In the opening round of a 12-team draw, held in Desbarats and Sault Ste. Marie: …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Gravenhurst Gryphons clipped the Harrow District Hawks 39-24 as Lisa Moore scored 12 and Mandy Dart 10. Gravenhurst led 23-8 at the half. “We’re such a young team, I think a lot of us were suffering from the first-time jitters,” 15-year-old Natalie Ioanidis, who scored 8 for the Hawks told the Windsor Star. Camille Moore also scored 8. “We started off kind of badly but after halftime, we just kept getting better,” Ioanidis added. Hawks coach Bill McAdam said “we had a lot of little injuries throughout the game. Jammed fingers, ankle turns. I think just about everybody came off the court at one time or another.” …………………………………………………… The top-seeded St. Thomas St. Joseph’s Rams clubbed the Chelmsford Valley District Composite Flyers 40-24 as Jacqueline Beudoin scored 10, Laurie Zettler 8, Renee Wilmot 7 and Karen Bottineau 6. The Rams led 28-8 at the half. Nancy Cote paced the Flyers with 7. Tina St. Louis added 6. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded North Dorchester Lord Dorchester Beavers clipped the Trenton St. Paul’s Falcons 52-40 as Shelly Palmer scored 16 and Carrie Kelly-Brulotte 14. Angela Noble led the Falcons with 16. Melanie Rayside added 9. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Desbarats Central Algoma Huskies clubbed the Manitouwadge Wolverines 63-16 as Sara Coutu scored 33 and Carrie Pollard 13. Tina Martin led the Wolverines with 6. Margaret Mutch added 6. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Brockville St. Mary’s Crusaders torched the Sudbury Englehart Spartans 54-21 as Karina Navarro scored 25 and Aline Ayotte 8. Kathy Lacarte led the Spartans with 10. Kim McDonald added 4. …………………………………………………… The Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara District Trojans crushed the Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames 71-22 as Megan Daley scored 30 (also reported as 20), including six treys, and Nancy McDougall 20, including four treys, Jodi Kostecki 13 and Amanda Steele 10. The Trojans led 19-3 after one quarter and 38-10 at the half. The Trojans hit 12 treys, including 4 by McDougal and two from Amanda Steele. Daley told the Sault Star that “this is pretty much our offence and when it’s not working, we get ourselves into trouble. Our coach has no problem with it and he thinks three-pointers are one of the best ways to shut down an opponent. … I practice my outside shot a lot and if they shut that down, I’ll try and go inside but it’s just not me. We have a three-guard offence that accounts for 60% of our scoring and Nancy and Jodi (Kostecki) play a big part in it too. We cover for each other but Nancy’s really the leader.” Trojans coach Don MacDougall said “after that game, I’m feeling pretty good. But, in all honesty, it was easy to shoot against them. … I don’t think enough coaches use the three-pointers as part of their offence. A lot of coaches might turn to it late in a game but we go for them early and if we make them, we keep firing. If teams take that away from us, we have to find other ways of scoring.” Trojans coach Don MacDougall told the St. Catharines Standard that “our man-to-man defence proved too much for Rockway and enable us to get to a 19-3 lead in the first half.” Jocelyn Brouwer paced the Flames with 9. Kara Snider added 4, Laura Shantz 4 and Katherine Sawatsky 4.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… St. Thomas St. Joseph’s, Brockville St. Mary’s, North Dorchester Lord Dorchester and Niagara District receive byes. …………………………………………………… The Harrow District Hawks edged the Sudbury Englehart Spartans 41-39 as Natalie Ioanides scored 25 and Camille Moore 8. Sarah McLean and Dawn Rooney each scored 8 to lead the Spartans, who also included Kathy Lacarte, Kim McDonald. …………………………………………………… The Gravenhurst Gryphons dusted the Chelmsford Valley District Composite Flyers 53-28 as Mandy Dart scored 17. Michelle Yavan led Chelmsford with 9. The Flyers also included Tina St. Louis. …………………………………………………… The Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames edged the Manitouwadge Wolverines 36-32 as Jocelyn Brouwer scored 12, Laura Shantz 9 and Becky Vietch 5. Erika Mayr led the Wolverines with 13. The Wolverines also included Tina Martin, Margaret Mutch. …………………………………………………… The Desbarats Central Algoma Huskies dumped the Trenton St. Paul Falcons 50-41 as Sara Coutu scored 29. Angela Nooles led the Falcons with 11. The Falcons also included Angela Noble, Melanie Rayside.
In the quarterfinals, the St. Thomas St. Joseph’s Rams defeated the Harrow District Hawks 49-33 as Jacqueline Beaudoin scored 9, Karen Bottineau 9 and Anna Rajkovic 9. Rams coach Gary Clark told the Sault Star that “we don’t have the biggest team but we have quickness, sound defence and a winning tradition.” Natalie Ioanides led the Hawks with 25. The Hawks (coached by Bill McAdam) included Jennifer Bondy, Camille Moore, Natalie Ioanidis, Erin Klie.
The Brockville St. Mary’s Crusaders dispatched the Gravenhurst Gryphons 55-30 as Aline Ayotte scored 16 and Karina Navarro 13. The Gryphons also included Lisa Moore, Mandy Dart.
The North Dorchester Lord Dorchester Beavers pounded the Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames 46-15 as Shelly Palmer scored 13 and Kelly Brulotte 7. The Beavers led 19-4 at the half. Jocelyn Brouwer led the Flames with 5. The Flames (coach Roger Stover) also included Nancy Brouwer, Laura Shantz, Maria Boehn, Becky Veitch, Kara Snider, Katherine Sawatsky.
In the last quarterfinal, the Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara District Trojans clipped the Desbarats Central Algoma Huskies 51-42 as Nancy McDougall scored 22 (also reported as 23), and Megan Daley 10. The Trojans led 25-20 after one quarter and 39-29 at the half. Sara Coutu led the Huskies with 26. Carrie Pollard added 12. Huskies coach Allan Clark told the Sault Star that “we knew their attack revolved around the three-point shot. We geared our defence to take it away from them but they still killed us with their outside shooting.” The Huskies (coached by Clark) also included Janis Headrick, Kathy Rabideau, Allison Empey, Jocelyn Mundell, Marcie Balch, Jamie Trainor, Josie Marceau, Julia Rowe, Erin Clark and Becky Grisdale.
In the semis, the St. Thomas St. Joseph’s Rams defeated the Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara District Trojans 46-41 as Jacqueline Beaudoin scored 13, Tanya Collins 10 and Karen Bottineau 10. Megan Daley led the Trojans with 20. Jodi Kostecki added 10. The Trojans led 26-16 at the half and by four after three quarters. The Rams only took the lead in the final 90 seconds of the game. Trojans coach Don MacDougall told the St. Catharines Standard that “we had a fairly tough opening game Friday night and I think it took a little bit out of us. We had a real rebounding problem in the last two or three minutes. It may have been fatigue. But I’m pleased overall. I felt we had a real good shot and things could have gone either way.” McDougall told the Niagara Falls Review that “we led until the last minute and a half o fplay but we were forced into a foul. A three-point game then became a five-point game.”
In the other semi, the Brockville St. Mary’s Crusaders dispatched the North Dorchester Lord Dorchester Beavers 59-44 as Karina Navarro scored 19, Aline Ayotte 17 and Marla Behnke 15. The Crusaders led 28-23 at the half. Cheryl Dance led the Beavers with 25. Shelly Palmer added 17.
In the bronze medal match, the Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara District Trojans dispatched the North Dorchester Lord Dorchester Beavers 42-36 as Megan Daley scored 16 and Jodi Kostecki 14. The Trojans ripped off a 16-2 run to rally from a six-point half-time deficit. Trojans coach Don MacDougall told the St. Catharines Standard that the semi-final was actually the title bout. “I don’t think we were ranked properly. Dorchester lost in their zone and the only reason they were in the tournament was because St. Joseph won last year and they’re both from the same area. They were still ranked number two. Being ranked fourth, we had a tough schedule … and there was really no excuse for the ranking. It was flagrant. I really think the gold medal was played Saturday because St. Joseph won the final easily.” Cheryl Dance led the Beavers with 15. The Beavers also included Shelly Palmer, Carrie Kelly-Brulotte.
In the final, the St. Thomas St. Joseph’s Rams defeated the Brockville St. Mary’s Crusaders 46-40 to capture their second consecutive provincial crown and sixth in nine years. Jacqueline Beaudoin paced the Rams with 13. Tanya Collins added 10 and Karen Bottineau 9. Aline Ayotte led the Crusaders with 15. Karina Navarro added 10 and Zoya Holman 9.
The bronze medalist Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara District Trojans: Megan Daley; Nancy McDougall; Jodi Kostecki; Amanda Steele; Jodi Munro; Lucy Askham; Sherri Falk; coach Don MacDougall
The silver medalist Brockville St. Mary’s Crusaders: Aline Ayotte; Karina Navarro; Zoya Holman; Marla Behnke;
The gold medalist St. Thomas St. Joseph’s Rams: Jacqueline Beaudoin; Laurie Zettler; Renee Wilmot; Karen Bottineau; Anna Rajkovic; Tanya Collins; coach Gary Clarke; assistant Jerry O’Brien; assistant Michelle Mommersteeg