In the opening seeding round, held in Windsor: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors clipped the Aurora Golden Eagles 68-53 after leading 14-7, 31-20 and 55-30 at the quarters. Anna Southall-Millward paced Westdale with 15. Amber Hillis added 9. B Hagarty led the Golden Eagles with 23. K Stock added 9. “It was not a bad game,” Warriors coach Nadia Flynn told the Hamilton Spectator. “Everyone played which was great.” …………………………………………………… The Orleans St. Matthew Tigers upset the 7th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite D’Youville Catholic Gators 49-43. The Tigers trailed 13-10 after one quarter and 29-20 at the half but led 39-36 after three quarters. Jessica Resch paced St. Matthew with 14. Trish Grey added 11. J. Bartley paced D’Youville with 17. D. Crawford added 9. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Ajax Notre Dame Cougars clocked the Guelph John F. Ross Royals 62-47. Notre Dame trailed 14-12 after one quarter and 24-20 at the half but led 38-36 after three quarters. Nicolle McKenzie paced Notre Dame with 22. R. Pascal added 19. Caitlin Crnkovic led the Royals with 20. Emma Porter added 12 and Jasmine Douglas 8. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Mississauga Father Michael Goetz Gators dumped the Sarnia Northern Collegiate Vikings 45-34 after leading 10-7, 23-15 and 39-30 at the quarters. K. McFarlane led the Gators with 18. K. Primo added 9. R. Bigras paced Sarnia Northern with 10. E. Dent added 10. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints clubbed the London St. Thomas Aquinas Flames 54-24 after leading 13-0, 30-12 and 46-16 at the quarters. Jocelyn LaRoque led St. Anne with 21. Jenae Grayer added 10. S. Hosford led St. Thomas Aquinas with 6. K. LaRoque added 4. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Hamilton St. Thomas More Knights whipped the Barrie Eastview Wildcats 48-19 after leading 11-4, 26-13 and 37-17 at the quarters. Liz Burns led the Knights with 8. Samantha Ruddick added 8. S. Lander paced the Wildcats with 6. C. Peters and S. Pigden each added 4. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Weston St. Basil the Great dumped the Scarborough David & Mary Thomson Collegiate Titans 54-36 after leading 14-7, 32-11 and 42-24 at the quarters. L Comeau paced St. Basil with 20. M Asare added 16. R Brown paced David & Mary Thomson with 12. K Grasell added 9. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Waterloo Collegiate Vikings dumped Scarborough Birchmount Park Panthers 59-43 after leading 16-9, 38-19 and 52-28 at the quarters. Kaila Montgomery led the Vikings with 21. Shelby Kurt added 17. Lisa Williams led the Panthers with 17. S. Powell added 9.
In the second, elimination round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors stomped the Guelph John F. Ross Royals 51-32. The Warriors trailed 8-7 after one quarter but led 23-18 at the half and 44-28 after three quarters. Anna Southall-Millward led Westdale with 11. Lauren Wheeler added 10. Morganne Linthwaite paced John F. Ross with 11. Jasmine Douglas added 8. “It was a great game for us defensively,” Warriors coach Nadia Flynn told the Hamilton Spectator. “But it was a slow start again which will have to be improved.” …………………………………………………… The Sarnia Northern Vikings defeated the Orleans St. Matthew Tigers 40-34. The Tigers led 13-9 after one quarter. The score was knotted at 17 at the half. The Vikings led 27-23 after three quarters. B. Rachel led Sarnia Northern with 14. A. Clark added 9. Sondre Bascoe paced St. Matthew with 10. Jessica Resch added 10. The Tigers also included Lauren Carey. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Ajax Notre Dame Cougars crushed the Aurora Golden Eagles 49-32 after leading 20-3, 32-11 and 39-25 at the quarters. Nicolle McKenzie led Ajax Notre Dame with 18. C Bougoulias added 13. K Stock paced the Golden Eagles with 10. L. Facca added 9. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Mississauga Father Michael Goetz Gators defeated the 7th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite D’Youville Catholic Gators 44-36 after leading 9-1, 24-12 and 30-22 at the quarters. R Fletcher led Michael Goetz with 16. K Primo added 9. V Essuon paced D’Youville with 7. J Bartley added 5 and R Nembhard 5. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints stomped the Scarborough David & Mary Thomson Titans 69-40 after leading 23-9, 37-21 and 57-29 at the quarters. Brittany Hedderson paced St. Anne with 22. Jocelyn Larocque added 12 and Jenae Grayer 10. Latisha Tappin paced the Knights with 13. R. Richmond added 8. “Our plan is to put pressure on teams right away,” Hedderson told the Windsor Star. “We want to break down teams fast, keep pushing and attacking and don’t stop until the end horn sounds.” The Saints opened with a 12-0 run and ripped off a 16-2 run to start the second half. “We really try to play as a team, but as soon we start to struggle, I feel it’s my job as captain to try and get things going,” Hedderson said. “I tried to hit a few shots and get everybody fired up again.” …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Hamilton St. Thomas More Knights crushed the Scarborough Birchmount Park Panthers 62-43 after leading 19-8, 31-14 and 43-24 at the quarters. Brittany MacFarlane paced the Knights with 19. S. Ruddick added 12. L Zeltman paced the Panthers with 20. J. Charles-Gray added 9. …………………………………………………… London St. Thomas Aquinas Flames edged Weston St. Basil the Great 45-42. St. Basil led 10-7 after one quarter. St. Thomas Aquinas led 28-16 at the half. The score was knotted at 32 after three quarter. Tori Jones paced St. Thomas Aquinas with 17. C. Didone added 8. M. Asace-Bediako led St. Basil with 21. Y. Duah-Amankwah added 6. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Waterloo Collegiate Vikings defeated the Barrie Eastview Wildcats 43-32. Eastview led 6-5 after one quarter. Waterloo led 21-13 at the half and 28-22 after three quarters. Shelby Kurt led Waterloo with 18. Kaila Montgomery added 8. S Lander led Eastview with 9. B Hess added 9.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors whipped London St. Thomas Aquinas Flames 66-41 after leading 18-12, 36-21 and 52-30 at the quarters. Amber Hillis led Westdale with 16. Anna Southall-Millard added 12. Tori Jones led Aquinas with 10. Julia Loreto added 9.
The 2nd-seeded Waterloo Collegiate Vikings defeated the Sarnia Northern Vikings 52-40 after leading 16-9, 35-22 and 41-26 at the quarters. Kaila Montgomery led Waterloo with 26. Shelby Kurt added 17. Laura Dally led Sarnia Northern with 18. Chelsea Bell added 6.
The 3rd-seeded Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints defeated the 6th-seeded Ajax Notre Dame Cougars 57-48 after leading 13-9, 31-22 and 42-38 at the quarters. Brittany Hedderson led St. Anne with 19. Georgia Billing added 15. Nicholle McKenzie led Notre Dame with 23. Lindsay Pachan added 17. Trailing 31-22 at half time, Notre Dame fought back in the third quarter against the third-seeded Saints to cut the deficit to 42-38 after three quarters. Lady Cougars coach Rose Booker noted her players kept it close against a solid St. Anne’s team that not only had height that matched Notre Dame’s in the post, but also had plenty of speed. “We played a great game. It was closer than the score indicated, because we had to foul in the last couple of minutes to stop the clock,” she said. The Cougars were also in foul trouble in the second half, which limited the minutes of point guard Catharine Bougoulias and centre Nicholle McKenzie. Bougoulias was used sparingly in the final half, while McKenzie fouled out with two minutes to go. “The other girls stepped it up and played really well,” said Booker.
In the last quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Hamilton St. Thomas More Knights dumped the 4th-seeded Mississauga Father Michael Goetz Gators 53-36. Goetz led 17-10 after one quarter. The Knights led 31-21 at the half and 38-28 after three quarters. Brittany MacFarlane led the Knights with 15. Danielle Scime added 12. Angela Lecce paced Gators with 13. Cyndi Affary added 7.
In the semis, the top-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors defeated the 5th-seeded Hamilton St. Thomas More Knights 61-45. The score was tied at 14 after one quarter. Westdale led 33-27 at the half and 48-38 after three quarters. Amber Hillis led the Warriors with 23. Julia Vidic added 12. Brittany MacFarlane paced the Knights with 17. Danielle Scime added 10.
In the other semi, 3rd-seeded Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints edged the 2nd-seeded Waterloo Collegiate Vikings 59-58 in double overtime on a free throw by Taylor Smith with 2.5 seconds to play. Waterloo led 20-15 after one quarter. St. Anne led 38-30 at the half and 48-46 after three quarters. U of Buffalo-bound Brittany Hedderson led St. Anne with 28. Jenae Grayer added 12. Kaila Montgomery paced the Vikings with 28. Shelby Kurt added 18. Taylor Smith missed the first of free throws before hitting the winner. “I had to make the second one,” Smith told the Windsor Star. “If I didn’t, we would have had another overtime and I was too tired for that.” Waterloo led 58-55 lead in overtime but Smith grabbed a huge defensive rebound to prevent further damage and Brittany Hedderson drained a three-pointer to tie it. St. Anne played for last shot, as they had at the end of regulation when Jocelyn LaRocque’s offering bounced in and out. Smith got the ball down low and missed but was fouled on the put back, setting the stage for her heroics at the free-throw line. “We have faith in every single person on this team, one through 11,” said Hedderson, who scored 29, including eight of the Saints’ 10 points in the third quarter. St. Anne headed into the fourth with a slim two-point lead and in desperate need of offence from another source. LaRocque, Jenae Grayer and Georgia Billing answered the call for a 54-46 lead. “It was awesome,” said LaRocque who had to take over and run the offence for long stretches in the second half while Billing was hampered by foul trouble. “We just kept coming and they couldn’t keep up with our pace.” Grayer finished with 12 points before fouling out and unwisely taking a technical foul that contributed to the Vikings’ three-point overtime lead. LaRocque had eight points while Smith finished with six. “The game was unbelievable,” Vikings co-coach Craig Nickel (along with Doug Ranton) told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record. “The game ranks for Doug and I as the greatest game we’ve ever been involved in. We gave it everything we could.”
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded Hamilton St. Thomas More Knights defeated the 2nd-seeded Waterloo Collegiate Vikings 46-39. “Coming out with bronze was such an amazing accomplishment for the team,” Knights coach Blaize Spironello told the Hamilton Spectator. “We came together to play our best basketball at the end of our season and an OFSAA medal was a great reward for the girls playing hard and working together.” Spironello’s father and assistant, Tom, retired after the year. “So the bronze medal is a small reward for him, from the players and basketball program he has given so much to,” she said. The Knights had also dedicated their season to Maddie Babineau, the More student who lost a battle with cancer earlier in the year, but not before providing money for a school in Africa. Vikings co-coach Craig Nickel told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “our girls really went to this championship with the goal of winning a gold medal. … Our heart was there but we just didn’t have that spark. We’re aiming to be back in the medal round next year. Hopefully they can take it one step further.” The Vikings (co-coached by Doug Ranson and Craig Nickel) included Rebecca Dietrich, Kaila Montgomery, Shelby Kurt, Megan Fowler, Christine Brophy.
In the final, the Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints edged the top-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors 60-57 after rallying from an 11-point deficit in the final quarter. Brittany Hedderson led the Saints with 23 points. Jenae Grayer added 19 points. Reserve Samantha LaRocque nabbed 9 boards. The Warriors led 16-12, 32-26 and 50-41 at the quarters. “It was an unbelievable thrill,” Saints coach Andy Kiss told the Windsor Star. Hedderson said “I thought experiencing an OFSAA final helped us. St. Marys (last year’s champs) had that experience. We did this year and that’s why we were able to keep it together. … The pressure finally started to wear them down. You feel the adrenaline run through your veins. You never get tired and suddenly you realize you can pull this off. This is a great way to finish it off.” Grayer said LaRocque provided a huge lift off the bench. “She grabbed a couple of big boards and gave us so much confidence. That got the team going.” Kiss said “we play a quick-tempo game and when we force turnovers, we can score.” Saints assistant Roger Mousseau said “we just kept hustling. We ran them down, stole the ball a few times, grabbed a few key rebounds and just never quit.” Warriors coach Nadia Flynn said “the girls played a tough game but, in the end, the homecourt advantage for St. Anne’s proved to be pretty daunting. Our girls were tough and classy and fought to the end. Never gave up – showed the true spirit of a warrior and even though our destination wasn’t the success they hoped for they will remember the journey as a hell of a ride.” Warriors coach Nadia Flynn told the Hamilton Spectator that “the girls played a tough game but in the end the home court advantage for St. Anne’s proved to be pretty daunting. Our girls were tough and classy and fought to the end. Never gave up … showed the true spirit of a warrior and even though our destination wasn’t the success they hoped for, they will remember the journey as a hell of a ride.” Anna Southall-Millward led the Warriors with 18. Lauren Wheeler added 13.
The bronze medalist Hamilton St. Thomas More Knights: Liz Burns; Samantha Roddick; Brittany MacFarlane; Danielle Scime; Shannon Laird; Erin Graszat; Stephanie MacIsaac; Carly Moore; Andrea Palmieri; Emily Leger; coach Blaize Spironello; assistant Tom Spironello; assistant J. Curtis
The silver medalist Hamilton Westdale Warriors: Anna Southall-Millward; Amber Hillis; Lauren Wheeler; Julia Vidic; Natalie Djurdjevic; Aislind Syrotiuk; Aislinn Rooney; Allison Augustine; Becca Wood; coach Nadia Flynn; assistant Glenn Hillis; assistant Suzanne Miller
The gold medalist Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints: Jocelyn LaRoque; Jenae Grayer; Brittany Hedderson; Georgia Billing; Dayna Mackenzie; Taylor Smith; MacKenzie St. Pierre; Melanie Bardoel; Lauren Bering; Samantha LaRocque; Shannon Wales; coach Andy Kiss; assistant Roger Mousseau; assistant Bob Loebach; assistant Kim Dillon