In the quarterfinals, the 3rd-seeded Bridgewater Park View Education Centre Panthers defeated the two-time defending champ and 6th-seeded Sackville Kingfishers 94-63 as Lindsay Welsford scored 27, Leslie Duncan 16, Jessika Arsenault 14, Bellewyn Moore 12 and Kim Fralick 12. JoAnne Wells led the Kingfishers with 24. Leslie Hoskins added 15 and Beth Stephen 11. The Kingfishers (coached by Pat Henneberry) also included Jennifer Boutilier.
The 5th-seeded Greenwich Horton District Griffins dumped the 4th-seeded Coxheath Riverview Rural Royals 68-51. The Griffins used a 31-12 run in the second half to take command. But when grade nine guard Whitney Ffrench picked up her fourth foul with seven minutes to play and Horton leading 62-33, forcing her to the bench, the Royals ripped off a 12-0 run. Ffrench returned and the teams traded buckets til the buzzer sounded. “I give Ffrench all the credit in the world,” said Royals guard Heather Ross, who scored 21. “She’s a great player. We put in a good run there for a while but then we got down on ourselves. I’m not sure if we believed in ourselves near the end of the game but I think we could have caught them.” Alicia Bird led Horton with 19. Ffrench added 17. Horton led 31-21 at the half. The Royals included Heather Ross.
The top-seeded Halifax Queen Elizabeth Lions dumped the 8th-seeded Halifax St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish 67-62 as Alexa Holm scored 14 and Amy Goodday 10. Veronica Bailey led the Irish with 21. The Irish also included Marielle Wilson.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Truro Cobequid Cougars clipped the 7th-seeded Sydney Academy Wildcats 85-56 as Lindsay Walsh scored 25. Heather Rudderham led Sydney with 14. The Wildcats also included Becky Chisholm.
In the semis, the 3rd-seeded Bridgewater Park View Education Centre Panthers stunned the 2nd-seeded Truro Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars 62-44 as Leslie Duncan scored 22, including 14 in the first half. Jessika Arsenault added 14. Park View led 29-21 at the half. “Give Cobequid Education Centre a lot of credit,” Duncan told the Halifax Daily News. “They played us very hard but me and Jessika knew what we had to do today. It was a total team effort. Our guards made quick passes into the post and we got the job done.” A trey by Cobequid’s Lindsay Walsh cut the margin to 37-31 but a 10-0 run by the Panthers put the game out of reach. Lindsay Welsford added 16 for Park View. Walsh led Cobequid with 28, including six from beyond the arc. “It’s not fun to lose your last high school game,” she noted.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Halifax Queen Elizabeth Lions defeated the 5th-seeded Greenwich Horton Griffins 64-56. The score was knotted at 27 at the half. Sarah Kozey and Amy Goodday each noted 13 to pace the Lions. Alexa Holm added 10. Whitney Ffrench led the Griffins with 26.
In the bronze medal match, the Truro Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars defeated the 5th-seeded Horton Griffins 68-58.
In the final, the top-seeded Halifax Queen Elizabeth Lions captured their first title since 1984 by dumping the 3rd-seeded Bridgewater Park View Education Centre Panthers 58-39 before an appreciative crowd of 500 chanting “cross that bridge, cross that bridge” the entire game. Forward Amy Goodday told the Halifax Daily News that the Lions took the words to heart. “Last year, coach Steve (Stewart) said that each year all the players built a bridge to help make us better. Today, a former player passed me a note that said: the bridge is complete. It’s time to cross the bridge.” Goodday scored 12, all in the second half. The Lions roared to a 28-15 lead at the half, holding the Panthers to just three field goals in the frame. Park View never threatened. “The coaches have been screaming at us all year to pick up our defence,” said guard Sarah Kozey. “Every practice, every game, that’s all we’ve been hearing and we finally put it together. We shut them down.” The Panthers ran out of gas in the second half. “You hold QEH to 28 first half points, you should be pretty happy,” said coach Eric Dolliver. “But three field goals in a half – it wasn’t that we didn’t have open looks. That’s just the way it goes.” Park View point guard Kim Fralick, who scored 6, all on free throws, said “our shots just weren’t falling. And that happens. But you’ve got to work around that. We did play hard but give credit to their defence.” Halifax Queen Elizabeth finished (30-0) on the season.
The bronze medalist Truro Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars: Lindsay Walsh; Vanessa Harper; Jenna Tait; Kathy Spacek; Diane Kinsman; Holly McCallum; Heather Stilwel; Ashley McCarthy; Sara Limpert; Jaclyn Dale; Leanna Hunt; Sam Legere; Kelly McNally; Becky Purdy; Jennie Pryor; coach Mike MacKay; assistant Shelley Roberts
The silver medalist Bridgewater Park View Education Centre Panthers: Kim Fralick; Lindsay Welsford; Leslie Duncan; Jessika Arsenault; Bellewyn Moore; coach Eric Dolliver
The gold medalist Halifax Queen Elizabeth Lions: Amy Goodday; Katherine Quackenbush; Heather Marshall; Alexa Holm; Sarah Kozey; Erin Howell; Meaghan Hollett; Rebecca Doyle; Megan Scanlan; Erin McKean; Sarah Hebb; Elizabeth Gibbons; coach Stephen Stewart