In the quarterfinals, the Saint John Rothesay Redhawks defeated the Rexton Bonar Law Memorial Bengals 67-37 as Christie Smith scored 29 and Kathleen Owens 12. Abby Kierstead led the Bengals with 20. The Bengals also included Chelsea Hannay, Shelby Warman, Kateri Sock.
The Grand Falls John Caldwell Golden Knights upset the top-seeded Dalhousie Regional Condors 66-51 as Jennifer Delahaye scored 22 and Cindy Levesque 19. Samantha Levesque led Dalhousie Regional with 14. Sheala Degroot added 13 and Brittany Savoy 12. The Condors also included Maddison Williams.
The Sackville Tantramar Regional Titans dumped the Perth Andover Southern Victoria Vikettes 45-35. The Vikettes included Kelly Nissen, Zoe Kennedy.
In the last quarterfinal, the Bristol Carleton North Stars stomped the Campbellton Sugarloaf Bruins 88-26. The Bruins included Jennifer Lutes.
In the semis, the Saint John Rothesay Regional Redhawks whipped the Grand Falls John Caldwell Golden Knights 76-42 as Chrissie Smith scored 30 and Kathleen Owens 14. Danielle Toner paced John Caldwell with 17. Jennifer Delahaye added 9.
In the other semi, the Bristol Carleton North Stars defeated the Sackville Tantramar Regional Titans 64-33 as Lauren Antworth scored 12, Bryanne Thomas 10 and Bailey Trafford 10. Jenny Robinson led the Titans with 16.
In the final, the Lawrenceville-Bristol Carleton North Stars captured their third consecutive crown by defeating the Saint John Rothesay Regional Redhawks 48-36. “There’s no better feeling than to walk off this floor as three-time champions,” Casey Gaunce said. “We made sure we came out to play because earlier in the year we found we weren’t consistent. We just focused on our defence and we were determined to get the job done.” Player of the game Bailey Trafford said “it’s amazing to be part of this experience. I just hope we can make it four in a row next year. I was nervous before the game, but once I got on the floor, I just did what I had to do.” The North Stars led 10-1 before the game was seven minutes old. After the slow start, Rothesay scored three straight buckets to make it 10-7 but Boyd’s three-pointer ignited a 15-3 Carleton North run to put them up 25-10 early in the second quarter. Rothesay inched back to 28-21 in the final moments of the first half, thanks to a 7-0 run on baskets by Ashley Carpenter, Jennifer Bergeron and Laura Marcolin. In the final minute, down 28-21, there was a frantic span where the Red Hawks intensity caused several turnovers with good hustle but they could not score in four trips, either from the field or the free-throw line. The seven-minute scoring lapse allowed the North Stars to build a 35-23 lead. Grade 10 forward Bailey Trafford hauled down 16 rebounds and scored eight points while grade 10 forward Tamara Tompkins grabbed 10 boards to go with six points and four assists. Bryanne Thomas tossed in nine points, one more than fellow Stars seniors Casey Gaunce and Leslie Boyd. Gaunce also had seven steals. “Earlier in the week, I talked to one person and he couldn’t believe I was starting two Grade 10s,” Carleton North coach Brian Thomas said, “but he obviously hadn’t seen them play before. … Defence is a big part of our game. It’s been that way all season and it certainly was again today.” Thomas added that experience played a role. “Defensively, we knew we had to cover everybody. They are all good shooters. Being the first time here, each end has a different look when you shoot the ball. I think it had some effect on them. They did not shoot the ball as well as they have in the past against us.” Rothesay coach Moira Gagnon said “Bailey Trafford is a phenomenal player. I don’t think it was nerves so much as the girls just couldn’t put the ball in the basket. Sometimes you have those games. Unfortunately, too many of them had that kind of day all at the same time. … I’m really proud of how they didn’t give up. Right down to the last seconds they were still digging. At no point did they give up. The ball just wouldn’t go in the basket.” The Red Hawks tried to make a game of it on a couple occasions but their shooting touch deserted them: 16-for-68 (23.5 per cent), including 3-for-20 at the charity stripe. Southwest Conference player of the year Kayla Robichaud was held pointless in 26 minutes of floor time. Kathleen Owens netted 10 points for Rothesay while player of the game Jill Taylor contributed nine points, nine boards and six steals. Laura Marcolin scored 4 and nabbed 8 boards. “I think our nerves got the best of us,” Kathleen Owens told the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. “Our shooting was off. We know what they do, we’ve played them lots of times before. Our shots just weren’t falling. … I think the nerves got the best of us in the first period. (The early deficit) was hard to get out of. … They really came to play and their defence was all over the ball,” said Owens. I am disappointed we lost but we played with our hearts and that’s all we can ask.” Rothesay centre Jilly Taylor said “our shooting was off. We know what they do, we played them lots of times before. Our shots were not falling for us today.” The Stars finished the season with a 35-6 record. Rothesay went 23-14.
The co-bronze medalist Grand Falls John Caldwell Golden Knights: Danielle Toner; Jennifer Delahaye; Cindy Levesque; Roxanne Poitras; Jessica Bouchard; Josee Michaud;
The co-bronze medalist Sackville Tantramar Titans: Jenny Robinson; Catherine Parsons; Kaylee Atkinson; Leanne O’Reilly;
The silver medalist Saint John Rothesay Regional Red Hawks: Christie Smith; Kathleen Owens; Kayla Robichaud; Ashley Carpenter; Jill Taylor; Jennifer Bergeron; Laura Marcolin; Chelsea Carpenter; Jessica McTague; Cecelia Clark; Hayley O’Brien; Jane Burchill; Kaitlyn van Steen; coach Moira Gagnon
The gold medalist Bristol Carleton North Stars: Leslie Boyd; Jordan Trafford; Jillian Lamoreau; Rebecca Hathaway; Tamara Tompkins; Lauren Antworth; Bailey Trafford; Bryanne Thomas; Mary McCarthy; Casey Gaunce; Katrina Sipperrell; Sam Broadsheet; coach Brian Thomas; assistant Dale Hathaway; manager Briana Good