In the quarterfinals, the Sackville Tantramar titans dispatched the Sugarloaf Bruins 81-59.
The St. Stephen Spartans defeated x.
The Sussex Sonics dispatched x.
In the last quarterfinal, the Bristol Carleton North Stars defeated x.
In the semis, the Sackville Tantramar Titans nipped the host St. Stephen Spartans 46-44 as Jill Arsenault scored 11 and Becky Allen 11. Amber Lenihan paced the Spartans with 13. Danielle Sullivan added 11. The Titans led 25-20 at halftime.
In the other semi, the Sussex Sonics edged the host Bristol Carleton North Stars 45-41 in overtime as Amber Hutchinson scored 13, Rebecca McIsaac 11 and Natasha Saulis 11. Sussex trailed 24-20 at the half.
In the final, the Sussex Sonics nipped the Sackville Tantramar Titans 46-43. Sonic Andrea van Hul said she dreamt of the win a week earlier. “I feel amazing,” van Hul, who scored 5 and grabbed 4 boards, told the New Brunswick Telegraph Journal. “They said they would win it for me because I am the only senior. Last weekend, we fell apart a little bit and I tried to pull everyone back together. Then, they said they were going to win for me. It’s wonderful to be respected this much by my players.” The Sonics led 36-20 at the half. Amber Hutchinson led the way with 12 points, including 10 in the first half, while Robyn Leask added 10 and Erin McAleenan 9, including a trey with 2:05 to all but ice it. “We wanted this so bad. Our girls came so close two years ago and they lost. We have one senior left and this was for her,” said player of the game Hutchinson, who added 4 boards. “In the first half, well that was my moment and in the second half, that was Erin McAleenan’s moment. No one player does everything on this team.” Erin Ritchie paced the Titans with 18. Elizabeth Lafford added 13, all in the second half. “We just started playing more like ourselves (in the second half),” said Lafford. “We could have beaten them but they played well. They have really good defence.” Sussex led wire-to-wire, opening with a 5-0 run and extending the margin to 9 with 2:07 remaining in the half, and then bumping it up to 14 on Erin Monahan’s hoop with 13:32 remaining in regulation. “We weren’t nervous, just excited to be here,” Lafford said. “We could have won but this wasn’t our day.” The Titans rallied with a 17-2 run fueled by 7 from Lafford and 6 from Ritchie, making it 38-37 Sussex with 5:23 left. Monahan hit back-to-back baskets for a 41-37 Sussex edge but Lafford and Shannon Brander responded to make it 42-41 But McAleenan drained a trey with 2:05 left for a four-point edge the Sonics would not surrender. “We played really hard on defence and our defence always saves us in the end,” said van Hul. “That three was the only one we had all year, so it happened when we needed it.”
The co-bronze medalist Bristol Carleton North Stars:
The co-bronze medalist St. Stephen Spartans: Amber Lenihan; Danielle Sullivan;
The silver medalist Sackville Tantramar Titans: Erin Ritchie; Elizabeth Lafford; Shannon Brander; Jill Arsenault; Becky Allen; coach Andrew MacPherson
The gold medalist Sussex Sonics: Amber Hutchinson; Robyn Leask; Erin McAleenan; Andrea van Hul; Erin Monahan; Rebecca McIsaac; Natasha Saulis; Neva Murray; Amber Hutchinson; Megan Scott; Darcie Colpitts; Jennifer Dysart; Brianne Doney; Lyndi Leask; Michelle Northrup; coach Peter McAleenan; assistant Mark Muscroft; manager Melissa Jarvis