In the opening round, held in Hamilton: …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Toronto Oakwood Barons defeated the Kingston Bayridge Blazers 59-47 as Pat Marcello scored 23. “We were flat in the game and didn’t play intelligent basketball,” Bayridge coach Sam Miller told the Kingston Whig-Standard. Oakwood led 28-27 at the half. The Blazers moved ahead by five in the second frame but faltered down the stretch. Jenny Jackson led Bayridge with 19. Cheryl Pettis added 8. …………………………………………………… The Ottawa Lisgar Lords dumped the 10th-seeded Windsor Walkerville Tartans 67-61 as Cynthia Cooper scored 19, Claire Reilly-Roe 17 and Cara Waterfall 10. The Lords broke to a 23-9 lead before the Tartans rallied to knot the score at the half. “They’re the quickest team we’ve played all season,” Tartans coach Linda McGuffin told the Windsor Star. Johanna Newby led Walkerville with 20. Merna Hartwell added 14 and Shalonda Washington 11. …………………………………………………… The unseeded Etobicoke Michael Power-St. Joseph’s Trojans stunned the 3rd-seeded Markham District Marauders 42-36. The Trojans’ pressure defence, spearheaded by Tania Bailey, caused all sorts of problems for Markham. Nisha Wilson paced Power with 21. Bailey also pestered Marauders star 6-3 post Tammy Sutton-Brown into fouling out with 1:15 left in the game and Markham clinging to a 36-35 lead. The Trojans scored the final 7 points of the game, including 4 free throws. “We wanted to create lots of pressure and go after the big kid,” Trojans coach Paul McAlpine told the Toronto Star. “When we took her out, it was clearly evident that the rest of their team was confused. I think we were also much faster and our quickness really got to them.” The 33-4 Marauders led 18-14 at halftime and 30-28 after three quarters. “There was no intensity on our part … to come here and not want to play puzzles me,” Markham coach George Kraus said. “It was worse than playground ball and when Tammy went out, the strength of our team was gone.” Sutton-Brown led the Marauders with 16. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Hamilton St. Thomas More Knights pounded the Whitby Anderson Raiders 50-29 as Christina Garbarz scored 12. The Knights opened with a trey by Sonja Horyn and kept bombing. Horyn told the Hamilton Spectator that “we passed the ball really well. We always tell each other, if you’re open, take the shot. Don’t hesitate or worry about what anybody is going to say. Cauline Penny led the Raiders with 11. Knights coach Mark Baldasarro said “the good thing, we didn’t play our best game. … I thought Michell (Mittl) played a great game on the boards before she got hurt (in a midcourt collision with teammate Danielle Chabot).” Mittl fractured a cheekbone but played in the Knights second round game. Raiders coach Mike Kennelly said “I was very impressed with More’s ability to shoot from the outside. That caused us all kinds of problems. If you’re goinge to do well in Ontarios, you’ve got to have three-point shooters. It just opens up so many things. … To be honst, it was intimidating playing here. I attribute our early turnovers to nerves and jitters. People with normally sure hands were dropping the ball. I thought we settled down, though, and played a good game. They didn’t blow us off the court.” …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles clipped the Toronto Weston Ironmaidens 46-35 as Lindsay Shoemaker scored 17. Canchet Johnson led the Ironmaidens with 19. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Sudbury LaSalle Lancers dumped the Mississauga Applewood Heights Axewomen 55-46 as Shannon Hann scored 17. Missy McCutcheon led the Axewomen with 26. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Sarnia St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish dusted the Scarborough Albert Campbell Celtics 60-45 as Erin Hobin scored 20. Melissa Hunte led the Celtics with 18. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish dispatched the Oakville St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders 39-32 as Vanessa Bozza scored 20. Kornelia Zmirak led the Raiders with 12.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The Etobicoke Michael Powers-St. Joseph’s Trojans defeated the Kingston Bayridge Blazers 54-41 as Nisha Wilson scored 24. “That is a team we could have beaten,” said Blazers coach Sam Miller. “It was disappointing.” Jen Jackson led Bayridge with 18. The Blazers (coached by Miller) also included Cheryl Pettis, Amy Fillion, Bonnie Amacher, Fiona Letang, Rebecca Huddleston, Danielle Stanton. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Toronto Oakwood Barons defeated the 3rd-seeded Markham District Marauders 63-49 as Klara Danes 24. Tammy Sutton-Brown led the Marauders with 27. The Marauders (coached by George Kraus) also included Gillian Green, Tammy Cooper. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Ottawa Lisgar Lords defeated the Toronto Weston Ironwomen 55-37 as Irene Vandoros scored 17. Gellaine Clarke led the Ironwomen with 16. The Ironmen (coached by Denise Cross) included Cachet Johnson, Anne Marie Scott, Lynn Vuong, O’Shea Reid. …………………………………………………… The Windsor Walkerville Tartans knocked off the 4th-seeded Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles 57-56 after rallying from a 36-20 halftime deficit, capped by a midcourt steal with 15 seconds to play, which led to Shalonda Washington bucket with 7 seconds to play. Johanna Newby and Washington each scored 22 for Walkerville. Merna Hartwell added 11. Melanie Bourne led the Green Eagles with 16. The Green Eagles also included Lindsay Shoemaker, Amy McPherson, Leslie Mitchell. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Sudbury Lasalle Lancers clipped the Whitby Anderson Raiders 46-37 as Keill Toner scored 23. Cauline Penney led the Raiders with 15. Tara Worden added 8. The Raiders (coached by Mike Kennelly) also included Sarah John, Tammy Jones, Tara Evanshen, Corrine Tim, Jennifer Evanshen, Natalie Goring. ………………………………………………… The top-seeded Sarnia St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish bombed the Oakville St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders 73-18 as Amy Crickard and Danielle Beaublen each scored 11. Kornellia Zmirak led the Raiders with 4. …………………………………………………… The Mississauga Applewood Heights Axewomen stunned the 2nd-seeded Hamilton St. Thomas More Knights 50-49 in overtime as Missy McCutcheon scored 19. Christine Gabarz led the Knights with 15. Axewomen coach Ned Yuzefowich told the Hamilton Spectator that “Missy is the best player I’ve had in my 12 year of coaching. She’s a great point guard and outside shooter. She controls the game.” Knights coach Mark Baldasarro said “two of our players were a combined 4-27. … We’ve always been able to weather the storm before. But these things happen. Live by the sword, die by the sword.” The Knights also included Michell Mittl, Danielle Chabot, Jayme Green, Julie Valvasori, Jade DiBatista, Sonya Horyn, Elisha Ward, Dina MacGillvray, Carla Dinello and Melanie Garbarz. …………………………………………………… The Scarborough Albert Campbell Celtics nipped the Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish 29-27 as Kathryn Blazina scored 16. Vanessa Bozza led the Fighting Irish with 12. The Fighting Irish also included Toni Kardis.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Sarnia St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish defeated the Toronto Oakwood Barons 69-54. The Fighting Irish’s full-court pressure in the third quarter broke open a tight affair. “Our team was pumped at the half, it was a tie game, we really felt confident but their pressure wore us down,” Barons coach Pat Quigley told the Toronto Star. “We couldn’t get a lot on the inside game either, and their 3-point shots really changed the momentum.” The Irish took command on a series of treys by Erin Hobin. Irish coach Ed Seguin said “they are a good team but we also didn’t do such a hot job containing them and our sloppiness, particularly in missing all sorts of layups, kept them in the game. I told the players at the half, if we didn’t tighten up, we’d be in trouble. They got the message and it showed.” With Hobin the catalyst, clicking for a trio of 3-pointers in the space of 1:32, teammate Amy Crickard turned a stellar defensive effort in the second half. “They beat us on the fast break and the threes,” said Barons guard Pat Marcello, who scored 18, including 4 treys. “We got really tired and the foul shots just increased their lead.” St. Pat’s led 19-16 after the opening quarter and took a 52-40 lead into the final eight minutes of the game. Hobin led the Irish with 23. Julie Donohue added 11 and Amy Crickard 10. Pat Marcello paced the Barons with 18. The Barons (coached by Quigley) also included Klara Danes, Michelle Francis, Khalihah Este-Shehu, Lorraine Yam.
The Etobicoke Michael Powers-St. Joseph’s Trojans defeated the 16th-seeded Scarborough Albert Campbell Celtics 54-33 as guard Tania Bailey scored 35. Melissa Hunte led the Celtics with 8. The Celtics (coached by Bryan Pardo) included Sharon Jones, Amina Khalis, Kathryn Blazina, Melissa Bremner.
The 7th-seeded Ottawa Lisgar Lords whipped the 12th-seeded Mississauga Applewood Heights Axewomen 55-29 as Irene Valdores scored 16. Ernestine Dunkley led the Axewomen with 13. The Axemen (coached by Ned Yuzefowich) also included Missy McCutcheon, Tracy Linklater, Shannon O’Neil, Sandra Tojeiro.
In the last quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Sudbury LaSalle Lancers defeated the Windsor Walkerville Tartans 45-36 as Shannon Hann scored 15. Johanna Newby led the Tartans with 10. The Tartans (coached by Linda McGuffin) also included Shalonda Washington, Merna Hartwell, Amanda Hussey, Sara Fiorvento, Kristen Taylor.
In the semis, the Etobicoke Michael Powers-St. Joseph’s Trojans defeated the 7th-seeded Ottawa Lisgar Lords 39-32 as Tania Bailey and Nisha Wilson each scored 11. The Lords lost starting center Cynthia Cooper early, when she injured her arm. Irene Vandoros and Cara Waterfall each scored 11 to pace Lisgar.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Sarnia St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish clipped the 5th-seeded Sudbury LaSalle Lancers 39-29 as Erin Hobin scored 13. Shannon Hann led the Lancers with 16.
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded Sudbury Lasalle Lancers defeated the 7th-seeded Ottawa Lisgar Lords 42-41 as Shannon Hann scored 13. Irene Vandoros paced the Lords with 14. Cara Waterfall added 13. The Lancers led by 16 at the half. Lisgar guard Cara Waterfall nailed a trey at the buzzer to cut the margin to one. “I threw it up with a prayer, but the rally stopped short by a point,” Waterfall told the Toronto Star. “We lost, but as far as we’re concerned it was a victory to come from so far behind.” La Salle led 19-5 after the opening quarter and by halftime increased its lead to 33-17. “We lost our concentration, and maybe it was the big lead that did it, but they sure put a scare into us,” said Hann. “They’re a quick team . . . we were just hoping time on the clock would run out quicker than it did.” While LaSalle went in to a second half tailspin with only nine points, the speed and efforts of Waterfall and guard Irene Vandoros lifted the hopes of (32-8) Lords. “I felt responsible for the big deficit because I decided to experiment with something other than our strength,” said Lords coach Bill Fraser. “(LaSalle) pulled ahead so quickly and all I could think was how embarrassing it would be to lose by such a big score. Then these kids almost pull it out. Fabulous … These girls are winners in my eyes.” LaSalle finished 45-5 on the campaign. The 32-8 Lords (coached by Bill Fraser, assisted by John Gorman and Breagh Carr-Harris) also included Clair Reilly-Roe, Cynthia Cooper, Sass McCarthy, Alex Glover, Courtney White, Laramie Morrison, Ali Johnson, Zoja Hollman, Jennifer Kingsley, Hilary Leftick and Laura Tugwell.
In the final, the top-seeded Sarnia St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish won its fifth tile by nipping the unseeded Etobicoke Michael Powers-St. Joseph’s Trojans 48-44 as Erin Hobin scored 14. Nisha Wilson led the Trojans with 21. Power led 12-11 after one quarter. The game was tied at 26-26 at the half. The Trojans kept the Irish scoreless for nearly four minutes while building a 32-28 lead. All-star guard Tania Bailey committed her fourth foul and was pulled by coach Paul McGrath. The Irish proceeded on an 8-0 run. “The fouls hurt us, and so did the fatigue,” McGrath, whose Trojans finished (30-7) on the season, told the Toronto Star. “We had to back off the pressure on them, but I’m sure no other team has played them like us. What a game for a team that was unseeded. I told the girls that from now on, they spell the word guts with p-o-w-e-r.” Nisha Wilson paced the Trojans with 21. “(St. Pat’s) are a good team, but I sure hope we gained a lot of respect with our talent,” Wilson said. “We kept hearing how they’d roll over us, that our wins were a fluke. Well, we’ll hold our heads high.” St. Pat’s coach Ed Seguin said depth was key. “Our bench was the key to our success all year and those girls did it again in this game despite being hindered by some poor officiating. One official was fair, the other had a vendetta against us, and it went in favor of the other team. (Power) is a scrappy team and wanted to win badly, but the game wouldn’t have been as close if we weren’t knocked off our stride with all the fouls.” The Irish finished 43-3 on the campaign.
The bronze medalist Sudbury Lasalle Lancers: Shannon Hann; Keill Toner;
The silver medalist Etobicoke Michael Power-St. Joseph’s Trojans: Tania Bailey; Nisha Wilson; Grace Zeleck; Melaina Boyce; Grace Zelek; coach Paul McGrath
The gold medalist Sarnia St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish: Erin Hobin; Amy Crickard; Julie Donohue; Danielle Beaublen; coach Ed Seguin; assistant Jeff Paroo