In the quarterfinals, the Saint John Rothesay Red Hawks defeated the Rexton Bonar Law Memorial Bengals x-x. The Bengals included Ashley Beers, Chantal LeBlanc.
The Woodstock Wildcats dumped the Bathurst Phantoms x-x. The Phantoms included Leigh Anne Butler, Shannon Doucet.
The Sackville Tantramar Titans dumped the St. Stephen Spartans 87-59. The Spartans included Nicole Hastey, Jenny Disher, Ashley Coons, Meg Casey.
In the last quarterfinal, the Bristol Carleton North Stars defeated the Salisbury JMA Armstrong Cougars 92-40. The Cougars included Charity Leaman.
In the semis, the Saint John Rothesay Red Hawks clubbed the Woodstock Wildcats 69-45 as Kaitlyn Barry and Becky Himmelman each scored 16. Ashley Bonner added 15 and Heather Owens 13. The Red Hawks rallied from a 25-19 deficit to pull out the win. Jessica Purvis led Woodstock with 14. Danielle Moffatt added 10.
In the other semi, the Sackville Tantramar Titans stomped the Bristol Carleton North Stars 93-79 as Jenna Kaye scored 34, Erin Bohan 23, Leah Ward 12 and Sarah Sutherland 11. Krystle Lockhart paced the Stars with 17. Jillian Sipprel added 14, Erin Turnbull 11 and Pam Carvell 11.
In the final, the Sackville Tantramar Regional Titans defeated the Saint John Rothesay Regional Red Hawks 66-54. Jenna Kaye paced the Titan with 30, along with 12 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Kaye connected for 30 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, dished out five assists and stole the ball three times as the Titans pulled away in the second half for the school’s third AA girls crown and first since 1997. “All of the other losses just made this year more important,” Kaye told the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal of consecutive Final 12 setbacks to Carleton North in 2002 and 2003. “We came here and we said we were going to leave everything on the court. We really wanted it for Erin.” Erin Bohan added 11 points and 8 boards, while Leah Ward scored 15 and nabbed 20 boards. “Our experience helped,” admitted Kaye. “They were coming into the game at the Aitken Centre for the first time and they were probably more nervous. We just knew we had to get it done.” Ashley Bonner was named player of the game for the Red Hawks after scoring 17. Kaitlyn Barry added 14 and Becky Himmelman 10, along with 12 rebounds. “We were really hungry and we wanted it bad but, in the end, I don’t know if we ran out of steam or what,” said Kaitlyn Barry. “It is really sad, especially for the four seniors who have been on the team since Grade 9. It is a little emotional but it was a good game and I am really proud of our team.” The Red Hawks jumped to an early 8-2 advantage and played even up with the Titans for the first half and led 31-29 with 16:52 on the clock in the second frame. But Bohan hit a trey to snap a 33-33 tie, igniting a 14-6 Tantramar run, where Kaye chipped in with six points for a 47-39 lead. The Titans stretched it to nine before Rothesay cut it six points on three separate occasions. But the Titans had the answer each time, clinching it with a late 9-0 run. “At the end, it came down to experience,” said Ashley Bonner, Rothesay’s player of the game. “They have played in the Final 12 and while we have played on this floor a couple of times, it is not quite the same with the fans and the atmosphere. It is great just to get here and it is really disappointing that we lost but it was a good game. It has been incredible and while it is sad that it is over, Rothesay High is on the map now. This is the farthest a basketball team has ever come and it feels good.” Titans coach Mark Bohan was chosen the New Brunswick girls’ basketball coach of the year. The Titans said they wanted to win the title for Bohan, the only seniors on the roster. “I’m honoured,” Bohan told the Fredericton Daily Gleaner. “I love all of them so much. I’m the only senior and they kind of all said they were going to do it for me in the end.” Bonham said “I’ve been dreaming about this my whole high school season. It’s a perfect way to end it.” Jenna Kay said “we were so emotional the whole time. We really wanted it for Erin today. … Our passing was just so good. In the end, we just came together as a team and everything clicked. Our shots weren’t going in in the first half, but we knew they would start dropping in the second half, and they did. I think it’s a good word for it…relief. We came so close the last two years. This year…we knew that we had to win this game.” Red Hawk Ashley Bonner said “coming in, we had nothing to lose. We were the underdogs for sure. … We had a great season. We put Rothesay High on the map for basketball. Four of our players have played on this team for four years and we went from losing to most teams by 20 or 30 points, and now here we are at the Aitken Centre. We had a great season. It’s too bad we didn’t win, but we gave it our best shot.”
The co-bronze medalist Woodstock Wildcats: Jessica Purvis; Danielle Moffatt; Allison Haley; Megan Hogan; Amy Andow; Lindsay Corey; Jessica Irvine; Heather Atherton; Alisha Cummings;
The co-bronze medalist Bristol Carleton North Stars: Krystle Lockhart; Jillian Sipprel; Erin Turnbull; Pam Carvell; Allison DeMerchant; Shannon Mann; Ciara Lamoreau; Lindsay Oakes; Kori Stewart; Laura McIntosh; Gillian Lockhart; Patricia Blackie;
The silver medalist Saint John Rothesay Regional Red Hawks: Ashley Bonner; Kaitlyn Barry; Becky Himmelman; Heather Owens; Laura Zed; Alex Zed; Heather Beckingham;
The gold medalist Sackville Tantramar Regional Titans: Jenna Kaye; Erin Bohan; Leah Ward; Sarah Sutherland; Danielle Trenholm; Erin Sloan; coach Mark Bohan