In the quarterfinals, the Sussex Regional Sonics bombed the Miramichi Valley Pulamoo 85-45. The Pulamoo included Lindsey Gallant, Jill Harris, Bailey Black, Sydney MacDonald,
The Moncton Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders clipped the Fredericton Leo Hayes Lions 72-49. The Lions (coached by Paul Daley, assisted by Rob Daley and Sinclair Green) included Meagan McKeown, Kelsey Simon, Kristen Morehouse, Allison Keane, Baylee Anderson, Sara Ripley, Haylee Burlock, Taylor Foreman, Taylor Williams, Ashton Anderson and Aliesha Dutcher.
The Quispamsis Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders stomped the Miramichi James M. Hill Tommies 89-53. The Tommies included Meagan MacDiarmid, Katie Corlett,
In the last quarterfinal, the Fredericton Black Kats crushed the Riverview Royals 67-48. The Royals (coached by Troy MacKenzie, assisted by Garry Fox) included Danielle MacPherson, Danielle LeBlanc, Katelyn Dunnett, Lexi Grant, Sarah Armstrong, Brett Cole, Nikki LeBlanc, Siobhan Murphy, Kennedy Longaphie, Katelyn Porter, Sarah Banks, Jennifer Newman, Hannah Crossman, Grace LeBlanc, Emily McGrath and Katelyn Scott.
In the semis, the Moncton Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders edged the Sussex Regional Sonics 62-59.
In the other semi, the Quispamsis Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders nipped the Fredericton Black Kats 46-41 as Jen McTague scored 14, Abby MacDonald 10 and Megan Baisley 10. Eva Tumwine led the Black Kats with 10. The Black Kats led 12-10 after one quarter. “Fredericton and KVHS is always a battle,” Crusaders coach Moira Gagnon said told the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. “The girls have played together on provincial teams, so they all know each other. It couldn’t have been a better game. With that kind of a crowd, it was just fantastic. (The crowd) was huge for us because so often the girls play in front of just a few people. It’s really nice when they have that kind of a crowd. It really gets them going.” The Crusaders led 25-19 at the half but the Black Kats opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run. MacDonald answered with a trey as the Crusaders regained momentum. Olivia Hazlett countered with a jumper before McTague responded with a trey to give the Crusaders a 33-32 lead after three quarters. Another trey by MacDonald gave the Crusaders a 10-point lead with five minutes to play. The Black Kats rallied within four on a Sarah McGeachy trey but Megan Baisley iced it at the line for the Crusaders. “They’ve been our rival ever since we were in senior mini,” said Baisley. “It’s awesome to finally beat them and end their season. It’s always been this close. We’ve been counting on this season since Grade 9 or even before that, hoping we were going to be at Harbour Station. I’ve been with the same group of girls since I started playing basketball, so it’s just going to be awesome if we win the whole thing together.” Gagnon said “they have a lot of size on us. We’re a small team, but the girls really, really wanted it. There are girls who’ve been on this team since Grade 9 and they’ve never made it to Harbour Station. It’s an incredible experience to play in the provincial final.” Black Kats coach Kevin Daley said “Abby, Jen and Megan hit key threes at the wrong time for us and we just didn’t respond enough offensively, and we missed too many chances that we’d like to have back. They have three kids who can light it up from beyond the arc, and they did that at key times. It was a difficult environment for our kids to play in tonight with the noise and fan base, but hats off to KV. … There are no regrets and that’s what our message was all year – to play and not have any regrets. It’s hard to be a champion back-to-back-to-back. We’ve had a target on our back all year from all kinds of quarters and all kinds of ways, and we had to respond through adversity. We battled hard and we’re very pleased (with the effort).”
In the final, the Moncton Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders dumped the Quispamsis Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders 52-44. The Crusaders led 19-17 after one quarter and 23-20 at the half. The Highlanders opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run for a 30-23 lead. Although the Crusaders scored two shortly after the breather, things got worse for the Quispamsis squad when Abby MacDonald suffered an injury after committing a defensive foul. Hailey O’Blenes followed by making both free throws for a 32-25 lead. MacNaughton’s Kate Foreman scored off a rebound for a 10-point lead with just under three minutes left in the third. Steeves tacked on two more for a 38-26 lead. They led 41-31 after three quarters. “It was only a one-point game at halftime, so it was anyone’s to take,” Erin Steeves told the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. “To finish off with a gold medal is amazing. Coming here your first year, you’re just so nervous and everything is so overwhelming. The perception is so off, but the second year around, you’re so prepared. We just had that edge.” McNaughton coach Terry Foreman said “I went on a little rant,” at halftime. “We had 33 turnovers in the first half. I’m typically pretty low key and I only lose it maybe two or three times a year. I thought (tonight) might be a good time to lose it. They came out and responded. It was a gut check with a bunch of kids that really pulled together. I was so proud of the way we played defence against such a great team. Their shooting percentage (.220) was nothing compared to where they usually are. A lot of people stepped up tonight.” Crusaders coach Moira Gagnon said losing Abby MacDonald did more than create an offensive gap. “She’s the leader on the floor. Without her, it was definitely a setback, but I loved the way we rallied in the fourth quarter. It was just a little too late at that point. You could see that they really wanted it. They came to take the banner home. Their defence was great.” Erin Steeves paced the Highlanders with 14 on 5-12 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 3 boards. Courtney Bulman added 11 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-5 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Ashley Bland notched 10 on 5-6 from the floor and 8 boards. Hailey O’Blenes added 8 on 1-5 from the floor, 6-8 from the line and 5 boards. Taliah Powers 6 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-6 from the line and 5 boards. Kate Foreman added 2 and Karley Buckingham 1, while Taylor Wood, Emily Brace, Lauren Boyce, Meghan Lane, Maurgan LeBlanc and Melanie Lund were scoreless. The Highlanders hit 17-50 (.340) from the floor, 4-14 (.285) from the arc and 14-29 (.482) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 38 turnovers, 22 steals, 6 assists and 14 fouls. Abby MacDonald paced the Crusaders with 13 on 5-12 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Jen McTague added 8 on 2-18 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 9 boards and 2 assists. Megan Baisley scored 7 on 2-11 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 11 boards. Margaret MacDonald notched 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-5 from the line and 9 boards. Emma Jensen scored 4 on 2-12 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 6 boards. Bailey Cammack added 2, Brooke McKinney 2 and Julie Crawford 1, while Leah Dodsworth, Emily Nicholson and Jenna Storey were scoreless. The Crusaders hit 15-67 (.223) from the floor, 5-29 (.172) from the arc and 9-19 (.473) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 41 turnovers, 23 steals, 8 assists and 21 fouls.
The co-bronze medalist Fredericton Black Kats: Lainy Dow; Katie Daley; Abby Collet; Sarah McGeachy; Rita Soffee; Emma Blizzard; Paige Wilson; Alyson Colpitts; Katherine Al; Olivia Hazlett; Grace Simpson; Eva Tumwine; coach Kevin Daley; assistant Peter Kelly; assistant Kelsey Daley; assistant Tyler Daley; assistant Emma Hodgson
The co-bronze medalist Sussex Regional Sonics: Kennedy Baird; Erika Miller; Taneesha Dalling; Vanessa Cummings; Mary Kate Phillips; Tiffany McLong; Marika deWinter; Breanna Balcom; Bridget Frazee; coach Mike Maxwell
The silver medalist Quispamsis Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders: Abby MacDonald; Jen McTague; Megan Baisley; Margaret MacDonald; Emma Jensen; Bailey Cammack; Brooke McKinney; Julie Crawford; Leah Dodsworth; Emily Nicholson; Jenna Storey; coach Moira Gagnon; assistant Megan McKinley; assistant Kayla Robichaud
The gold medalist Moncton Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders: Erin Steeves; Courtney Bulman; Ashley Bland; Hailey O’Blenes; Taliah Powers; Kate Foreman; Karley Buckingham; Taylor Wood; Emily Brace; Lauren Boyce; Meghan Lane; Maurgan LeBlanc; Melanie Lund; coach Terry Foreman; coach Paul McNeil