In the opening seeding round, held in Port Hope: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Rockcliffe Ashbury Colts crushed the Bracebridge St. Dominic Catholic Dragons 56-15 after leading 12-3, 35-8 and 50-11 at the quarters. Ashbury won the opening tip off and never looked back. St. Dominic tried to slow the play down but the ferocious defence of the Colts allowed them few scoring opportunities. Ashbury had their own scoring woes in the first quarter which led to some sloppy play at both ends. Charlotte Ashe opened the 2nd quarter with a 3 pointer and the Colts scored 13 unanswered points to open a big lead. Sam Hornby gave the Dragons some hope with a nice hoop and harm. Ashbury stepped up the pressure on defence too limiting the Dragons to 5 points in the 2nd quarter. Ashbury used its impressive fast break off steals and rebounds to build up their lead. It resulted in many lay-ups in the 3rd quarter. With subs in during the 4th quarter, there was not a lot of scoring and the Colts held their big lead. Anneka Bakker paced the Colts with 18 points Illesha St. Helene-Uko added 14 and Charlotte Ashe 10. A. Pretzer and M. Reekie each scored 4 to lead the Dragons. The Colts forced a bushel of Dragon turnovers, coach Andy Sparks told the Ottawa Citizen. “We got up early and had a real nice run and we got even, balanced scoring. It was pretty easy from the start. It was a good game for the girls.” …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Cornwall Holy Trinity Falcons dumped the Red Rock Nip-Rock District Lakers 40-21 after leading 6-0, 10-8 and 31-15 at the quarters. A number of missed shots had it scoreless through the first 3 minutes. Sarah Brand scored the game’s first hoop for Holy Trinity at the 5-minute mark. That was the only hoop in a defensive struggle for the next 2 1-2 minutes until Natalie LeVac scored on a lay-up. Stacey Whent finally got Nip-Rock on the board nine minutes into the game with a power move to cut the Falcons lead to 4 points. Nip-Rock tried half court pressure with some success to cut the lead at the half to two points. Holy Trinity picked up the pace in the 3rd quarter pushing the ball up the floor well for some easier baskets. Sarah Brand had 7 points to lead the Falcons attack and they opened up a 16-point lead at the end of the 3rd quarter. The Falcons continued to play well in the fourth quarter with some excellent interior passing and maintained a comfortable lead although playing deep into the bench. Natalie Levac led the Falcons with 12. Sarah Brand added 11. Stacey Whent paced the Lakers with 7. Michelle Verville and Lauren Haskell each added 5. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Tecumseh E.S. L’Essor Aigles crushed Willowdale People’s Christian Academy Eagles 68-33 after leading 25-2, 31-18 and 50-24 at the quarters. People’s Christian was outgunned badly in their first trip to OFSAA. Les Aigles used a 1-2-1-1 half court press to great effect. In the 2nd frame, L’Essor pulled back the press and sat in a zone. The Eagles hit four 3-pointers to make a game of it. In the second half, L’Essor went back to man defence. They were bigger and more physical, dominated the boards and scored 37 in the second half. Emilie Glanz led Les Aigles with 15. Hailey Milkins and Sam McGowan each added 12. Samantha Lee paced People’s Christian with 11, including a trio from beyond the arc. Christine Wang added 9. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Kapuskasing District Kolts edged the St. Catharines Ridley College Tigers 34-29 after leading 10-8, 21-10 and 25-23 at the quarters. Ridley shot poorly in the first half and had some trouble with Kapuskasing’s half court pressure. The Kolts used tough half-court defence to keep the Tigers from scoring and they were able to penetrate Ridley’s 2-3 zone effectively to open up a bigger lead at the half. In the 3rd quarter, Ridley’s pressure created a number of turnovers and the Tigers closed the gap by the end of the quarter. It was a tight game the rest of the way and, with less than a minute to go, it was a two-point game in favour of Kapuskasing. Erica Godin hit a big 3 pointer with seconds to go to seal the victory for the Kolts. Godin paced the Kolts with 13. Mabel Plourde-Duran added 9. Lauren Chisolm led the Tigers with 16. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Woodstock Collegiate Red Devils clipped the Acton District Bearcats 56-27 after leading 20-5, 29-11 and 47-17 at the quarters. Woodstock started with some good outside shooting and pressure defence. They also had a couple of big inside players that Acton had a hard time matching up against. Acton moved the ball well on offence but, had a hard time finding the basket. The second quarter moved a little slower with little scoring. Alex Beatty and Sheawna Lorch led the Red Devils in scoring in the first half with 10 and 6 points each. Acton did a good job of keep possession of the ball on offence but, again had problems finishing. Erica Mills had a good second quarter for the Bearcats. Deanna Kirwin from WCI had a strong start to the second half with a few of quick buckets from down low. Woodstock took control with a strong zone defence and consistent play on the offensive end, while taking advantage of Erica Mills’ foul trouble. Sarah Buchannan-Lehman came off the bench for the Red Devils and added 6 points to the board as the Red Devils extended their lead to 30. Acton had a good start to the fourth quarter. Erica Mills had a few baskets, playing strong regardless of the foul situation. Fouls for both teams seemed to be an issue but Woodstock coasted to the win. Alex Beatty led Woodstock with 18, while Erica Mills led the Bearcats with 17. …………………………………………………… The Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames defeated the 5th-seed Port Hope Trinity Bears 54-51. The Flames trailed 20-9 after a quarter and 36-27 at the half but led 43-41 after three quarters. Host Trinity scored off the opening tip but Steph Kelley hit a shot and Hailey Swift hit a three to settle down Rockway. The teams traded hoops for most of the rest of the quarter. The Bears got some steals with their full court pressure and took an 11-point lead. The Bears got into some foul trouble early in the 2nd quarter. Logan Klassen rallied the Flames to within three but picked up her third foul and spent the last 2.5 minutes on the bench. The Bears took advantage and built a 9-point lead at the half. Kristen Ouellet-Gaston and Stef Thompson picked up their fourth fouls early in the third to put the Bears in a hole. Rockway took advantage to take the lead. Klassen picked up her fourth foul and both teams tried to slow the play to keep their key players alive. At the start of the fourth, the Flames made some foul shots to extend their lead to 7 points but Trinity took some chances on defence and both Thompson and Ouellet-Gaston fouled out. They cut the lead to 3 points but could not mount the needed comeback. Klassen paced Rockway with 14. Shyla Paiz added 12. Hailey Swift led Trinity with 13. Vicky Campbell added 11. …………………………………………………… The North York Nelson A. Boylen Sky Hawks upset the 4th-seeded Williamstown Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District Crusaders 54-50 after leading 19-11, 28-25 and 35-34 at the quarters. Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District scored some easy hoops in transition in the opening stanza but Brittany Miller scored 15 pts in the first quarter to carry the day for the Sky Hawks and give them the lead. Amanda Girling, the Crusaders star centre, was unable to play in the first half. Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District closed the gap at the half with tenacious defence and more transition play with Meghan MacDougall carrying the team on her shoulders. The third quarter was much like the second and the teams were back and forth for most of it. It was a one-point game after 24 minutes. In the end, Miller was too much, hitting five 3-pointers en route to an upset. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded North Bay E.S. Algonquin Barons edged the Thorold Golden Eagles 29-20. The Barons led 2-1 after one quarter. The Golden Eagles led 10-8 at the half and trailed 31-16 after three quarters. Both teams had trouble finding their range in the first quarter. Many shots were missed and the play was sloppy. In the second quarter, Thorold used a half-court trap to some effect. The Golden Eagles improved their shooting slightly to take the lead at the half. Thorold’s zone and trap continued to be effective in the 2nd half. However, Algonquin was more poised and took advantage of opportunities. In a low scoring affair, that was the difference. Jolinne Maisonneuve paced the Barons with 14. Meagan Millard added 6. Sarah Gregory led Thorold with 8.
In the elimination second round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Rockcliffe Ashbury Colts dispatched the Red Rock Nip-Rock District Lakers after leading 22-6, 43-9 and 49-15 at the quarters. Ashbury started with full court pressure and scored a number of baskets in transition. The Colts big players dominated the boards and Nip-Rock got virtually no second chance opportunities. Ashbury went to their bench for most of the second quarter and still increased their lead. In the half court at both ends of the floor, their play was superior. In the second half, it was more of the same. Nip-Rock would get one shot from the perimeter, usually under pressure, and made few of them. At the same time, Ashbury was very efficient on offence and relentless on defence. Illesha St. Helene-Uko paced the Colts with 18. Anneka Bakker added 14. Stacey When led the Lakers with 6. Michelle Verville added 5. Nip-Rock wilted quickly in the face of Ashbury’s full-court pressure, allowing the Colts to storm to a 43-9 lead at the half. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Kapuskasing District Kolts clubbed the Willowdale People’s Academy Christian Eagles 47-26 after leading 14-8, 28-15 and 39-22 at the quarters. Kapuskasing got off to a quick start scoring 12 unanswered points. Erica Godin scored four of those baskets. People’s Christian hit two three pointers to close the gap to six at the quarter. In the second quarter, better shooting was the order. Kapuskasing was more consistent and extended their lead to 13 points. In the second half, Kapuskasing continued to work the ball nicely in the half court and took advantage of interior scoring. Occasionally, the Eagles would sink some long shots from the perimeter to stay within reach. However, they were never able to get within ten points. Erica Godin paced the Kolts with 20. Wesley Janzen added 8. Christine Wang led People’s Christian with 9. …………………………………………………… The Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames stomped the Acton District Bearcats 43-25 after leading 15-4, 28-6 and 33-15 at the quarters. Rockway came out strong with solid man-to-man pressure, which perplexed the Bearcats. The second quarter saw much of the same with Rockway continuing to play good tough defence that turned into easy baskets. In the second half, Acton tried some full-court man pressure and had some success with it but Rockway was never seriously threatened. Laura Burnett paced the Flames with 11. Logan Klaussen added 10. Alaina Mills led the Bearcats with 11. Anneloes Kollenhoven added 10. …………………………………………………… The Thorold Golden Eagles dumped the North York Nelson A. Boylen Sky Hawks 43-34. The Golden Eagles led 11-10 after a quarter, trailed 19-17 at the half and led 30-26 after three quarters. The action in the first quarter was pretty evenly matched but both teams had a hard time finding the basket in the opening minutes. Both played zone defence and battled on the boards. Boylen got into a bit of foul trouble with Khanisha White picking up three fouls. Brittany Miller from Boylen had good first half leading the team in scoring with 10 points. Thorold seemed to share the offensive responsibilities, passing the ball well and finding the open player. Thorold moved to a box and one defense that seemed to help keep Brittany contained. The battled continued in the third quarter. The girls traded baskets during the first couple of minutes and then Thorold took the lead. The fourth quarter Boylen continued with lots of outside shooting and tough defence but, they could not contain Thorold. Thorold played well as a team, working the ball around and finding the open player. Down the stretch Thorold’s discipline and patience paid off. Sarah Gregory paced Thorold with 16. Brittany Miller led Boylen with 18. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Cornwall Holy Trinity Falcons crushed the Bracebridge St. Dominic Catholic Dragons 53-10 after lead 20-2, 41-4 and 51-7 at the quarters. Holy Trinity came out of the gates at top speed using their full court pressure to cause St. Dominic fits. They caused many turnovers and turned those opportunities into easy baskets. The Falcons half-court offence was equally impressive. Great ball movement opened the shooting lanes and the game was quickly out of reach for the Dragons. Sarah Brand paced Holy Trinity with 16. Natalie LeVac added 10. Marinna Reekie led St. Dominic with 4. Anna Follis added 3. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Tecumseh E.S. L’Essor Aigles thumped the St. Catharines Ridley Tigers 48-29 after leading 18-10, 26-20 and 41-25 at the quarters. Whitty hit a three for Ridley to open the scoring but L’Essor’s full court pressure gave the Tigers trouble. L’Essor also used the fast break to earn a number of easy buckets. Ridley recovered after the initial shock and the teams traded baskets for most of the rest of the quarter. However, the Aigles went on a run to lead by eight after 8 minutes of play. Ridley played with more intensity at the outset of the 2nd quarter and quickly tied the game at 18. More pressure defence from L’Essor allowed them to regain command half way through the frame. Bianca Jones hit a big 3-point shot at the end of the quarter to give L’Essor a six-point lead. In the third quarter, it was clear that a short bench for Ridley caused them to run out of steam and the relentless pressure from the Aigles extended the lead to 16 points. Samantha McGowan scored 9 points for L’Essor in the quarter. Not much changed in the 4th quarter. Samantha McGowan paced L’Essor with 16. Bienka Jones added 17. Lauren Chisolm paced Ridley with 14. Sara Jones added 8. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Woodstock Collegiate Red Devils defeated the 5th-seeded Port Hope Trinity College Bigside 63-51 after leading 24-19, 40-23 and 51-30 at the quarters. Both played man-to-man defense. The Bears had difficulty handling Woodstock’s post Deanna Kirwin. Alex Beatty was an additional threat from the perimeter. In the second, TCS missed a lot of shots and WCI caused some turnovers with their full court pressure to pull away at the half. In the second half, the Red Devils picked up where they left off continuing to move the ball well in the half court for good scoring looks. They increased their lead to 23 points but the Bears found an extra gear and, with relentless full court pressure, closed the gap to 9 points in the fourth quarter. Still, the hole was too big and TCS ran out of time. Alex Beatty paced Woodstock with 33. Deanna Kirwin added 20. Hailey Swift led Trinity with 15. Kristin Ouellet-Gaston added 15. The Bears also included Cassi Allin, Victoria Campbell, Emily Dove, Stephanie Kelley, Saskia Lau, Skylar Neblett-Reid, Carly Reed, Jordan Rider, Stef Thomson and Sara Tohyama. They were coached by Barbara Candlish, Courtney Christ and Erin McAleenan. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Williamstown Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District Crusaders crushed the 7th-seeded North Bay E.S. Algonquin Barons 42-21 after leading 10-5, 22-7 and 30-12 at the quarters. Both teams started the game very strong defensively with Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District playing a tight 1-2-2 zone and Algonquin playing man-to-man with strong help defense. A well timed 3 pointer was scored by Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District’s Jaclyn Cecereu with only a minute left in the first quarter, set the tone for start of the second quarter. Both teams were into bonus situations midway through the second quarter and yet Algonquin was unable to capitalize. Kaitlin Phillips from Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District opened the scoring for the second half, increasing their lead to 17 points. Phillips also finished the scoring for the third quarter by hitting a trey. Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District’s continued tight defensive play provided very few good shooting opportunities for Algonquin. Throughout this half, Sarah Trottier from Algonquin played her heart out on defense and Jolinne Maissonneuve was a consistent threat offensively. But the post play of Becky Bertrand and Elissa DeWitt was too much for Algonquin to handle. By the end of the game, 7 of the 10 Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District’s players had contributed to the final score. Alisha Perron led Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District with 11. Elissa DeWitt added 8 and Amanda Girling 8. Kaitlin Phillips paced Algonquin with 10. Joline Maisonneuve added 6.
In the quarterfinals, the Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames edged the Thorold Golden Eagles 38-36 after leading 13-6, 18-10 and 25-18 at the quarters. Rockway scored the first five points of the game including a 3-pointer by Laura Burnett. Some great breakouts extended the lead to 9-2. The Flames went to an inside-outside game over the next few minutes using Clare Schellenberg to great effect. Thorold’s Jackie Yungblut got some good looks but missed more than she made. Not much happened in the 2nd quarter as team defence was the order of the day. Rockway won the quarter 5 to 4. Rockway seemed very tired in the 3rd quarter and Thorold took advantage. They outscored the Flames 8 to 7 and built both momentum and confidence. Rockway held the ball for the final minute for last shot and Klassen’s hoop gave them a 7-point lead again. The Golden Eagles scored the first hoop of the fourth quarter. Rockway countered with a delay game but it seemed to take them out of their rhythm. At the 4:30 mark, the lead was down to 25-24. Back to back three-pointers by the Flames gave them a bit of a cushion. With 1.5 minutes to go, Thorold tied the score at 34. It then came down to foul shots and the Flames made five of six to seal the deal. Logan Klassen led Rockway with 20. Shyla Paiz added 8. Jackie Yungblut and Sarah Gregory each scored 9 to pace Thorold. The Golden Eagles (coach Paul Darling) also included Cass Bogar, Hannah Scheffee, Cass Bogar, Brooke Haskins, Brooke Caines, Ashley Dellaire.
The top-seeded Rockcliffe Ashbury Colts stomped the 8th-seeded Kapuskasing District Kolts 42-22 after leading 16-4, 23-7 and 32-12 at the quarters. Ashbury came out on a mission and scored the first 12 points of the game. They controlled the boards and pushed the ball up the floor very well. Nicole Uher had 6 points for the Colts in the opening stanza. Kapuskasing played solid defence but had trouble penetrating Ashbury’s half-court defence. The Colts held the Kolts to 3 pts in the 2nd quarter with great help defence. Uher continued to lead Ashbury with 11 pts. in the first half. It was a defensive struggle and that was to be expected. In the 2nd half, Ashbury started to pull away pushing the ball up the floor well and getting the ball inside to Anneka Bakker effectively. Once the game was pretty much decided, Ashbury substituted liberally and the Kolts got a few more opportunities to score. Anneka Bakker paced the Colts with 12 points. Nicole Uher added 11. Erica Godin led the Kolts with 7. Natasha Guerton added 6. “The girls defended really well all game,” said Colts coach Andy Sparks. Ashbury broke to a 12-0 lead. “They were tough,” Sparks added. “They defended well and gave us some problems on the offensive end of the floor but the kids were really solid. We got nice balanced scoring. Our perimeter kids hit some nice shots to open things up, while Anneka and Illesha (St. Helene-Uko) got going inside. It was a nice game for us.”
The 3rd-seeded Tecumseh E.S. L’Essor Aigles clubbed the 6th-seeded Cornwall Holy Trinity Falcons 47-33 after leading 13-8, 25-16 and 33-28 at the half. L’Essor jumped out to a 6 to 0 lead but, after settling, Holy Trinity climbed into the match. Lise Hyatt was left alone underneath too often and she scored off three offensive rebounds in a row. She had nine of eleven points as les Aigles increased their lead to seven. However, the Falcons made some adjustments and shut down L’Essor for the rest of the quarter. L’Essor stepped it up in the 2nd quarter and built their lead to 12 pts. Holy Trinity battled back again to close the gap to 9 points. The Falcons got off to a great start in the 3rd quarter and the lead was cut to 5 points half way through the frame. In the fourth quarter L’Essor started to increase the lead. They set up a strong trapping defence and caused several turnovers. Holy Trinity had some foul problems, sending a number of players to the foul line. L’Essor kept finding the open player and romped. Samantha McGowan paced L’Essor with 14. Lise Hyatt added 13 and Bienka Jones 10. Natalie Levac paced Holy Trinity with 11.
In the last quarterfinal, 2nd-seeded Woodstock Collegiate Red Devils defeated the 6th-seeded Williamstown Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District Crusaders 61-56 in overtime despite trailing 16-11 and 31-22 at the quarter and half, respectively. The score was knotted at 38 after three quarters. Both teams came out of the gate on fire. Carly Bertrand from Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District opened the scoring but Woodstock’s dominant player, Deanna Kirwin quickly responded with a strong basket down low. Ultimately, it was Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District’s speed and tenacious defense that seemed to rattle Woodstock in the first quarter. Although Woodstock had a number of great chances in the second quarter, the ball just wasn’t falling their way. With three, 3-point shots by Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District they broke the game open and gained a 9-point advantage. Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District came out to start the second half looking tired and Woodstock took advantage of this outscoring their opponents 16-7 to knot the score. Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District had a 4-point lead with 40 seconds left but Woodstock never gave up. Amanda Girling scored a basket with 20 seconds remaining and then Kirwin was sent to the line where she sunk 2 do-or-die foul shots to tie the score. In the overtime, the teams exchanged baskets but Alex Beatty hit 2 huge shots including a 3 pointer to gain a 3-point lead with 1:42 left. With 41 seconds to go Tricia MacKay sunk two foul shots but Becky Bertrand answered with 2 for Charlottenburgh & Lancaster District. Four additional foul shots and the victory was sealed for Woodstock.
In the semis, the top-seeded Rockcliffe Ashbury Colts whipped the Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames 54-32 after leading 20-11, 29-22 and 42-32 at the quarters. Ashbury came out on a mission scoring the first 11 points before Burnett hit a 3-pointer for Rockway. Anneka Bakker and Illesha St. Helene-Uko dominated inside scoring 12 of the Colts first 15 points. The Flames settled down under their floor leader Logan Klassen to close the gap a bit by quarter’s end. In the second quarter, both teams stepped up their defence and scoring was at a premium. Ashbury got into some foul trouble and that put Rockway in the bonus early in the frame. The Colts did a poor job of passing in their half court sets and it didn’t help that Bakker sat on the bench with two fouls. Charlotte Ashe hit her third 3-pointer of the half to keep Ashbury ahead but Klassen’s two free throws at the end of quarter cut the lead to 7 points. Ashbury went on another run to start the 2nd half outscoring Rockway 11 to 1 in the first five minutes of the third quarter. Rockway’s shots were contested everywhere and they could not find the range. The Colts ran the floor very well on the break to extend their lead and take command. Nicole Uher drove the lane and twice dished the ball to Ashbury’s forwards for easy lay-ins to start the fourth and put the game completely out of reach. Illesha St. Helene-Uko paced Ashbury with 14. Charlotte Ashe added 11 and Anneka Bakker 10. Logan Klassen led Rockway with 11. Laura Burnett added 8. “We played a solid game,” said Sparks. “Overall, we were more talented. They had two principal scorers but we did a good defensive job on them. It was a good test for us and good preparation for the final because they pressed us. We really hadn’t been tested before this game.”
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Tecumseh E.S. L’Essor Aigles defeated the 2nd-seeded Woodstock Collegiate Red Devils 44-37 after leading 12-10 at the quarter and 24-22 at the half, while trailing 34-31 after three quarters. Woodstock opened the scoring with Deanna Kirwin getting the ball inside. Then L’Essor used their pressure defence to cause the Red Devils to turn the ball over to build a 7-5 lead. Caitlyn Dale scored the last five points of the quarter for Woodstock but Emilie Glanz gave les Aigles the lead with a score at the buzzer. L’Essor started quickly in the 2nd quarter and opened up a 7-point lead. It did not last because they left Alex Beatty open for consecutive 3-pointers. As long as the Red Devils scored, L’Essor could not get into their running game and Woodstock played tough on defence in the half court. The teams traded hoops to start the second half and it remained a nip and tuck affair. Sloppy play from L’Essor turned the tide in favour of WCI and the Red Devils took the lead at the two-minute mark. Les Aigles could not buy a hoop for a four-minute stretch. The No. 2 seed held the lead going into the final frame. Glanz’s hoop gave L’Essor a 35-34 lead at the five-minute mark. Jones lay-in extended the lead to 5 points with three minutes to go. L’Essor missed free throws and a chance to put it away. They got the ball back and went to a delay game. Bienka Jones hit a huge three to give L’Essor a 7-point lead with 1 1-2 minutes to go. WCI cut it to five but could get no closer. Bienka Jones led L’Essor with 17. Samantha McGowan added 11. Alex Beatty paced Woodstock with 15. Deanna Kirwin added 7 and Caitlyn Dale 7.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Woodstock Collegiate Red Devils dumped the Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames 53-41. Rockway opened the scoring on a free throw at the 6:39 mark. Shyla Paiz extended the lead with a 3-pointer at the 6:00 mark. Deanna Kirwin cut the lead in half three minutes in. There was not much scoring during the rest of the quarter. Of note, Alex Beatty picked up her second foul and went to the bench. Caitlyn Dale picked up her 3rd foul and Woodstock was in trouble. However, Taylor Holman made a shot for the Red Devils to tie the game at the end of the quarter. More trouble for WCI as Beatty picked up her 3rd foul early in the quarter. That said, they jumped out to a 15 to 10 lead. Laura Burnett’s 3-pointer put the Flames back in the lead half way through the period. They extended it to 21-15. Strong interior play got the Red Devils back in the game and they closed the gap to two. The teams traded baskets in the final minutes. WCI went on a run in the third quarter and took an eight-point lead five minutes in. They moved the ball well and shots were falling for them. The Flames couldn’t buy a hoop for most of the second half of the quarter. Rockway played some great defence and got a couple of steals in the first minute. They could not convert them to points. WCI seemed to take control of the play at both ends and extended their lead to 12 at the 5:00 mark. Beatty’s 3-pointer iced the game at 3:30 to take a 49-33 lead and coast to the bronze. Deanna Kirwin led Woodstock with 22. Alex Beatty added 11. Clare Shellenberg led Rockway with 11. Logan Klassen added 9.
In the final, the top-seeded Rockcliffe Ashbury Colts dispatched the 3rd-seeded Tecumseh E.S. L’Essor Aigles 48-30 after leading 11-3, 19-11 and 37-17 at the quarters. Anneka Bakker got the first two hoops of the game. L’Essor did not get the opportunity to get into their running game. The Colts played tough half-court defence and les Aigles had few good looks. Samantha McGowan scored for les Aigles to cut the lead to 6-2 and finally get the visitors on the board after 5 minutes. The first quarter ended with an impressive series for Ashbury. Bienka Jones opened the scoring for L’Essor in the 2nd quarter with two hoops and Samantha McGowan scored on an offensive rebound to cut the lead to two points at 11-9. Ashbury’s forwards had a great two-minute stretch to extend the lead to 16-11 with a minute to go in the quarter. They held the ball for the last shot and added three more on Nicole Uher’s shot at the buzzer. Ashbury scored the first two hoops of the 3rd quarter as they increased their lead to ten. Emilie Glanz and Charlotte Ashe then traded treys. Three and a half minutes in, the score was 26-14. Ashe hit two more threes and the lead quickly ballooned to 18 points. L’Essor showed some determination and quickly cut the lead to 13 after Glanz’s 3-pointer. Then Bakker posted up for two to stem the tide. L’Essor kept fighting though to get it back to 13 but the Colts worked the clock well and got scores with each long possession. Anneka Bakker paced the Colts with 19. Charlotte Ashe added 9. Bienca Jones led L’Essor with 9. Emilie Glanz added 7. Bakker told the Ottawa Citizen that the Colts were determined from the start of the season to improve on last year’s silver medal. “After that loss in the final, last year, we were just so distraught. It was 365 days of waiting for this day. This is just so sweet. We were focused from the get go. Everyone just gave 110 per cent.” Forward Illesha St. Helene-Uko said the Colts intensity and team defence proved the difference. “This just feels so good. It was good teamwork. We kept each pumped up and going and just kept that up for the whole game.” Assistant coach Ian MacKinnon said the Colts quarter-court defence was exceptional, while Sparks said their discipline was reflective of the determination they’d shown from the start of the season. “It’s a very exciting win for this group of girls. This was their goal from the start of the season. Sometimes it’s tough when you have just one goal like that but they just kept their focus all year.” The Colts half-court defence stymied the Aigles early as Ashbury built an 11-3 after one quarter. L’Essor trimmed the margin to 11-9 as Bienca Jones hit a pair but Ashbury took a 19-11 lead at the half as Nicole Uher hit a bucket at the buzzer. Ashe hit a trio of three-pointers in the third quarter as Ashbury took command in the second half. Although L’Essor briefly trimmed the margin to 13, Bakker had the answers down the stretch. Bakker subsequently declined more than 40 US scholarship offers and enrolled at the University of Alberta. “It’s definitely a different atmosphere and a business (in the US), which I’m not interested in,” she told the Ottawa Citizen. “There’s a lot more to life than basketball. A lot of players I talked to came back. I talked to a few who said it wasn’t a good situation. They keep 15-20 players and dress 12. Especially being a foreign player, I think there’s an unconscious discrimination. A lot of players said your life is basketball and there’s not much time for anything else. I’m looking forward to university and basketball … but I want the entire university experience.”
The bronze medalist Woodstock: Caitlyn Dale; Heather Longeway; Sheawana Lorch; Corrine Vondervoort; Deanna Kirwin; Jo-Lynn Smith; Alex Beatty; Tricia MacKay; Aleisha Harrett; Aarika Winlaw; Stephanie Garroll; Erika Manderson; Alex Kruger; Hanna Rudy; coach Coyle
The silver medalist Tecumseh E.S. L’Essor Aigles: Emilie Glanz; Hailey Milkins; Samantha McGowan; Bienka Jones; Lise Hyatt; Emily Lippold; coach Lucien Gava
The gold medalist Rockcliffe Ashbury Colts: Anneka Bakker; Illesha St. Helene-Uko; Charlotte Ashe; Nicole Uher; Elyse Malouf; Stephanie Sardelis; Tamara Saikley; Veronique Duschesne; Mairin MacDonald; Olivia Raftshol; Katherine Belley; Pamela Kajjouni; Charlotte MacKenzie; coach Andy Sparks; assistant Ian MacKinnon; assistant Allana Street