In the quarterfinals, held at Sydney Academy, the top-seeded Halifax Citadel Phoenix whipped the 8th-seeded Memorial Marauders 80-59 as Darcy Zinck scored 21 and Angelina Carvery 20. Katelyn Hillier paced the Marauders with 20. Anna Dahl added 15. Citadel led 48-29 at the half.
The 5th-seeded Bedford C.P. Allen Cheetahs eliminated the 4th-seeded host Sydney Academy Wildcats 86-54 as Laura Langille scored 24 and Caroline Healy 17. Kayla McCarron paced the Wildcats with 27. Jenna Coleman added 9. The Wildcats (coached by Rob Redshaw) also included Kristin Williamson, Nicole Parago, Shara Furey, Samantha Steele, Marissa MacKinnon.
The 2nd-seeded Halifax Grammar Gryphons dumped the 7th-seeded Cole Harbour Auburn Drive Eagles 84-68 as rookie forward Denesha Sule scored 15 and nabbed 10 boards. “It was very tense for me playing against the school I would have been going to,” said Sule, a Grade 10 student from Cole Harbour, who opted this year to attend the private Halifax school rather than the public school in her neighbourhood. “I was so nervous going into that game but after playing all the nerves went away and we came in as a team and we won the game.” The second-seeded Gryphons held a seven-point lead at halftime before widening the gap to as much as 27 in the second half. Tessa Stammberger led the Gryphons with 28 points and 12 boards. Rachel MacLean added 18 and Alison Conrad 13. Clarissa Crawley led the Eagles with 27. Donica Willis added 18.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Wolfville Horton Griffins stuffed the 6th-seeded Antigonish Dr. J.H. Gillis Royals 55-42 as Sarah MacDonald and Danielle Broome each scored 12. But the Griffins lost starting point guard Katie Jordan with a broken finger in the first three minutes of play. Melissa Gottschall paced the Royals with 14. Alison MacPherson added 11. Horton led 29-28 at the half. The Royals also included Kelly MacGillivray.
In the semis, the top-seeded Halifax Citadel Phoenix defeated the 5th-seeded Bedford C.P. Allen Cheetahs 65-52. Rookie Angelina Carvery scored 15 to lead the Phoenix. Darcy Zinck added 13, Emma Reardon 12, Che Kara Beals 10 and Kara Hayes 10. Carlie MacDonald had 19 to lead the way for the fifth-seeded Cheetahs, who trailed 35-28 at halftime.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Halifax Grammar Gryphons defeated the 3rd-seeded Wolfville Horton Griffins 66-57. Tessa Stammberger paced the Gryphons with 20 points and 16 boards. Rachel MacLean added 18. Candace Smith led Horton with 21. The Griffins dressed eight players and had four foul out in the second half.
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded Bedford C.P. Allen Cheetahs defeated the 3rd-seeded Wolfville Horton Griffins 64-59 as Laura Langille and Elysia Drost each scored 17. Horton dug themselves an early hole and, while they got the deficit down to one in the fourth quarter, turnovers, which, according to head coach Deon Wilson “were a problem all weekend;” proved to be the difference. Candace Smith scored 19 to pace the Griffins. Kayla Davis added 12 and Danielle Broome 10.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Halifax Grammar Gryphons nipped the top-seeded Halifax Citadel Phoenix 63-61. Tessa Stammberger scored 23 and nabbed 12 boards to lead the Gryphons, who’d lost to the two-time defending champion Phoenix in the provincial semifinals the previous two years but survived a late-game surge this time to win their first title since 2007. “It was an amazing game and I’m glad that we played Citadel because I think it was (the appropriate) way to end the season,” Stammberger, a Grade 11 student who got her first taste of the rivalry this year after moving here from Prince Edward Island, told the Halifax Chronicle-Herald. “Citadel, they’re such a skilled team, they have so many amazing players on the team. It was hard for us, but we were ready. I think we’ve played them so many times and we really knew what we were doing and that really helped us. It could have gone either way but we just pulled through in the end.” The second-seeded Gryphons jumped out to a 15-4 lead after the first quarter and were up by four points at the half. After widening the gap again, they watched Citadel rally, nailing four three-pointers in the fourth quarter and shaving a nine-point deficit to one over the last 90 seconds before Stammberger sank a late free throw that provided the final margin of victory. The Phoenix got the ball back with about 10 seconds remaining but the Grammar defence didn’t allow them to get off a shot before time expired. Denesha Sule added 16 and corralled 11 boards for the Gryphons while senior Rachel MacLean, who played on the 2007 team as a Grade 9 student, ended her career with 13. Angelina Carvery scored 15 for the Phoenix. Emma Reardon and Keena Izzard each added 10. “Today just wasn’t our day,” Citadel coach Janet Wells said. “I give (the Gryphons) credit — they came, they were ready to play. Our kids got behind (but) they kept fighting and . . . we fought back to get it within two and had an opportunity to tie it and just didn’t.” Citadel finished first in the metro girls’ league this season with a 13-1 mark while Grammar was second at 11-3. The Gryphons dealt the Phoenix their only regular-season loss but were still champing at the bit to avenge last year’s triple-overtime loss to Citadel in the provincial semifinals. “I’m very proud of them,” Grammar coach Kathy Spurr said. “We played really good defence and made some adjustments that we hadn’t made in the past and we had contributions from five, six different people offensively instead of just relying on our two key players.”
The bronze medalist Bedford C.P. Allen Cheetahs: Laura Langille; Carlie MacDonald; coach Jamie McDonald; assistant Gail Rice
The silver medalist Halifax Citadel Phoenix: Angelina Carvery; Darcy Zinck; Emma Reardon; Che Kara Beals; Kara Hayes; Jill Conrod; Taryn Oakley; Keena Izzard; Kytuerera Jones; Kati Wilson; Zana Cassidy; Jalynn Skeir; Allie Smye; Ellen Parker; Emma Robinson; coach Janet Wells
The gold medalist Halifax Grammar Gryphons: Tessa Stammberger; Rachel MacLean; Denesha Sule; Alison Conrad; Leigha Acott; Chloe Jacobs; Hilary Grantmyre; Shayla Tollier; Liz Dickson; Kathleen Delicaet; Meaghan McTiernan; coach Kathy Spurr; assistant Jenna Kaye; statistician B.J. Spurr