In the quarterfinals, held in Halifax, the 5th-seeded Greenwich Horton Griffins defeated the 4th-seeded Truro Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars 65-54 as Eugenia Renderos and Emily Ross each scored 17. Leanne Crossman and Katherine Kanaski each scored 11 to pace the Cougars. The Cougars (coached by Mike MacKay, assisted by Darren Gerrior) also included Diandra Phipps, Kelsey Harpman, Vicki Reid, Jenna Hazelton, Lindsay Macleod and Jennifer Kanaski. After the season, coach Mike MacKay left Cobequid to take a position with Basketball Canada.
The top-seeded Bridgewater Park View Education Centre Panthers dumped the 8th-seeded Sydney Academy Wildcats 65-44 as Alex Legge scored 16. Kaitlyn Taylor led the Wildcats with 14. The Wildcats also included Sarah Rudderham, Angela Fifield.
The 7th-seeded Halifax Grammar Gryphons stunned the 2nd-seeded Halifax Queen Elizabeth Lions 59-46 as Amanda Northcott scored 21. The Lions led 40-34 with 10 minutes remaining but their offence went south as Halifax Grammar ripped off a 10-0 run en route to a 25-6 outburst that closed out the affair. “We decided that this was our game and we weren’t going to let them get us,” said Northcott. “It could have been our last game of the season but we wanted people to realize that we’re the strongest team in the city.” Dara Young added 10 for the Gryphons. Brianna Orr notched 9. Wendy Hutchinson led the Lions with 12. The Lions (coached by Patti Hutchison) also included Teresa Morrison, Emily Bonnell, Jennifer Bray, Samantha Sanford, Sarah Gordon, Katie Gillivan, Laura Thibault.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish dumped the 6th-seeded Halifax Dr. John Hugh Gillis Royals 71-46 as Kate McNeil scored 16, Alise Brown 22 and Kristin Fitzpatrick 15. “It’s do or die time, so we just came out really strong,” said McNeil. “We really needed this.” The Royals included Sheryl Chisholm, Katie Jennings, Jessica MacLennan, Dana Poder, Katherine MacLaughlin.
In the semis, the Bridgewater Park View Education Centre Panthers nipped the Greenwich Horton Griffins 57-54 as Kelly Himmelman scored 16. Emily Ross paced the Griffins with 16.
In the other semi, the Halifax St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish edged the Halifax Grammar Gryphons 69-62 as Kate McNeil scored 20, Alise Brown 20 and Kristin Fitzpatrick 15. “Grammar’s a very tough team, so that was a very tough game for us,” said Fitzpatrick. “We had to maintain our focus and stick together because a few lapses could really cost you in a game like this.” The Irish led by 12 at the half but Brianna Orr rallied the Gryphons down the stretch before St. Patrick’s iced it with a pair of treys in the final few possessions. “Orr hit some huge shots for them but we held them off. We really, really want to win this thing, so we know we just have to go out and do it,” said Fitzpatrick. Dara Young led the Gryphons with 14.
In the bronze medal match, the Greenwich Horton Griffins dumped the Halifax Grammar Gryphons 57-43 as Sara Spindler scored 19, Emily Ross 16 and Eugenia Renderos 13. Luzie Westphal led the Gryphons with 13. Brianna Orr added 12. The Gryphons also included Amanda Northcott, Dara Young, Laura Johnstone, Sarah McInnis, Liz Russell, Kate Archibald.
In the final, Halifax St. Patrick’s completed a boy’s-girls double as the 3rd-seeded Irish defeated the top-seeded Bridgewater Park View Education Centre Panthers 70-58. “The guys told us, ‘you better win, you better win,’ and now, we both did,” forward Kristin Fitzpatrick told the Halifax Daily News. “Monday’s going to be just an awesome day at school. …We had nothing to lose today. It was the last game for seven of us and we just wanted to go in there and do our best.” Point guard Alise Brown led the Irish with 26, including a trio from beyond the arc and 20 in the second half. “We all came together and we worked really hard. Park View played a really tough game and we hadn’t beaten them in three games this season. We knew we only had 20 minutes left in our high school careers and we had to leave it all on the floor. It was a total team effort through the whole tournament and it is a wonderful way to cap the season. Forward Kate McNeil added 23. “They’re such a hard team to beat,” said McNeil, a 5-11 post. “I looked up at the clock and I knew we couldn’t let up until the end. I’m still in shock right now that we actually did it.” Brown added that “I’ll never forget this day or this feeling,” said Brown. “It’s the perfect ending to my high school career. It was just an all-out great effort from everyone. I’m all wound up. …In the second half, we call came together and we worked really hard. Park View played a really tough game and we hadn’t beaten them in three games this season. We knew we only had 20 minutes left in our high school careers and we had to leave it all on the floor. It was a total team effort through the whole tournament and it is a wonderful way to cap the season.” Park View post Amy Peveril wanted to win the Panthers first title for coach Jack Murphy, who was retiring after 35 years at the helm. “St. Pat’s played amazing against us,” said Peveril, who scored 14. “They definitely deserved to win this. Their rebounding was strong and they shot better than us in the last little bit. They were the better team.” Murphy noted that the three easy wins against St. Patrick’s during the year may have played a factor. “We (had) beat them handily. But they improved so much over the year and they were ready. I think that a little of the gas was taken out of our tank last night with that tremendous victory over Horton. But I’m not making excuses. We were beaten by a better team today.” Kelly Himmelman noted that the Irish “were hitting all their shots and they played an awesome game. I wouldn’t want to lose to any other team but them. But we worked our hearts for Murph.” Katie Joudrey added 13 for the Panthers. Brown hit three from beyond the arc in the second half, including a pair in the first two minutes. McNeil scored a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays in the final two minutes. Fitzpatrick added 9. St. Pat’s led 28-27 at the half but the Panthers rallied to within 52-49 with five minutes to play. “We’ve had to work hard on our defence all year and I think that really saved us today,” said St. Patrick’s coach Rachel Ross. “We had a great team effort from everyone.”
The bronze medalist Greenwich Horton Griffins: Jennifer Kendrick; Eugenia Renderos; Emily Ross; Sara Spindler;
The silver medalist Bridgewater Park View Education Centre Panthers: Alex Legge; Amy Peveril; Katie Joudrey; Kelly Himmelman; coach Jack Murphy
The gold medalist Halifax St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish: Alise Brown; Angel Cain; Marie Carvery; Angie Chann; Kristin Fitzpatrick; Laurel Fougere; Sarah Hayter; Mary Hernandez; Samantha Lightstone; Kristy Martin; Ali McKay-Lyons; Kate McNeil; Jill Mombourquette; Cecilia Newton; Kate Tremaine; coach Rachel Ross; assistant Gail Rice