Final regular season standings (8): Mount St. Vincent (21-0); St. Thomas (18-3); Mt. Allison (15-6); University of King’s College (9-12); Nova Scotia Agricultural (9-12); Holland College (8-13); UNB-Saint John (4-17); Crandall (0-21)
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Crandall Blue Tide: Alex MacDonald;
New Brunswick-Saint John Seawolves: Jennifer Bergeron, Heather Cusack, Erica Forward, Hannah McLeod, Cory Meehan, Laura Simonds, Christie Smith, Emily Smith, Erin Sproul, Sophia Stackhouse and Sarah Trott.
In the quarterfinals, the 5th-seeded Nova Scotia Agricultural College Rams defeated the 4th-seeded University of King’s College Blue Devils 58-47 after leading 15-13, 26-14 and 37-35 at the quarters. Felicia Strickland paced the Rams with 18, Jennifer Lutes 14, along with 12 boards, Patti Gilroy 11, along with 11 boards, Meagan MacLeod 10 and Kelsey Harpman 5, while Jessica Blandin, Jessica Leck, Rebecca Poole and Meredith Smith were scoreless. Brittany Foreman paced King’s with 13. Margaret Neville added 10, Stephanie Head 9, Jodie Tatlock 7, Elaine Kifle 4, Jill MacDonald 2 and Laura Doane 2, while Alex Walker and Katrina Winslade were scoreless. The Blue Devils also included Kayla Fells, Sarah Kraus, Emily Singer and Alex Walker.
In the other quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Mount Allison Mounties whipped the 6th-seeded Holland Hurricanes 55-23. The Hurricanes got off to a strong start, trailing 13-12 in the second quarter, but as the game progressed the Mounties proved to be too much for the Island team, forcing 30 turnovers and holding Holland to single-digit scoring in each quarter. Mount Allison led 13-9, 26-15 and 41-19 at the quarters. Meghan Dickie paced Mount Allison with 18. Jennifer Robinson added 9, Marlon Smith 8, Danielle Trenholm 5, Laura Chapman 3, Megan Plummer 3, Kayla Robichaud 3, Kristen Atkins 2, Rebecca Himmelman 2 and Laura Antworth 2, while Necola Guerrina and Allie Mayberry were scoreless. Rickea Richardson led Holland with 9. Katie Butler added 3, Firnatina Brown 2, Emily MacEachern 2, Charlie Johnson 2, Jane Murnaghan 2, Jillian Smith 2 and Joleesa Robinson 1, while Kara Nash, Arielle Anderson and Sam Hopper were scoreless. The Hurricanes also included Charlie Johnson and Lynn Wall.
In the semis, the top-seeded Mount St. Vincent Mystics stomped the Nova Scotia Agricultural College Rams 93-29 after leading 19-10, 41-18 and 72-22 at the quarters. Amy Peveril paced Mount Saint Vincent with 20 points and 12 boards. Katherine Brien added 16, Justine Finlayson 9, Chelsea Mackay 9, Kali Van Vulpen 7, Christina Brien 7, Sheray Reddick-Jackson 7, Alexandra McKenna 6, Ann Conrod 5, Lyndsay MacKinnon 3, Beatrice Cleveland-Thompson 2 and Katie Waite 2. Meredith Smith paced NSAC with 9. Patti Gilroy added 4, Meagan Macleod 4, Felicia Strickland 4, Jennifer Lutes 3, Jessica Blandin 3 and Kelsey Harpman 2, while Jessica Leck and Rebecca Poole were scoreless. The Rams also included Alli Gallagher.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded St. Thomas Tommies edged the Mount Allison Mounties 55-53. St. Thomas led 14-11 after one quarter. Mount Allison led 24-22 at the half and 38-33 after three quarters. Kerrin Everett and Jillian Lamoreau each scored 12 to paced St. Thomas. Amy Andow added 11, Danielle Moffatt 7, Kathleen McCann 6, Heather Atherton 3, Nitanis Horsman 2 and the team 2, while Ashley Bawn, Renee LeBlanc and Melissa Russwurm were scoreless. Laura Antworth paced Mount Allison with 14. Meghan Dickie added 12, Jennifer Robinson 11, Marlon Smith 7, Kristen Atkins 7 and Laura Chapman 2, while Rebecca Himmelman, Kayla Robichaud and Danielle Trenholm were scoreless. The Mounties also included Necola Guerrina, Allie Mayberry, Megan Plummer and Allison Turcotte.
In the final, the top-seeded Mount St. Vincent Mystics dumped the 2nd-seeded St. Thomas Tommies 68-37 after leading 15-13, 27-19 and 45-32 at the quarters. “It was just such a good feeling to see the girls come back and do what they did after having lost last year,” said first-year coach Mark Forward. “They really wanted it and they played their hearts out. It really meant a lot considering what happened last year, (former coach Dyrick McDermott passed away suddenly last April 17) and I was really happy for them. … We pretty much played a perfect game and although the final score may not reflect it, we pretty much had to if we were going to win. Every 10 minutes we talked about what we wanted to do and never got ahead of ourselves. And Lindsay MacKinnon just did a great job of shutting down their best player (Jillian Lamoreau – six points). She’s their horse, we focused on her and we were going to make someone else beat us. But Lindsay made sure that wasn’t going to happen today.” Forward also praised his all-Canadian backcourt of Brien and Van Vulpen. “The whole team was hungry and just kept the pedal to the metal for the full 40 minutes,” said Forward. “But Brien and Val Vulpen both logged 36 minutes and just wanted it so bad. Now we can just relax and enjoy it for the next few days before getting back at it Wednesday. After that we’ll just continue to work hard and have fun.” The Mystics coach, Dyrick McDermott, suddenly passed away last April 17 at the age of 40 and the team was heartbroken by his loss. Kaili Van Vulpen, along with several of her teammates, were unsure if they would be able to play the game they love without their coach. “I was hesitant to go back without Dyrick because he was an irreplaceable person and coach, and he taught us so much about family and teamwork,” van Vulpen said. Mark Forward coached the Mount Saint Vincent men’s basketball team for nine years and made the move to the women’s team after McDermott passed away. Forward said the passing of McDermott “was devastating to these girls, just devastating. For some of the girls it was the first time they ever lost anyone close to them. He was a big mentor to them and a phenomenal coach and person.” Van Vulpen had played two years for the Nova Scotia Agricultural College and then transferred to Mount Saint Vincent, where she was under McDermott’s tutelage for two years. “Kaili was unsure if she was going to come back for her fifth year or not,” Forward said. “I met with her and her mom and dad in Amherst prior to the season and talked about things and made sure that she came back under the right circumstances. And she came back. I wouldn’t have been able to go back without Mark and (assistant coach) Elaine (Horne) stepping in. They understand our system and they’re the whole reason people could go back this year because they’re the perfect coaches and we couldn’t have done it this year without them.” When the Mystics got back together after the summer, they dedicated the 2009-10 season to McDermott. “Our goal from the beginning of the year was to win every game for him and to win the final for him,” van Vulpen said. Forward said “it was just such a good feeling to see the girls come back and do what they did after having lost last year. They really wanted it and they played their hearts out. It really meant a lot considering what happened last year, (former coach Dyrick McDermott passed away suddenly last April 17) and I was really happy for them.” Amy Peveril led Mount Saint Vincent with 14 on 5-8 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 4 boards. Katherine Brien added 13 on 3-10 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards, 7 assists and 3 steals. Kali Van Vulpen added 11 on 4-10 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 4 board, 3 assists and 3 steals. Ann Conrod added 9 on 4-13 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 3 steals. Chelsea Mackay added 5 on 2-8 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 2 boards and 3 steals. Christina Brien added 4 on 1-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Sheray Reddick-Jackson added 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Katie Waite added 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 3 boards. Lyndsay MacKinnon added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 10 boards and 3 assists. Beatrice Cleveland-Thompson added 2, while Justine Finlayson and Alexandra McKenna were scoreless. The Mystics hit 24-66 (.364) from the floor, 7-26 (.269) from the arc and 13-14 (.929) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 12 turnovers, 3 blocks, 13 steals and 12 fouls. Amy Andow paced St. Thomas with 7 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 7 boards. Ashley Bawn added 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Heather Atherton added 6 on 2-11 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Jill Lamoreau scored 6 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Danielle Moffatt added 4, Kathleen McCann 3, Nitanis Horsman 2 and Renee LeBlanc 2, while Kerrin Everett, Madison Doucet, Melissa Russwurm and Lindsay Whittaker were scoreless. The Tommies hit 12-58 (.207) from the floor, 3-14 (.214) from the arc and 10-13 (.769) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 24 turnovers, 2 blocks, 6 steals and 17 fouls.
The silver medalist St. Thomas Tommies: Amy Andow; Ashley Bawn; Heather Atherton; Jillian Lamoreau; Danielle Moffatt; Kathleen McCann; Nitanis Horsman; Renee LeBlanc; Kerrin Everett; Madison Doucet; Melissa Russwurm; Lindsay Whittaker; Nitanis Bradley; coach Fred Connors
The gold medalist Mount Saint Vincent Mystics: Amy Peveril; Katherine Brien; Kaili Van Vulpen; Ann Conrod; Chelsea Mackay; Christina Brien; Sheray Reddick-Jackson; Katie Waite; Lyndsay MacKinnon; Beatrice Cleveland-Thompson; Justine Finlayson; Alexandra McKenna; Katie Waite; Aliesja Macdonald; Amanda Bianchini; coach Mark Forward; assistant Elaine Horne; assistant Dianna Keddy; trainer Katie Van Vulpen