The three Manitoba teams again participate in the NIAC.
Prior to the NIAC postseason tournament, Red River, Providence and the Canadian Mennonite Blazers met for the MCAC title.
In the semi, the 3rd-seeded Red River Rebels upset the 2nd-seeded Providence University College Pilots 58-51. The Pilots led 20-10 after one quarter. The score was knotted at 30 at the half. The Rebels led 46-28 after three quarters. Alexis Garcia paced Red River with 16 on 6-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-5 from the line and 4 boards. Lacey Finnbogason added 15 on 4-18 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 5 steals. Jodene Kowalchuk notched 10 on 4-14 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 9 boards. Kyla Clarke scored 6 on 2-16 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 10 boards. Tate Starkell added 6 on 3-4 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 blocks. Czyelle Mas scored 5 on 1-8 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals, while Layne Pingert, Jaira Labelle, Alex Pasosky and Alexis Arnold were scoreless. The Rebels hit 20-70 (.286) from the floor, 4-26 (.154) from the arc and 14-17 (.824) from the line, while garnering 52 boards, including 27 on the offensive glass, 8 fouls, 7 assists, 14 turnovers, 4 blocks and 12 steals. Hannah Van Schie paced Providence with 17 on 6-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 6 boards. Natalya Reimer added 10 on 5-13 from the floor, 4 boards and 2 steals. Trinity Blair notched 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 2 assists. Esther Ruchegeza scored 6 on 3-5 form the floor and 7 boards. Alena Collier added 4 on 2-9 from the floor and 5 boards. Katelin Thiessen notched 3 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Megan Wiebe scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals, while Madde Billaney and Alex Grislis were scoreless. The Pilots hit 21-61 (.344) from the floor, 4-14 (.286) from the arc and 5-7 (.714) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 13 turnovers, 13 fouls, 13 assists, 23 turnovers and 8 steals.
In the final, the top-seeded Canadian Mennonite Blazers captured their third consecutive MCAC crown by dispatching the 3rd-seeded Red River Rebels 71-64. The Blazers led 23-16 after one quarter. The Rebels led 36-31 at the half after notching a late 8-0 run. The Blazers led 54-35 after three quarters. The Blazers took command with a 17-0 run to end the third quarter as championship MVP Julia Schatkowsky scored 8 and pilfered the ball for a runout by Shirliz Apiyo. Though the Rebels answered with a 9-0 run in the fourth, they were never able to draw closer than 5 and the Blazers iced it at the line down the stretch. “Julia is the heart of our team,” said Blazers coach Joe Di Curzio. “She comes and she works hard, she’s dedicated and that’s what makes her what she is. … We made some great decisions on offence and were able to get some easy baskets on top of that, so it was awesome. And our defence was spectacular as well.” Julia Schatkowsky paced Canadian Mennonite with 25 on 10-21 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 14 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals. Shirliz Apiyo added 14 on 5-14 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 5 boards, 8 assists and 5 steals. Anna Pyne scored 11 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Jessica Marx-Houndle notched 10 on 4-13 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 9 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Keirra Skolnik added 4 on 2-5 from the floor. Julia Ignagni added 4 on 2-2 from the floor and 2 steals. Madison Wood scored 3 on 1-4 form the floor, 0-2 form the arc, 1-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists, while Carley Matkowski, Reyna Reyes, Christina Klysh, Chloe Boulet and Morag De Koning were scoreless. The Blazers hit 26-68 (.382) from the floor, 4-21 (.190) from the arc and 15-23 (.652) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 20 assists, 20 turnovers, 3 blocks and 15 steals. Lacey Finnbogason paced Red River with 23 on 9-20 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 7 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Jodene Kowalchuk added 19 on 7-14 from the floor, 5-9 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 11 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Czyelle Mas notched 8 on 2-2 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Kyla Clarke scored 7 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Tate Starkell added 6 on 3-6 from the floor, 7 boards and 3 steals. Alexis Garcia scored 1 on 0-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-4 from the line, 3 assists and 3 steals, while Layne Pingert, Jaira Labelle, Alex Pasosky and Alexis Arnold were scoreless. The Rebels hit 24-57 (.421) from the floor, 10-26 (.385) from the arc and 6-12 from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 14 assists, 27 turnovers, 1 block and 15 steals.
Final regular season NIAC standings (schedule imbalanced because weather conditions precluded travel on a Red River trip to North Dakota in January): Canadian Mennonite (12-2); Providence University College (12-2); Red River (10-3); Turtle Mountain (9-4); Trinity Bible (7-7); Free Lutheran Bible (5-9); Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish (4-10); Sisseton Wahpeton (2-12); Leech Lake Tribal (0-12)
In the NIAC quarterfinals, the top-seeded Canadian Mennonite Blazers received a bye.
The 2nd-seeded Providence University College Pilots torched the 7th-seeded Nueta Hidatasa Sahnish College Storm 87-52.
The 3rd-seeded Red River College Rebels spanked the 6th-seeded Association Free Lutheran Bible School Crusaders 71-59.
In the last quarterfinal, the 4th-seeded Turtle Mountain CC Mighty Mikinocks clubbed the 5th-seeded Trinity Bible College Lions 84-51.
In the semis, the top-seeded Canadian Mennonite Blazers crushed the 4th-seeded Turtle Mountain CC Mighty Mikinocks 89-63.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Providence University College Pilots dispatched the 3rd-seeded Red River College Rebels 60-50.
In the final, the top-seeded Canadian Mennonite Blazers edged the 2nd-seeded Providence University College Pilots 72-71 in overtime on a free throw by Madison Wood with 3.7 seconds to play. Blazers coach Joe Di Curzio said “this was definitely a phenomenal season for us and what a way to finish it!” The players really pulled through for each other and it required a full team effort today just like it has in every win this season. It was an incredible team performance and a win that will echo in our memory for a very long time.”
The NIAC player of the year was Julia Schatkowsky of Canadian Mennonite, while the coach of the year was Joe DiCursio of Canadian Mennonite. Joining Schatkowsky on the all-conference team were: Shirliz Apiyo (Canadian Mennonite); Kyla Clarke (Red River); Lacey Finnbogason (Red River); Jessica Marx Houndle (Canadian Mennonite); Jodene Kowalchuk (Red River, Natalya Reimer (Providence); Katelin Thiessen (Providence); and Hannah Van Schie (Providence). Honorable mentions included Alena Collier (Providence).
The MCAC bronze medalist and NIAC silver medalist Providence University Pilots: Katelin Thiessen; Madde Billany; Trinity Blair; Hannah Van Schie; Natalya Reimer; Alena Collier; Megan Wiebe; Alex Grislis; Esther Ruchegeza; coach Joel Coursey; assistant Joey Traa; assistant Helen Schapansky; manager Olivia Rempel
The MCAC silver medalist and NIAC co-bronze medalist Red River Rebels: Lacey Finnbogason; Tate Starkell; Alexis Garcia; Jaira Labelle; Czyelle Mas; Alex Pasosky; Kyla Clarke; Hiroka Kawaguchi; Layne Pingert; Jodene Kowalchuk; Alexis Arnold; Janelle Pierre-Folster; Elsie Ruth Nantale; coach Jaenas Pangilinan; assistant Tia Ruddock
The MCAC and NIAC champion Canadian Mennonite Blazers: Julia Ignagni; Julia Schatkowsky; Jessica Marx-Houndle; Shirliz Apiyo; Keirra Skolnik; Carley Matkowski; Madison Wood; Reyna Reyes; Christina Klysh; Chloe Boulet; Anna Pyne; Morag De Koning; coach Joe Di Curzio; assistant Mike Wilson; assistant Sheree Carmona-Galdamez; assistant Marijus Timmerman