In the interzone playoffs: …………………………………………………… The Portage Saints edged the Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen 62-59 as Deanne Mitchell scored 21. Danielle DeGagne led the Plainsmen with 20. Lindsay Walker added 10.
In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Winnipeg Churchill Bulldogs whipped the 9th-seeded Portage Saints 80-51. The Saints included Deanna Mitchell. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seed Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders stomped the 12th-seeded Winnipeg St. Mary’s Academy Flames 52-27. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Winnipeg Westwood Warriors edged the 11th-seeded Winnipeg River East Kodiaks 69-60. The Kodiaks included Kelsey Rutherford, Katya Edney, Kaeri Rempel. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans dumped the 10th-seeded Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen 67-50 as MacKenzie Prasek scored 25. Chelsea Hiebert added 16. Maria Dinsdale led the Plainsmen with 12. Danielle DeGagne added 10. The score was knotted at 28 at the half. The Plainsmen (coached by Kevin Neufeld) also included Samantha Lewis, Jessica McCharles, Lindsay Walker, Amanda Whitecloud, Cherlyn Reid, Katie McCallum, Angie Nickel and Michelle Palmer.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions defeated the 8th-seeded Winnipeg Churchill Bulldogs 52-43.
The 4th-seeded Selkirk Lord Selkirk Royals nipped the 5th-seeded Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders 62-60 as Chelsea Fielding scored 27, including a pair of winning free throws with three seconds remaining on the clock. The goal is a provincial crown, Royals coach Doran Reid told the Selkirk Journal. “Selkirk’s boys and girls basketball programs have
had some success but we’ve never had a ‘winner’ in the greater sense of the word. We’ve done well against the top teams this year and there’s no reason to expect anything different.” The Royals rallied from a 9-point half-time deficit to pull out the win. “Oak Park played their best game of the year,” said Selkirk assistant coach Trish Hallson. “We tied the game with 32 seconds left and then we got them to turn the ball over. Chelsea drove to the basket hard with 1.8 seconds left and drew the foul. It was just nuts.” Megan Cyr added 17 for the Royals.
The 3rd-seeded Winnipeg Sisler Spartans dumped the 6th-seeded Winnipeg Westwood Warriors 63-58.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions defeated the 7th-seeded Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans 72-66. The Trojans included Chela Simonyola, Chelsey Hiebert, Mackenzie Prasek.
In the semis, the top-seeded Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions defeated the 4th-seeded Selkirk Lord Selkirk Royals 61-53. Glenlawn built an early eight-point lead and then withstood a Royals rally when Diana Shaw drained a trey to quell the threat. “The locker room was not a happy place after the game but we were the underdogs and the girls took it in stride,” Selkirk assistant coach Trish Hallson told the Selkirk Journal, adding that the Lions full-court pressure proved their undoing. “It might have looked like a sloppy game on our part but they force you to look sloppy and that didn’t help the confidence of our players who were nervous to begin with. If they would have held off on the press, we might have been able to get things together but their game plan worked.” The Lions led by 11 at the half but the Royals closed to within six down the stretch on a Deanna Gilbert trey. “We tried to key on their outside shooters but they were
hot,” Hallson said. “The last few minutes we used a full court press to turn the ball over but we just ran out of time.” Lauren Mortier paced the Lions with 25. Sheena Gee added 13 and Diana Shaw 10. Deanna Gilbart led the Royals with 15. Chelsea Fielding added 14 and Megan Cyr 11.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions crushed the 3rd-seeded Winnipeg Sisler Spartans 72-55. Fort Richmond did an excellent job of limiting the touches of Sisler star Debbie Yeboah. The Centurions double-teamed Yeboah in the backcourt to deny her immediate access. Whitney Lodge-Zaparnick hounded Yeboah and her quickness forced several turnovers which led to an early Fort Richmond lead. Morgan Cross and Navi Sidhu took over from Lodge-Zaparnick when she got in foul trouble. Still Yeboah scored 20 in the first half. Centurion post Mubo Ilelaboye dominated inside against the Spartans 2-3 zone. Fort Richmond put the game out of reach in the final 7 minutes with an 11-0 run, partly due to their offensive strategy to draw Yeboah away from the hoop, and thus limit the Debbie’s ability to offer her posts help-side defence. Led by Ilelaboye, the Centurions appeared to finally exhaust the Spartans. Unable to create easy shots for themselves, the Spartans shooting dipped dramatically, as Yeboah’s shots didn’t drop as easily and the 3-point shooting of sniper Casey Ignacio cooled off considerably. Junior post Morgan Cross added to the Spartans’ headaches by picking up her offence slightly. Cross attacked the offensive glass and often found Ilelaboye underneath, which allowed the senior to cruise to a 39-point performance. Maria Pawlyshyn added 12. Debbie Yeboah led the Spartans with 31. Casey Ignacio added 8.
In the final, the Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions defeated the Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions 60-50 in rematch of the 2006 final. The Centurions dominated the boards, allowing the Lions few second chance opportunities. Glenlawn’s Erin McNulty did an excellent job in denying entry passes to Fort Richmond’s Mubo Ilelaboye, while the Centurions Whitney Lodge-Zaparnick was equally stellar in denying the entry passes to Glenlawn’s Lauren Mortier. Both teams defended well and the Centurions struggled to score against Glenlawn’s 1-3-1 zone but hit just enough perimeter shots and free throws to build a slim lead. Maria Pawlyshyn hustle on defence yielded several transition layups and her aggressive drives into the paint drew a raft of Glenlawn fouls. Alexa Amos was soon in foul trouble, which eventually created more space inside for Ilelaboye and Morgan Cross. Glenlawn coach Bryan Kornberger shifted to a full-court press down the stretch but Fort Richmond patiently broke it, often having several players handle the ball. Coupled with the sterling boardwork, the Centurions maintained control down the stretch before icing it at the line to capture the school’s first provincial title.
The all-tournament team featured: MVP Mubo Ilelaboye (Fort Richmond); Lauren Mortier (Glenlawn); Sheena Gee (Glenlawn); Debbie Yeboah (Sisler); Maria Pawlyshyn (Fort Richmond); and Morgan Cross (Fort Richmond)
The co-bronze medalist Selkirk Lord Selkirk Royals: Deanna Gilbart; Chelsea Fielding; Megan Cyr; Rayna Howard; Krista Johnson; Miranda Grayson; Amanda Hallson; coach Doran Reid; assistant Mark Neves; assistant Trish Halsson
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Sisler Spartans: Debbie Yeboah;
The silver medalist Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions: Sheena Gee; Lauren Mortier; Diana Shaw; Erin McNulty; Alexa Amos; Amanda Henry; Michelle Kliment; coach Bryan Kornberger
The gold medalist Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions: Mubo Ilelaboye; Morgan Cross; Maria Pawlyshyn; Whitney Lodge-Zaparnick; Deep Sidhu; Katie Shiach; Kelsey Jones; Kelli MacKay; Kirstin Berrington; Carly Duchimensky; Danica Reimer; Navi Sidhu; coach Alison Laferty; assistant Cathy Lethbridge; manager Ruth Baete; manager Jessica Dupont; trainer Michelle Lowey