In the quarterfinals, the Fredericton Black Kats blasted the Miramichi James M. Hill Tommies 100-48 as Ryan McKay scored 24, Jennifer Veysey 13 and Jill Brennan 11. The Black Kats led 50-23 at the half. Megan Trueman led James M. Hill with 13. Angela MacDonald and Nickie Bourdage each added 11. The Tommies also included Shilo Connolly.
The Saint John Greyhounds rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to upset the Moncton Harrison Trimble Trojans 71-64 in overtime. Kaila MacAlpine led the Greyhounds with 36. Lindsay Church added 17. Kyla Fraser paced Trimble with 15 points. Lauren Hollywood added 13. The Trojans also included Lauren Devereux.
The Moncton Purple Knights defeated the Saint John St. Malachy’s Saints x-x. The Saints included Aynsley Marr, Elizabeth Marr, Brandy Jones, Jennifer Murphy, Mollie Smith, Janet Palmer.
In the last quarterfinal, the Riverview Royals defeated the Fredericton Leo Hays Lions x-x. The Lions included Christy McBride, Jenna Clarkson, Jessi Bradley, Leah Corby, Marchell Coulombe, Dara Young, Megan Corby.
In the semis, the Moncton Purple Knights defeated the Riverview Royals 81-71 as Erin Chalk scored 15, Vanessa Ryan 15 and Gill Donald 13. Jessica Walker led the Royals with 31. Darcy Thibodeau added 16.
In the other semi, the Fredericton Black Kats stomped the Saint John Greyhounds 78-51 as Ryan McKay scored 22, Katie Springer 21 and Jennifer Veysey 20. Kaila MacAlpine scored 25 lead the Greyhounds. Fredericton led 44-30 at the half.
In the final, the Fredericton Black Kats defeated the Moncton Purple Knights 82-55 to win their fourth consecutive crown. “We have been working our butts off all season,” Katie Springer, who scored 15 in the second half, told the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. “We had a good shoot-around in the morning and no one was nervous. We weren’t scared about shooting.” Fredericton, which ended the season at 35-11, scored 44 points in the first half for a 17-point edge, watched Moncton claw to within 11 to start the second and then clicked into overdrive in the next six minutes. When the mad bombers were finished, Springer connected on a quintet of three- pointers, Ruth Thompson added another from beyond the arc and Fredericton secured the title with a 21-4 run. “This is the Aitken Centre and we didn’t think they would shoot nearly 100 per cent,” said Moncton’s Ashley Bacon. “They shot amazing. They played very well.”’ While the AAA championship was the team’s fourth consecutive crown, it was the first since 1999 for coaches Steve O’Rourke and Rick Cotter, who were relieved of their duties that following August. “It is sweet,” said O’Rourke. “Today, we had a couple of moments like every team does but we were always able to bounce back with the big shot.” Kathleen Singh led the Black Kats with 22, including 18 in the first half. Ryan McKay added 20 and Katie Springer 16. “My shot has been off lately and I have been in a bit of a slump but I am happy it came back when it did,” said Springer. Nancy Kierstead and Kelly Donald each netted 12 to lead Moncton. Venessa Ryan added 11. Bacon said “it’s been hard at times with no one else to lean on. They will be back next year and they’ll win it next year.”
The co-bronze medalist Saint John Greyhounds: Kaila MacAlpine; Lindsay Church; Pauline Waggott; Elspeth Lemon; Katie Gaulton; Kathleen Johnston;
The co-bronze medalist Riverview Royals: Jessica Walker; Darcy Thibodeau; Allison Forbes; Tiffany Olson; coach Bill Davis
The silver medalist Moncton Purple Knights: Ashley Bacon; Nancy Kierstead; Kelly Donald; Venessa Ryan; Erin Chalk;
The gold medalist Fredericton Black Kats: Kathleen Singh; Ryan McKay; Katie Springer; Ruth Thompson; Jennifer Veysey; Jill Brennan; Jill McCormick; Laura Stairs; Kaitlyn Gillis; Ashley Briggs; Maggie Thomas; Karen O’Rourke; Kelsey Daley; coach Steve O’Rourke, assistant Rick Cotter