In the quarterfinals, the Moncton Harrison Trimble Trojans nipped the Saint John Rothesay Regional Red Hawks 60-58. Kelly Vass paced the Trojans with 17. Renee LeBlanc added 16. Kayla Robichaud led the Red Hawks with 17. Christie Smith added 15. The Red Hawks led 29-23 at the half. The Red Hawks (coached by Moira Gagnon) also included Laura Marcolin, Carissa McTague, Chelsey Collette, Marissa Perry.
The Fredericton Black Kats whipped the Miramichi Valley Pulamoo 74-31. The Pulamoo included Kathleen McCann.
The Riverview Royals stomped the Fredericton Leo Hayes Lions 85-54. The Lions included Maggie MacTavish.
In the last quarterfinal, the Quispamsis Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders whipped the Moncton Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders 74-56. The Highlanders included Samantha Kaminsky.
In the semis, the Moncton Harrison Trimble Trojans defeated the Fredericton Black Kats 80-79. Fredericton led 40-31 at the half but the Trojans roared back. Jill Smith led the Trojans with 24. Danielle LeBlanc added 21. Rebecca Sheehan led the Lady Kats with 27. Robbi Daley added 22.
In the other semi, the Riverview Royals defeated the Quispamsis Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders 82-48. Jenna Jones led the Royals with 27. Rebecca Nuttall added 24, Julie Hatcher 11 and Vanessa Pickard 10. Cara Savoie led Kennebecasis Valley with 13. Louise Chiasson added 9 and Rachel Jefferson 7.
In the final, the Riverview Royals dumped the Moncton Harrison Trimble Trojans 65-53 by ripping off a 16-4 run down the stretch. Rebecca Nuttall led the Royals with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Jenna Jones added 14 and 11 boards, Vanessa Pickard 12 and 11 boards, and Julie Hatcher 12. Player of the game Renee LeBlanc led the Trojans with 20. Courtney McPhee added 13, Danielle LeBlanc 12 and Kelly Vass 6, along with 10 boards. Hatcher hit a pair of critical treys to put Riverview ahead 47-40 and 50-42, the latter with eight minutes left. Nuttall and Hatcher were the two remaining Royals who lost the 2007 final. “We didn’t want to have that feeling again,” Nuttall told the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. Julie Hatcher told the Moncton Times & Transcript that she told her teammates during a third quarter timeout that “we’re not going to lose this basketball game.’ … As the point guard, it’s my responsibility to step in and get my teammates going. I saw that we were kind of falling apart and I knew something had to be said. This is our year and I reassured them of that. We’re not surprised by Harrison Trimble. We knew they had a good team, but this is what we’ve always played for. When we went to practice every day, this is the moment we were all thinking about. “We were here two years ago and I didn’t play much, but I saw how disappointed the girls were when we lost. I’m so happy to win this.” Gould said “it wasn’t our ‘A’ game, by any means. But bottom line is, when I called that timeout, Julie said ‘We are not going to lose this game.’ She went out and knocked down a couple threes to get us back into it and our defence tightened up.” The Royals led 11-2 in the first three minutes and 27-23 at the half. “We came out strong,” Nuttall said, “but we started missing easy shots. We weren’t patient and they took over for a stretch. I definitely got worried, but we stuck together and picked up our intensity.” The Royals finished (35-1) on the season. The Trojans finished (28-10). “When they beat Fredericton in Fredericton, we knew we were going to be in a ball game,” Gould said. But the Trojans couldn’t topple the Royals in their fourth try. “We had the lead,” Renee LeBlanc said, “but we got tired and we got in foul trouble. We played our hardest and gave them a good game, I thought. We never gave up, but they’re a good shooting team and eventually they started to get some shots to drop. “I think we definitely gave them a scare, I don’t think they were expecting that. I’m so proud of this team. No one thought we would get here this season, but we came out, did our best and left everything on the court.” Gould said “our starters are used to playing some pretty big minutes against some pretty big teams. We played against the best teams in Atlantic Canada. That helps when you get into games like this. It’s a perfect way for (Nuttall) to go out. We’re a pretty young team. We only have two seniors and have four starters coming back, but I’m really happy for Rebecca. She’s been with me since Grade 9. She has a great future in the game. She’s going to be a good university player.” Trimble coach Paul Sullivan said Renee LeBlanc “has really stepped up as a Grade 12 all year and she played like a Grade 12 player today. We knew we would be in tough and our kids played hard, but the better team won today. I’m super pleased as a coach and our kids should hold their heads high.”
The co-bronze medalist Quispamsis Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders: Cara Savoie; Louise Chaisson; Rachel Jefferson; Alex Mackenzie; Ashley Bawn; Melanie MacGillvray; Laura McCaffrey; Ellen Langley; Alyson Zwicker; coach Bill Mayberry
The co-bronze medalist Fredericton Black Kats: Rebecca Sheehan; Robbi Daley; Brittany Gillis; Shannon Boldon; Shannon McCarthy;
The silver medalist Moncton Harrison Trimble Trojans: Renee LeBlanc; Courtney McPhee; Danielle LeBlanc; Jill Smith; Kelly Vass; Samantha Foster; Heather Wasson; coach Paul Sullivan
The gold medalist Riverview Royals: Rebecca Nuttall; Jenna Jones; Vanessa Pickard; Julie Hatcher; Katie Donahoe; Emily Hatcher; Alyssia Olsen; Holly Jones; Katie Lund; Gabrielle Robin; McKenzie Balser; Cheyanne Brown; Courtney Manning; Katie Sheridan; coach Greg Gould; assistant Clint Bateman; assistant Bill Davis