopla.” The Marauders (coached by Ali Fairbrother) included Mariah Van’t Hof, Trisha Carriere, Colleen Butcher, Victoria Cowan, Susanna Keller, Alyssa Van’t Hof, Vanessa Cowan, Katherine Fung, Renata Kisin, Kaeleh Longueil, Janna Morgan, Heather Reinbolt, Marian Van’t Hof.
In the last quarterfinal, the fourth-seeded Regina Winston Knoll Wolverines clipped the Saskatoon St. Joseph Guardians 70-62. After taking a 2-0 lead, the Guardians played catch-up for the next three quarters. Trailing 15-5, the Guardians battled back to cut the deficit to 17-15, before Winston Knoll ran it up to 32-19. Again, the Guardians kept inching back into the game and cut Regina’s cushion to 44-41, with 1:23 remaining in the third quarter. But the Wolverines closed out the quarter with a six-point lead and opened a commanding 55-43 lead early in the fourth frame. A pair of long 3s by Caitlin Brock gave Winston Knoll a 14-point cushion. But the Guardians weren’t done yet. St. Joseph forced a number of turnovers with an effective press and a basket from atop the three-point arc by Cameo McKerlie left the Guardians a mere four points behind with three minutes on the clock. The Wolverines answered right back with a three-pointer by Becky McKinnon to go up 66-59. Morgan Wingate of the Guardians sank one of two foul shots, but the Guardians couldn’t take control on the offensive boards. With 18.2 seconds left, St. Joes’ Elyse Leslie was called for traveling and the Wolverines took possession. McKerlie’s basket with five seconds left was not enough for the visitors. The Guardians (coached by Tyler Sharp) also included Sarah Gryba, Anne Myubi, Cameo McKerlie, Morgan Garman, Elyse Leslie, Natasha Weninger.
In the semis, the Regina Sheldon-Williams Spartans edged Regina Balfour Redmen 77-76 as Hannah Crease-MacLean hit a trey with 0.7 seconds left on the clock. Rayna Belyk and Lexie Petrovitch paced the Spartans with 20 apiece. Erin Trowell led Balfour with 19. “Oh my goodness,” Crease-MacLean told the Regina Leader-Post. “I missed all my other three-pointers in the game. I’m happy, more than anything, that it went in. I can’t believe it. I am so happy.” Balfour led 75-71 before Desiree Ates was fouled while attempting a three-pointer with 12.8 seconds left. The shot went in, giving Ates an opportunity to tie the game at 75 with a free throw. After Ates missed a free throw, Balfour’s Taylor Pelletier hit a foul shot to increase the Redmen’s lead to 76-74, setting the stage for Crease-MacLean’s climactic basket.
In the other semi, the fourth-seeded Regina Winston Knoll Wolverines defeated the Regina Campbell Tartans 63-54 as Rhea White scored 21. Kelsey Lothian led Campbell with 20. “The feeling of being fourth is kind of boring,” White told the Regina Leader-Post. “You don’t get credit for anything. We wanted to come into provincials and show that we deserve to be up there. We came in as kind of the underdog and wanted to prove ourselves. We have no pressure at all. We know we can compete with everyone here. That’s what we’ve been working for all season. We’ve earned it, for sure.”
In the bronze medal match, the Regina Campbell Tartans defeated the Regina Balfour Redmen 83-72 as Amanda Bailey scored 20. Erin Trowell led Balfour with 22. The Redmen (coached by Wendy Bileski, assisted by L Stephen) also included Lisa Mickler, Kelsey Bartlof, Madison Kot, Rylie Spitzke, Mackenzie Taylor, Katelyn Taypotant, Kabree Howard, Taryn Gullickson, Ashton Hughes, Taylor Pelletier, Kayla Morgan, Alexa Salberg, Nicole Neithercut and Kasha Wallace.
In the final, the fourth-seeded Regina Winston Knoll Wolverines nipped Regina Sheldon-Williams 38-36 as Rhea White scored 12. Desiree Ates led Sheldon-Williams with 12. It was the city of Regina’s fifth consecutive crown. Laura Hunko, coach of the Spartans, has been dating Winston Knoll Wolverines coach Jeremy Gaboury for more than six years. The loss change nothing, she told the Regina Leader-Post. “We’re still together; we’re not going to break up or anything. We didn’t place a bet on this game. We just hoped it would be a good game.” Gaboury said “I’m a competitive person and she’s very competitive. But our relationship is strong. It’s not going to be taken over by a basketball game. Today was a tough day. We had three conversations and every one lasted under a minute because you have a talk and the first thing that comes up is the provincial final. It was limited, but we don’t let it bother us. We coach two great teams and we’re happy to play against each other. I’m sure she’s just as happy for me to win this as I would be for her — a couple of days after the fact, maybe.” Hunko said “we never thought we would have this opportunity to play against each other, but it’s been fun. If anybody’s going to win, I’m just proud of him. I’m sad for us, but I’m really proud of him.” Winston Knoll’s point total was the lowest for a winning team since 1974, when the Saskatoon Bedford Road Redmen beat the Regina Archbishop M.C. O’Neill Titans 33-32. The winning basket was scored by Caitlin Brock, who took an inbounds pass from Becky McKinnon, raced to the basket and hit a layup with 4.2 seconds left in regulation time to snap a 36-36 tie. “A lot of kids dream of getting the winning basket in a game like this,” Brock said. “It’s everything you’d think it’d be.” Gaboury said “neither team helped themselves. We handed the game to them, they handed the game back to us. It was whoever wanted it in the last minute — and we said, ‘You know what? Let’s take it’.” McKinnon called the win “surreal. We worked so hard for this all year. It’s really awesome. We wanted to prove that we belonged here — and we did.”
The bronze medalist Regina Campbell Tartans: Kelsey Lothian; Amanda Bailey; Megan Chamberlin; Steph Kaczmer; Erin Cuddington
The silver medalist Regina Sheldon-Williams Spartans: Desiree Ates; Hannah Crease-MacLean; Rayna Belyk; Lexie Petrovitch; Taylor Ledingham; Madeline Docherty; coach Laura Hunko
The gold medalist Regina Winston Knoll Wolverines: Rhea White; Caitlin Brock; Becky McKinnon; Haley Williams; Dorian Lozinski; coach Jeremy Gaboury