In the opening round, held in Belle River: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints pounded the Stittsville Sacred Heart Huskies 67-32 as Lee Anna Osei scored 24 and Jenea Barrett 21. Krysten Patrick paced the Huskies with 13. Cindy Kalenga added 10. Eastern Commerce led 41-11 at the half and 54-21 after three quarters. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded London John Paul II Jaguars whipped the Mississauga Our Lady of Mount Carmel Crusaders 52-36 as Larissa McBean scored 16. Cairah Gabriel-Robinson led Mount Carmel with 9. Morgan Miller added 9. John Paul II led 21-4, 35-17 and 43-27 at the quarters. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Hamilton St. Thomas More Catholic Knights dumped the Barrie St. Joan of Arc Knights 57-21 as Brittany MacFarlane scored 18. Stephanie Truelove led the Knights with 12. St. Thomas More led 13-4, 35-10 and 42-18 at the quarters. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Ajax Notre Dame Cougars clipped the Islington Etobicoke Collegiate Rams 94-37 as Lindsay Panchan scored 16, Nicholle McKenzie 8 and Monique Johnston 6. Jill Stratton paced the Rams with 10. Casea Fuller added 9. Notre Dame led 13-8, 23-17 and 34-28 at the quarters. The Lady Cougars used their height advantage in the front court to their advantage, as well as slowing down Etobicoke’s quick guards, especially Jill Stratton, to achieve the victory, said coach Rose Booker. “I think it was our height. We had more of an inside game then they did. We also did a good job of containing (Stratton); we were able to keep her in check.” …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Waterloo Collegiate Vikings defeated the Aurora Golden Eagles 53-40 as Shelby Kurt scored 16. Stephanie Moloughney led the Eagles with 12. Waterloo led 8-6, 27-12 and 42-20 at the quarters. The Vikings broke open a two-point game with a 19-6 second-quarter run. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Sarnia Northern Vikings edged the Scarborough Pope John Paul II Panthers 50-44 as Laura Dally scored 15 and Rachel Green 13. Courtney Sinclair paced Pope John Paul II with 12. John Paul II led 12-7 after one quarter. Northern led 21-19 at the half and 34-32 after three quarters. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors crushed Kitchener Grand River Renegades 46-27 as Anna Southall Millword scored 15. Nadia Qahwash led the Renegades with 15. The Warriors led 14-13, 22-17 and 38-25 at the quarters. …………………………………………………… The Chatham Ursuline Lancers upset the 7th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite D’Youville Panthers 39-31 as Deanna Kerkhof scored 25. Naana Ankoma Mensa paced the Panthers with 10. Ursuline led 19-7, 26-14 and 30-20 at the quarters. The Lancers jumped out to an early lead over D’Youville and cruised to the win.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints whipped the Mississauga Our Lady of Mount Carmel Crusaders 63-36 as Jenea Barrett scored 21. C’airah Gabriel-Robinson led the Crusaders with 13. The Saints led 20-12, 36-17 and 50-26 at the quarters. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Ajax Notre Dame Cougars bounced the Barrie St. Joan of Arc Knights 70-28 as Nicholle McKenzie scored 27 and Catherine Bougoulias 22. Katelyn Putnam paced the Knights with 4. The Cougars led 22-2, 39-13 and 50-17 at the quarters. Coach Rose Booker said the key to Notre Dame’s victory was relentless full-court pressure, which rattled the Knights’ backcourt. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Sarnia Northern Vikings stomped the Aurora Golden Eagles 58-36 as Devin Lundy scored 15, Laura Dally 12 and Rachel Green 11. Brett Hagarty paced the Eagles with 11. The Vikings led 20-13, 40-20 and 50-31 at the quarters. The Vikings fell behind early against the Eagles, trailing 5-0 after just 90 seconds of play, and looked to be a little nervous in front home court crowd of about 200. But with 3:09 left to play in the opening quarter, Northern took their first lead of the game, at 9-8, and never looked back. “After the first quarter that team didn’t get any more easy stuff, and we got our running game going. When we run, we’re pretty good,” said Northern coach John Thrasher. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors defeated the 7th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite D’Youville Panthers 54-43 as Anna Southall-Millard scored 22 and Lauren Wheeler 13. Janice Bartley paced the Panthers with 22. Symone Murray added 11. Westdale led 17-13 after one quarter, trailed 25-22 at the half and led 40-34 after three quarters. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded London John Paul II Jaguars nipped the Stittsville Sacred Heart Huskies 41-38 as Danielle Carrier scored 11. Jennifer Stoqua paced the Huskies with 17. The score was knotted at 9-9 after one quarter. Sacred Heart led 27-16 at the half and 31-30 after three quarters. Jitters were a problem, coach Frank Harris told the Ottawa Citizen. “Things just got away from us.” The Huskies also included Morgan Roesler. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Hamilton St. Thomas More Catholic Knights eliminated the Islington Etobicoke Collegiate Rams 60-34 as Brittany MacFarlane scored 12, Erin Grasrat 11 and Shannon Laird 11. Emily Joslin paced the Rams with 11. The Knights led 17-0, 28-14 and 47-24 at the quarters. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Waterloo Collegiate Vikings crushed the Scarborough Pope John Paul II Panthers 59-43 as Rebecca Dietrich and Shelby Kurt each scored 15. Candice Magdaluvo led the Panthers with 14. Samantha Smith added 12. Waterloo led 16-7 after one quarter, trailed 32-30 at the half and led 46-38 after three quarters. …………………………………………………… The Chatham Ursuline Lancers whipped the Kitchener Grand River Renegades 45-28 as Deanna Kerkhof scored 17 and Brittany Scott 12. Maddy Broderick paced the Renegades with 9. The score was knotted at 12 after one quarter. The Lancers led 27-23 at the half and 39-24 after three quarters. The Lancers broke open the game with a 12-1 run in the third quarter. “We weren’t pressing in the first half,” coach Ed Freeburn said. “Then in the third quarter we started with a full-court press and created six turnovers.” He added that “the girls coming off the bench have given us some quality minutes as well,” particularly Ashley Hosfeld, Carlie Lemieux and Chloe Nordstrom.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints dispatched the 8th-seeded Ajax Notre Dame Cougars 62-46 as Jenea Barrett scored 22 and Jody Brown 13. Nicholle McKenzie led the Cougars with 16. Catherine Bougoulias added 12 and Lindsay Panchan 8. The Saints led 18-16, 31-28 and 49-31 at the quarters. With talented centre Nicholle McKenzie on the bench for much of the third quarter after picking up her fourth foul, the Saints took full advantage of McKenzie’s absence from the floor to build a comfortable lead. McKenzie’s foul trouble hurt, said Cougars coach Rose Booker. “Nicholle McKenzie’s last game in an ND uniform was one of her strongest and who knows what could have happened had she not been in foul trouble.” Booker added that the Cougars went stone-cold in the third, which left the door wide open for the high-flying Saints. “We were not sinking our shots in the third and this killed us. We battled hard in the fourth, we never gave up and I am proud of the team for this.
The 4th-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors clipped the 5th-seeded Sarnia Northern Vikings 44-30 as Laura Wheeler scored 15 and Anna Southall-Millward 10. Liz Dent paced the Vikings with 9. Rachel Green added 8. The Warriors led 21-3, 32-17 and 37-26 at the quarters.
The 3rd-seeded Hamilton St. Thomas More Catholic Knights nipped the 6th-seeded London John Paul II Jaguars 53-49 in overtime as Brittany MacFarlane scored 15. Oditte Odisho paced the Jaguars with 10. The Knights led 11-8, 25-21 and 33-30 at the quarters. The score was knotted at 46-46 after regulation play. Odisho played on a sore ankle and was fighting a virus like a few of her teammates. “Credit to St. Thomas More, they played phenomenal, phenomenal defence on us,” Jaguars head coach Lori Pszeniczny said. “It was crazy, in your face. We expected it, but maybe not as intense as it was. It’s a style they learn in Hamilton from an early age and one we don’t teach in London. But my girls played their guts out. We made a couple of mistakes they turned into layups and we couldn’t convert a couple of our chances.”
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Waterloo Collegiate Vikings dumped the Chatham Ursuline Lancers 60-45 as Shelby Kurt scored 24, Rebecca Dietrich 13 and Nicole Roeder 10. Leanne Finley led the Lancers with 11. Deanna Kerkhof added 10. The Lancers also started Marisa Sloan, Stephanie Finley and Brittany Scott. They were coached by Ed Freeburn. The score was knotted at 10-10 after one quarter. The Vikings led 28-20 at the half and 47-34 after three quarters.
In the semis, the top-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints whipped the 4th-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors 57-37 as Jenea Barrett scored 24, Ange Mbikay 13 and Lesha Dunn 13. Anna Southall-Millward paced the Warriors with 20. The Saints led 12-10, 29-23 and 46-36 at the quarters.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Hamilton St. Thomas More Catholic Knights edged the 2nd-seeded Waterloo Collegiate Vikings 55-51 as Brittany MacFarlane scored 16 and Liz Burns 11. Shelby Kurt paced the Vikings with 33. The Knights led 12-6 after one quarter, trailed 27-26 at the half and led 38-36 after three quarters.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Waterloo Collegiate Vikings stomped the 4th-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors 52-39 as Megan Fowler scored 19, Nicole Roeder 15 and Shelby Kurt 12. The Vikings led 18-9, 26-18 and 36-31 at the quarters. Despite a disappointing loss in the semis, veteran guards Nicole Roeder and Rebecca Dietrich were determined to close out their careers and win their school’s first medal. “This is my last year wearing a Vikings jersey and I just wanted to make an imprint for the girls next year that this is how we do it,” said Roeder. It was Roeder’s trio of three-pointers in the first quarter that put WCI up 18-9. The cushion was all the girls needed as they hung on for the win. Dietrich did her job on defence, holding Lauren Wheeler, one of Westdale’s biggest weapons, to one point in the first half. She switched over to guard high scoring Julia Vidic after the break and the Hamilton guard, who had eight first half points, managed just a bucked the rest of the way with Dietrich looming. “It still hasn’t hit me yet, it being my last game,” said Dietrich. “I wanted to come out and go out and play my best and leave my mark and help my teammates because they are going to carry this on. Vikings basketball is probably the reason I came back for a fifth year. It is such a big part of my life. It’s a lot of pride for me, my school and my town. It gave me something to look forward to every day. I’ve built a lot of friendships and it has meant so much to me.” Julia Vidic paced the Warriors with 10. Anna Southall-Millward added 9 and Keira McKee 9. The Warriors (coach Nadia Flynn) also included Lauren Wheeler, Adrianna Casuccio.
In the final, the top-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints defeated the 3rd-seeded Hamilton St. Thomas More Catholic Knights 44-35 as Lee Anna Osei scored 15 and Jenea Barrett 15. Shannon Laird led the Knights with 14. Liz Burns added 6. The score was knotted at 4-4 after one quarter. The Saints led 15-8 at the half and 26-19 after three quarters. The Saints captured their second provincial crown in two years. A year earlier, they had taken the Triple-A title. “It was a lot more competition, a lot harder but we just played to the level of the competition,” said star point guard Lee Anna Osei, adding the Saints were determined to avenge a mid-season loss to the Knights. “That game (the tournament loss) was very controversial. One of our key players Jenea (Barrett) went down. We didn’t agree with all the calls. We left that game knowing we could beat them if we were to meet again so when we met them at OFSAA it was even better.” The championship game scores were the lowest offensive output by either team during the tournament. Both teams appeared visibly nervous in the opening quarter. Neither side was able to get any momentum going their way, missing shots repeatedly and frequently turning the ball over. It wasn’t until late in the second quarter that Eastern Commerce finally took the lead for good at 9-8 on Jean Barrett’s long jumper with 2:15 to go in the half. The Saints went on to score six more unanswered points to end the half. The third period was all even with each team netting 11 points. In the fourth, the Saints were able to hold off a late surge by the Knights. Coach Kareem Griffin said the Saints “played our best five games of the season” at the provincials. “From our championship team last year, we had seven girls returning. They just knew the deal. They knew what we’re coming in for, we’re trying to repeat. There was more of a focus this year than any other that I’ve coached these girls,” said Griffin, who has coached at the school for six years, including the last four with the current team. “It was definitely a defensive battle. Unfortunately for us the ball wouldn’t fall on the defensive end. We had good looks but it just wouldn’t go in the basket for us,” said Knights coach Blaize Spironello. “They play great defence and are a very athletic team. They had an outstanding tournament. We still had the looks, they weren’t falling. I’m very proud of our girls. We really played our best near the end of the season when it really mattered. We just came up one game short. Still, we went in ranked third and came away with the silver. ….”
The bronze medalist Waterloo Collegiate Vikings: Shelby Kurt; Rebecca Dietrich; Nicole Roeder; Megan Fowler; Alyssa Shortt; Bria Dietrich; Carly Tithecott; coach Doug Ranton; assistant Craig Nickel
The silver medalist Hamilton St. Thomas More Catholic Knights: Brittany MacFarlane; Erin Grasrat; Shannon Laird; Liz Burns; Danielle Sciem; Andrea Palmeri; Dana Van Balkom; coach Blaize Spironello
The gold medalist Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints: Lee Anna Osei; Jenea Barrett; Jody Brown; Ange Mbikay; Lesha Dunn; Brittney Brown; Shaneeka Matthew; Shantee Matthew; Lesha Dunn; Peta-Gaye Duff; Samantha Hill; Cheyanne Tuzlaci; coach Kareem Griffin; assistant Heather-Jo MacIntosh; assistant John Amoah; assistant Donna Grant; assistant Ivan Matthew