In the opening round, the top-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans stomped the 16th-seeded Lloydminster Barons 107-23. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Calgary Centennial Coyotes defeated the 8th-seeded Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Clippers 67-65. The Clippers (coached by Ronna McKee) included Cassie Carle, Dayleigh Mock, Kelsie Willoughby, Jill Hartwick, Vanessa Neufeld, Brandi Leavitt, Katie Kyle, Sara Baines, Courtney Stinson, Lindsay Pierson, Katheryne Lowry and Ashley Lowe. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Calgary St. Mary’s Saints whipped the 12th-seeded Airdrie Bert Church Chargers 93-55. The absence of star forward Ashley Ashman was too much to overcome, as the Chargers were handed the loss. Ashman missed the tournament after hurting her knee two weeks ago. An MRI revealed a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament. “Unfortunately we went into it without one of our top players and it hurt us badly,” head coach Ray Thompson said. “It’s a little tough, because she was a key part of our offence. It was difficult for the other girls to take over. And we missed the leadership, too, of course.” …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Raymond Comets dumped the 13th-seeded Calgary Western Canada Redmen 73-62. The Redmen included Shona Goodwin. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Sherwood Park Archbishop Jordan Scots stomped the 15th-seeded Red Deer Ecole Notre Dame Cougars 85-28. The Cougars (coached by Erica Ganger) included Michelle Steeves, Mackenzie Quinn, Katherine Thatcher, Jenny Becker. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Spruce Grove Panthers dumped the 10th-seeded Cardston Cougars 62-49. The Cougars included Kristen Hartley, Brigitte Russell, Jasmine Quinton, Dani Sheen, Jerrica Quinton, Karen Low, Avery Leavitt, Chantai Olsen, Katelyn Nay and Cassidy Beazer. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary Spartans defeated the 11th-seeded Calgary Central Memorial Rams 71-55. The Rams (coached by Brian Hutton) included Jessica Williams, Rya Daggett, Kate Storey. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs stomped the 14th-seeded Grande Prairie Tomahawks 108-52.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans crushed the 9th-seeded Calgary Centennial Coyotes 87-35. The Coyotes (coached by Cheryl Kryluk) included Stephanie Chomyn, Stephanie Inman.
The 4th-seeded Raymond Comets clipped the 5th-seeded Calgary St. Mary’s Saints 90-76. The Saints (coached by Bill McConkey) included Chelsey Pekar, Tilly Ettinger, Paige Holy, Tracie Zahavich.
The 2nd-seeded
Sherwood Park Archbishop Jordan Scots edged the 7th-seeded Spruce
Grove Panthers 65-60 but lost star centre Megan Wickstrom to an ankle injury. “It
was one of those bittersweet wins,” coach Hansuk said. “We were happy we won,
but we knew we were furthering ourselves in the tournament against tougher
competition and one of our key players wasn’t going to be there. I was a little
anxious about that.”
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded
Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs defeated the 6th-seeded Edmonton
Archbishop O’Leary Spartans 93-82.
In the semis, the top-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans dumped the 4th-seeded Raymond Comets 95-69.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Archbishop Jordan Scots edged the 3rd-seeded Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs 83-77. The Bulldogs were short-handed for the match after provincial team member Alex Cole, was suspended for one game for punching a member of the Archbishop O’Leary Spartans during quarter-finals. Battling the absence of one of their stars, the Scots trailed by one at halftime. “We weren’t playing with the same emotion we normally play with, so I told the girls not to use the injury to Megan as an excuse, because that wasn’t acceptable,” coach Rob Hansuk said. “The realization was that we could win this game.” Refreshed and motivated, the Scots stormed into the second half and scored the next nine points to take an eight-point lead. But as if the day couldn’t get stranger with Wickstrom’s injury and the suspended Churchill player, one of the officials had to leave the game late in the third quarter with a calf cramp, forcing the teams to take a 15-minute break while another referee was tracked down. The Bulldogs used the stoppage to compose themselves and tied it up in the fourth quarter, sending the game to overtime. “We got that edge back and ended up winning,” Hansuk said. “It was us against the world, and we pulled it off. I didn’t think anyone really gave us a chance to be in the final, especially after Megan went down, but we wanted to give ourselves a chance to win a provincial championship, and we did that. It was very gratifying from a coaching perspective just to see that grit, will, determination and resiliency they
In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs dumped the 4th-seeded Raymond Comets 72-43 as Lindsay Doland scored 14, Kate Arbuthnot 13 and Megan Maclean 13. The Comets (coached by Karie Tollestrup) included Mackenzie Meeks, Carrie Pickering, Kelsey Snow, Keelia Harker, Kenzie Ralph, Katlyn Olsen, Julie Tollestrup, Alisha Allred, Leah Wilde, Mikki Stone and Jessica Fairbanks.
In the final, the top-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans whipped the 2nd-seeded Sherwood Park Archbishop Jordan Scots 75-33. The Harry Ainlay Titans wrapped up a (31-0) season as they used their height advantage and tenacious defence to dump the Scots. “We proved why we deserve to be ranked where we are,” said Titans head coach Rob Poole. “ABJ are an extremely well-coached tea but I think they realized that we just have so many weapons offensively, in terms of an inside game and a pretty well balanced attack. I think the Titans just proved that they were in the No. 1 team in the province this year.” The Titans relied on a well-balanced attack to dominate from the opening tip-off. Graduating senior Zandria Morley, a veritable force inside, scored 19 points, while the Plouffe sisters, six-foot-three Katherine and six-foot-one Michelle, pitched in with 12 and 13 points, respectively. “With Michelle and Katherine Plouffe, we have a couple of elite provincial players,” Poole told Southam News. “It’ll be a bit of a rebuilding, but I think we’ll continue to be strong.” Nicki St. George led the Scots with 20 points, while Ashley Rudanec put on a three-point shooting display, hitting five from that range. “They played with their hearts on their chest,” claimed Poole of the Titans’ opposition. “You have to give them a lot of credit.” The Scots were without Megan Wickstrom, a provincial calibre player. “I think going in we knew it was going to be difficult,” maintained Archbishop Jordan coach Rob Hansuk, whose team amassed a 33-1 season record. “They’re a great team; hats off to them. They have so many weapons. “They are one of the best, if not the best, teams I’ve seen. They were a treat to watch and were number one for a reason. They are that good. Not only are they talented and well-coached and have tremendous depth, they’re also very difficult to match up with. If you take one or two things away, they’re so basketball-savvy that they just find another way to beat you. This sounds weird, but it was almost a pleasure to lose to them.” The Scots kept pace with the perennial powerhouse Titans in the early stages, but as the game went on, it became apparent that the Scots were a little over-matched. “We hung in there for a while against them,” Hansuk said. “But eventually, their size and their ability and their depth seemed to take over. When their starters got tired, they’d just bring in similar girls off the bench who were equally effective.” Zandria Morley said the Titans were determined to remain undefeated. “I thought of all these curses of undefeated teams going into the finals and choking at the end. It was definitely added pressure. I think this is as good as it gets.” Guard Nicki St. George led the Scots with 20 points. Wickstrom rolled her ankle late in the quarter-final game against Spruce Grove and was forced to spend the rest of the tournament on crutches. “I don’t want to diminish what Harry Ainlay did,” Hansuk said. “I would have loved to have played against them with Megan and I’m sure they would have loved to play our team when we were fully healthy, but ultimately, our chances might have been different, but the result might have been the same. They’re that good.”
The bronze medalist Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs: Katie Arbuthnot; Alex Cole; Emma Cosgrave; Lindsay Doland; Richina Foggo; K.J. Fridfinnson; Kiersten Hilton; Jordanne Holstein; Courtney Long; Megan MacLean; Allison Werner; Robyn Whittaker; coach Rick Frey; assistant Brian Adams; assistant Ranbit Parmar; trainer Amy Hargreaves; trainer Ross Sheppard
The silver medalist Sherwood Park Archbishop Jordan Scots: Madisyn Achtymichuk; Stephanie Balog; Nicki Duke; Rachel Korpany; Marlo Nay; Ashley Rudanec; Nicki St. George; Jessica Veldhuizen; Megan Wickstrom; coach Rob Hansuk; assistant Wayne Ashton; manager Michelle Shawera
The gold medalist Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans: Adela Burke; Michelle Dorion; Tayt Garbutt; Lauren Hughes; Caitlin McDowell; Tania Meunier; Zandria Morley; Kirsten Peters; Michelle Plouffe; Katherine Plouffe; Sierra Poole; Alanna Poole; Emily Weisbrot; coach Rob Poole; coach Kristy Marsh; manager Ashley Kinsella; manager Erin Cruthers; manager Ellen Duncan