In the opening round, held in Hamilton: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles dusted the 11th-seeded Toronto Northern Red Knights 52-24 after leading 13-5, 28-11 and 43-19 at the quarters. Arielle Mendoza paced the Green Eagles with 11. Kelly VanLeeuwen added 9 and Rachel Cleary 9. Sophie Beutel led the Red Knights with 14. McKenzie Sigurdson added 6. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Scarborough Pope John Paul II Panthers clipped the Barrie St. Joan of Arc Knights 58-50 after leading 23-10, 31-17 and 40-29 at the quarters. Shanice McKoy paced the Panthers with 27. Courtney Sinclair added 19. Stephanie Truelove led the Knights with 19. Kelcey Putnam added 9. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded London John Paul II Jaguars stunned the 3rd-seeded Waterloo Collegiate Vikings 54-51. The Vikings led 16-11 after one quarter and 30-29 at the half. The score was knotted at 42 after three quarters. Danielle Carriere paced the Jaguars with 15. Katelyn Carriere added 14. Lindsay Taylor led the Vikings with 13. Shelby Kurt added 8. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite D’Youville Catholic Gators crushed the 14th-seeded Ottawa St. Matthew Tigers 46-30 after leading 13-9, 23-9 and 38-14 at the quarters. Naana Ankoma Mensa paced the Gators with 13. Janice Bartley added 9 and Symone Murray 9. Sarah Langois led the Tigers with 17. Virginia Peters added 8. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Burlington Notre Dame Fighting Irish clipped the 12th-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors 48-39 after leading 18-7, 26-23 and 40-29 at the quarters. Missy Mullins paced the Fighting Irish with 16, while 6-3 Jamie Ruttle added 11. Emma Stallwood led the Warriors with 12. Careena Browne added 11. Grade 9 guards Lexie Spadafora and Nicole Morrison each added 7. “I’m expecting big things from them,” said Westdale coach Nadia Flynn. “Those two kids have a lot of pressure on them because they are primary ball carriers. I’ve seen them play better than they did tonight and run the show better. But that’s why we go to these things, right? They’ll have that experience and confidence next year.” Notre Dame effectively worked the ball inside for easy layups to lanky Melissa Mullins and Jamie Ruttle to take an 18-7 lead. “We ran into foul trouble, so we had to sit Jamie for the entire second quarter,” said Notre Dame coach Mike Johnston. “It forced us into playing a different way than we’re used to. It allowed them to stay with us.” Westdale narrowed the gap to 40-34 on Spadafora’s three-point shot from the corner with six minutes left. But Angela Cutaia of the Irish supplied the dagger when she immediately replied with a three of her own. Flynn said “we didn’t hit free throws. We went 0 for 10. There’s the game right there. And some were the front end of one-and-ones that could have turned into two points. So, mentally, our girls lacked focus in that regard.” The Irish took a 26-23 lead into the second half before padding the advantage to 11 points going into the final quarter. “I think we were a bit nervous having not been here (to OFSSA) before,” Johnston said. “It’s good to have this one under our belt. I fully expect us to be better tomorrow.” Spadafora said she wasn’t particularly nervous stepping into the OFSAA pressure cooker. “I thought it was going to be a lot harder than it was. I wasn’t intimidated or anything. It was a struggle, though, because we’re not that tall a team. We had to kind of double down on them to make sure we stopped the ball right away.” Flynn said she knew in advance the inside game of Notre Dame was its strength and that defensively the Warriors would be in tough. “We held our own. If a few baskets had gone our way, it might have been a different outcome. Our story since the beginning of the year has been issues on offence and not being able to finish.” …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders whipped the 15th-seeded Markham District Marauders 64-29 after leading 21-7, 39-11 and 58-24 at the quarters. Lucy Reid paced the Crusaders with 11. Alexandra Yantzi added 10, Ashley Randall 9, Jenna Bugiardini 9 and Karly Roser 9. Llyandra Kerr led the Marauders with 10. Kathleen Hughes added 6. “We got some good shots and all the kids chipped in to score,” said Crusaders coach Rich Wesolowski. “We used a lot of players and that’s always good in a long tournament. It should help us down the line.” Wesolowski said the Crusaders showed some “iffy defence” at the outset, but improved when they started putting more pressure on the ball. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Tecumseh St. Anne Saints stomped the 10th-seeded Scarborough David & Mary Thomson Titans 61-35 after leading 12-9, 27-14 and 42-22 at the quarters. Anna Mullins led St. Anne with 24. Jocelyn LaRocque added 14. Melesia Llewellyn paced the Knights with 16. Jasmine Harris added 9. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Ajax Notre Dame Cougars edged the 13th-seeded Brampton Cardinal Leger Lancers 36-30 after leading 7-6, 17-15 and 23-21 at the quarters. Linda Panchan paced the Cougars with 11. Shanica Baker added 9. Genavieve Melatti led the Lancers with 11. Dytria Ruddy added 7.
In the elimination second round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles thrashed the 16th-seeded Barrie St. Joan of Arc Knights 65-20 after leading 13-5, 30-13 and 53-16 at the quarters. Kayla Santilli paced the Green Eagles with 18. Andrea Polischuk added 9. Amanda Brennan led the Knights with 4. Sydney Kovacs and Agnes Bartosik each added 3. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite D’Youville Catholic Gators stunned the 3rd-seeded Waterloo Collegiate Vikings 41-38 in overtime. The Gators led 12-0, 21-10 and 25-20 at the quarters. The score was knotted at 39 after regulation. Symone Murray paced the Gators with 21. Naana Mensa added 9. Alyssa Shortt led the Vikings with 16. Megan Fowler added 10. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Scarborough Pope John Paul II Panthers dumped the 11th-seeded Toronto Northern Red Knights 56-41. Northern led 14-9 after one quarter. The Panthers led 30-21 at the half and 41-35 after three quarters. Shanice McKoy paced the Panthers with 22. Courtney Sinclair added 17. McKenzie Sigurdson led the Red Knights with 16. Sophie Beutel added 13. The Red Knights also included Kate Easton. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded London John Paul II Jaguars dumped the 14th-seeded Ottawa St. Matthew Tigers 45-33 after leading 12-2, 20-7 and 39-11 at the quarters. Katelyn Carriere led the Jaguars with 12. Danielle Carriere added 11. Virginia Peters paced the Tigers with 15. Sarah Langois added 7. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders clubbed the 12th-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors 63-37 after leading 26-9, 34-17 and 51-25 at the quarters. Alexandra Yantzi paced the Crusaders with 15. Jenna Bugiardini added 11. Alexis Spadafora led the Warriors with 12. Careena Browne added 8. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Tecumseh St. Anne Saints whipped the 13th-seeded Brampton Cardinal Leger Lancers 54-36 after leading 16-7, 35-12 and 44-23 at the quarters. Anna Mullins led the Saints with 18. Andrea Kiss added 11. Genavieve Melatti led the Lancers with 12. Alicia Melatti added 9. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Burlington Notre Dame Fighting Irish crushed the 15th-seeded Markham District Marauders 64-42 after leading 21-11, 33-15 and 47-35 at the quarters. Jamie Ruttle led the Fighting Irish with 24. Melissa Mullins added 12. Courtney Osborne paced the Marauders with 14. Llyandra Kerr added 11. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Scarborough David & Mary Thomson Titans upset the 7th-seeded Ajax Notre Dame Cougars 44-33 after leading 11-9, 25-16 and 38-23 at the quarters. Jasmine Harris paced the Knights with 13. Kayle Grossett added 12. Kadeji Hughes led the Cougars with 10. Lindsay Panchan added 9.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles defeated the 8th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite D’Youville Catholic Gators 40-33 after leading 17-13, 26-19 and 32-29 at the quarters. Kayla Santilli paced the Green Eagles with 11. Andrea Polischuk added 8 and Kelly Van Leeuwen 8. Janice Bartley led the Gators with 8. Naana Ankoma Mensa and Precious Omoryi each added 6. “We found a way to do it defensively in that game,” coach Steve Van Leeuwen said. “When you don’t shoot well, you don’t create a lot of space. Our defence this season has made a big difference.” Two back-to-back defensive plays by Kelly Van Leeuwen a little earlier, with about seven minutes left in the game and D’Youville up by a basket, seemed to swing the momentum in Brantford’s favour. Van Leeuwen told the Hamilton Spectator that “good teams find a way to win even when things aren’t going their way. I don’t think we could have shot the ball more poorly than we did tonight. When we needed it, we took four charges in the second half, two each by Kayla (Santilli) and Erika (Polidari). Certainly, our defence really helped us.”
The 5th-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders spanked the 4th-seeded Tecumseh St. Anne Saints 61-34 after leading 9-5, 29-17 and 44-23 at the quarters. Karly Roser, Alexandra Yantzi and April Coyne each scored 12 to lead the Crusaders. Roser told the Hamilton Spectator that “we’ve been working on our defence and it’s showing. We used our posts to our advantage in this game like we should have bene doing all year.” Natalie Taylor paced the Saints with 9. Jocelyn LaRocque added 8. The Saints (coached by Andy Kiss) also included Meaghan Milanis, Emily Omahen, Tori LaRocque, Anna Mullins, Andrea Kiss.
The 9th-seeded London John Paul II Jaguars defeated the 6th-seeded Scarborough Pope John Paul II Panthers 51-44 after leading 12-8, 22-20 and 37-32 at the quarters. Danielle Carriere led the Jaguars with 22. Katelyn Carriere added 13. Shanice McKoy paced the Panthers with 22. “They were very physical and very athletic,” Jaguars head coach Ron Angione said. “But we never quit. We played through the contact and made a lot of free throws down the stretch. This was a team that could match our speed, so we had to keep our composure, especially through the physical play, and the girls’ decision-making was just excellent.”
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Burlington Notre Dame Fighting Irish edged the 10th-seeded Scarborough David & Mary Thomson Titans 45-40. The Fighting Irish led 14-10 after one quarter. The Knights led 25-23 at the half. Notre Dame led 35-30 after three quarters. Jamie Ruttle paced the Fighting Irish with 20. Melissa Mullins added 9. Jasmine Harris led the Knights with 17. Melesia Llewellyn added 13. The Titans also included Kayla Grossett.
In the semis, the top-seeded Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles clipped the 5th-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders 51-43 after leading 16-13 and 32-27 at the half. The Crusaders led 40-37 after three quarters. Kayla Santilli paced the Green Eagles with 21. Katie Polischuk added 9 and Erika Polidori 9. Alexandra Yantzi led the Crusaders with 12. Karly Roser added 7 and Jenna Bugiardini 7. Crusaders coach Rich Wesolowski told the Hamilton Spectator that “we had them where we wanted. The only thing we did not do was take care of the ball when they put pressure on us.”
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Burlington Notre Dame Fighting Irish clubbed the 9th-seeeded London John Paul II Jaguars 62-47. The Jaguars led 18-15 after one quarter and 35-31 at the half. The Fighting Irish led 50-46 after three quarters. Melissa Mullins led the Fighting Irish with 23. Jamie Ruttle added 22. Danielle Carriere paced the Jaguars with 22. Katelyn Carriers added 7 and Lynn Nguyen 7.
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders defeated the 9th-seeded London John-Paul II Jaguars 52-45. The Jaguars led 17-10 after one quarter and 29-25 at the half. The Crusaders led 39-33 after three quarters. Karly Roser paced the Crusaders with 22. Alexandra Yantzi added 11 and April Coyne 10. Danielle Carriere led coach Ron Angione’s Jaguars with 18. Katelyn Carriere added 12.
In the final, the top-seeded Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles edged the 2nd-seeded Burlington Notre Dame Fighting Irish 41-37. The Fighting Irish led 10-9 after one quarter. The Green Eagles led 23-16 at the half and 37-24 after three quarters. Kelly Van Leeuwen and Andrea Polischuk each scored 10 to lead the Green Eagles. Jamie Ruttle paced the Fighting Irish with 17. Siobahn Manning added 7. “For us everything begins with our defence,” said St. John’s coach Steve Van Leeuwen. “We take pride in our defence and everything else comes from there.” The Irish gave St. John’s a scare early jumping out to a quick 10-2 lead but the top-ranked Eagles went on a 17-0 run and never looked back. “We started turning the ball over and lost our poise a little bit and they’re just too good to give it to,” said Notre Dame coach Mike Johnston. The Green Eagles wrapped their season with a (45-0) record.
The bronze medalist Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders: Lucy Reid; Alexandra Yantzi; Jenna Bugiardini; Karly Roser; April Coyne; Ashley Randall; Emily Hanaka; Hillary Johnson; Doriana Homerski; Lauren O’Brady; Kata Boric; Colleen Daly; coach Rich Wesolowski; assistant Nate McKibbon; assistant Lora teBoekhorst
The silver medalist Burlington Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Melissa Mullins; Jamie Ruttle; Siobahn Manning; Courtney Boyes; Jessica Boelhouwer; Alyssa Cutaia; Angela Cutaia; Lianne DiPaulo; Kaitlyn Lindsay; Marie Mullins; Corinne Norris; Carolyn Rocca; coach Mike Johnston
The gold medalist Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles: Kelly Van Leeuwen; Rachel Cleary; Kayla Santilli; Andrea Polischuk; Arielle Mendoza; Erika Polidori; Lisa Bijman; Sydney Whelan; Meghan Telfer; Katie Polischuk; Caroline Rebry; Devon Risso; Deidre McDermid; Emma Dudley; coach Steve Van Leeuwen; assistant Gina Tarantello; assistant Matt Lynch