In the opening round, held at Edmonton’s Jasper Place High: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Sherwood Park Archbishop Jordan Scots crushed the 16th-seeded Lloydminster Barons 129-23 as Megan Wickstrom scored 23 and Jordan Anstic 22. Jackie Bolt led Lloydminster with 12. Jessica Lindsay added 5. The Barons were forced to play the same players for the entire game (Jackie Bolt, Jessica Lindsay, Thecia Cadzow, Kayla Bilyk and Lorelle Campbell) when most of their team, including four starters, was stuck in Regina because of a winter storm that stranded the high school band. “It’s part of their curriculum,” Lloydminster coach Melissa Bielesch told the Edmonton Journal. “Their flight was cancelled at 2 a.m. and the earliest they could get here would be 4:30 (an hour after the game).” The Scots led 68-6 at the half. “It’s real difficult because you feel bad for the other team,” said Scots forward Jessica Veldhuizen. “But you have to stick to it. This game is about us too and we still have to get through it.” Scots guard Kate Berry added that “you feel bad you’re up so much but it’s part of what we had to do to get to the point we want to be. It’s provincials. Each team that’s here is competitive. We all want to win. I know they only had five players, but we’ve been working all season and this was one of our goals. We want to win provincials and this is one step we had to take.” Bielesh said “these girls worked hard to get to provincials. Why forfeit when you work so hard to get here? They came here to play and that’s what they did. They never gave up. There were moments when they got frustrated and those are moments when you have to get your head back in the game, learn how to refocus and they did. I had a couple of really frustrated players out there but they pulled it together after a few minutes.” It took Lloydminster nearly 15 minutes to score from the floor – Bolt doing the honours – and by then they trailed 48-4 with their points all coming on foul shots. “We just tried to fight to the end and not give up,” said Bolt. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans dumped the 9th-seeded Calgary Bishop O’Byrne Trailblazers 78-66 as Zandria Morley scored 26 and Tania Meunier 20. Megan Lang led the Trailblazers (coached by Mike Ryall) with 26. Jessi Tomiyama added 16. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Calgary St. Mary’s Saints defeated the 12th-seeded Cardston Cougars 79-74 as Tilly Ettinger scored 24 and Alex Allen 14. Cambric Leavitt paced Cardston with 20. Tamara Day Chief added 10. The Cougars also included Kristen Hartley, Miranda Bevans, Shyla Peasly, Cassidy Beazer, Jerrica Quinton, Kylee Wolsey and Kaleen Roe. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary Spartans stomped the 13th-seeded Red Deer Lindsay Thurber Raiders 71-39 as Josie Peacock scored 20 and Breanna Emmerzael 13. Jaimie Thibeault led Lindsay Thurber with 19. Elsie Budwill added 10. The Raiders (coached by Cathy Lalor) also included Aly Bowd, Kaitlin Brown. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Calgary Dr. E.P. Scarlett Lancers whipped the 15th-seeded Grande Prairie Composite Totems 81-46 as Nicole Clarke scored 19 and Natalie Johnson 15. Breanna Estabrook led Grande Prairie with 8. Harmeet Dhaliwal added 6. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Raymond Comets upset the 7th-seeded Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds 59-56 as Kenzie Ralph scored 13 and Keelia Harker 11. Danielle Smale led the Thunderbirds with 12. Keshia Gordon added 11. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Clipper Queens cooked the 11th-seeded Airdrie Bert Church Chargers 79-48 as Lauren Taal scored 23 and Shelby Hubbard 17. Stephanie Vermunt led the Chargers with 19. Ashley Ashman added 16. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs defeated the 14th-seeded Edmonton Jasper Place Rebels 78-62 as Jordanne Holstein scored 18 and Alex Cole 16. Caitlin Stiksma led Jasper Place with 24. Laura Baker added 14.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Sherwood Park Archbishop Jordan Scots clubbed the 8th-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans 75-46 as Ashley Rudanec scored 16 and Megan Wickstrom 14. Zandria Morley led Harry Ainlay with 11. Tayt Garbutt and Alex Melnychuk each added 8.
The 4th-seeded Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary Spartans stomped the 5th-seeded Calgary St. Mary’s Saints 90-68 as Josie Peacock scored 21 and Kaylie Mattiussi 19. Tilly Ettinger led St. Mary’s with 23. Brittany Pekar added 22. The Saints (coached by Bill McConkey) also included Chelsey Pekar, Grace Ettinger, Michala Allen, Alex Allen.
The 2nd-seeded Calgary Dr. E.P. Scarlett Lancers dumped the 10th-seeded Raymond Comets 67-57 as Nicole Clarke scored 20, Emily Abbot 15 and Ann Mercer 15. Kenzie Ralph led the Comets with 12. Carrie Pickering added 11. The Comets also included Alisha Allred, Katlyn Olsen, Keelia Harker, Mandy Baker, Mikki Stone, Kelsey Snow, Mackenzie Meeks and Julie Tollestrup.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs eliminated the 6th-seeded Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Clipper Queens 63-50 as Lindsay Doland scored 15 and Jordanne Holstein 14. Lauren Taal and Shelby Hubbard each scored 13 to pace LCI. The Clipper Queens (coached by Ronna McKee, assisted by Lynette Taal and Jaylene Lyons) also included Vanessa Neufeld, Cayleigh Mock, Cassie MacLennan, Courtney Stinson, Christie Pierson, Alannah McKee, Meghan Hawkins, Jill Hartwick, Kelsey Willoughby, Ashley Low, Cassie McLennan and Britteny Jensen.
In the semis, the 4th-seeded Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary Spartans stunned the top-seeded Sherwood Park Archbishop Jordan Scots 70-53 as Breanna Emmerzael scored 20 and Josie Peacock 16. Megan Wickstrom led the Scots with 13. Caroline Grahn and Kristen McCurdy each added 10. “It was obviously a huge disappointment,” particularly after dominating the Spartans all season,” said Scots coach Rob Hansuk. “After the game, I think we were in shock. We not only lost but we lost to a team we had beaten three times.”
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Calgary Dr. E.P. Scarlett Lancers clipped the 3rd-seeded Calgary Winston Churchill Bulldogs 74-65 as Emily Abbott scored 24 and Nicole Clarke 18. Alyssa Wolfe, Alex Cole and Katie Arbuthnot each scored 15 to pace the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs (coached by Rick Frey) also included Jordanne Holstein, Megan McLean, Lindsay Doland.
In the bronze medal match, the top-seeded Sherwood Park Archbishop Jordan Scots crushed the 3rd-seeded Calgary Winston Churchill Bulldogs 75-58 as Kristen McCurdy scored 18 and Jordan Anstice 17. Lindsay Doland and Katie Arbuthnot paced the Bulldogs with 12 apiece. “It was really sad but exciting,” said Scots guard Kristen McCurdy. “So we just went out and played as hard as we could, knowing it was our last game.” The Scots led 37-25 at the half.
In the final, the 4th-seeded Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary Spartans defeated the 2nd-seeded Calgary Dr. E.P. Scarlett Lancers 79-72 as Josie Peacock scored 21 and Breanna Emmerzael 15. Nicole Clarke led the Lancers with 28. Emily Abbott added 18. “This team battled all season,” said Spartans assistant coach Bob Butlin. “We lost Josie for 23 games but after she came back, she was our inspiration and we won a lot of important games.” Peacock, who’d broken her foot early in the year, had returned to the team shortly before the playoffs. “This year, it’s really special,” Spartans coach Ron Kutney told the Edmonton Journal. “It took a lot of intestinal fortitude and strength on our part just to get through it all.” The Spartans built an 11-point lead but Emily Abbott and Nicole Clarke rallied the Lancers. It became a free throw contest down the stretch and Peacock hit four from the line in the final minutes as O’Leary avenged a loss in the 2006 final. ‘We were rushing and running around out there. Then our coach just gave us a talk to slow us down,” said Peacock. “From there, we played like we were in control and had nothing to lose.” Peacock dominated the boards despite being just 5-8. The Spartans led 33-26 at the half. Lancer Emily Abbott said “it just came down to defence. And those girls are fast, big, and they can shoot. Even their big girls can shoot.” Three Lancer starters Nicole Clark, Natalie Johnson and Ann Mercer – fouled out, while Abbott played the last five minutes in pain. “Just in the last five minutes of the game, I got hit really hard on a screen and I heard a big snap in my shoulder. And it ended up being a separated shoulder,” she told the Calgary Herald. “I went off for not even a minute and then went back on the floor. I didn’t want to miss out on my last high school game ever. … I think the Grade 12s put everything they had into it. We would have loved the fairy-tale ending, but it doesn’t work out that way sometimes. Every single game at the provincial tournament for us – it was hard. There were no easy, big- point blowouts. … It was really close. I think at one point in the last five minutes we were down by three and we just needed maybe a good drive or a good three-point – none of them fell for us.” Lancers coach Vic Margetts said his troops had difficulty stopping O’Leary’s penetration. “Even with that foul trouble, we might’ve been able to change the flow of the game a little bit by being ahead by four or five instead of being down by a couple. We ended up with not very many players on the floor that had played a lot. Certainly, they were worthy provincial champions. On that night, they were the better team than we were, so they deserved to win.”
The bronze medalist Sherwood Park Archbishop Jordan Scots: Megan Wickstrom; Jordan Anstice; Ashley Rudanec; Carolyn Grahn; Kristen McCurdy; Kate Berry; Nicki Duke; Rachel Korpany; Leslie Prenosio; Nicki St. George; Jessica Veldhuizen; coach Rob Hansuk; assistant Wayne Ashton; assistant Kevin Siwak; manager Michelle Shawera
The silver medalist Calgary Dr. E.P. Scarlett Lancers: Nicole Clarke; Natalie Johnson; Emily Abbot; Ann Mercer; Michelle Benzen; Natalie Cochrane; Devon Kendall; Tia Kjartanson; Mallory McNab; Lauren Shearer; Heather Stark; Samantha Turbach; coach Vic Margetts; assistant Christa McMillan; manage Elyse Kelba
The gold medalist Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary Spartans: Josie Peacock; Breanna Emmerzael; Rachel Raymond; Kaylie Mattiussi; Bailey Brown; Rachel Caputo; Mercedes Moodie; Alexandra Racic; Cherie Topham; Jennifer Walsh; Elashia Young; coach Ron Kutney; assistant Bob Butlin; assistant Timmery Welsh