In the opening round, held in Oakville: …………………………………………………… The unseeded Kingston Bayridge Blazers edged the 8th-seeded Etobicoke Michael Power-St. Joseph’s Trojans 43-42. The Trojans led 21-20 at the half. Bayridge took a slim lead in the fourth quarter and “held on but it was tenuous,” said coach Dave Steele. “It was a very tough game.” Marilyn Benn hit a pair of free throws to give Bayridge a 43-40 lead. Michael Power countered with a bucket with 10 seconds on the clock before the Blazers ran it out. Karlyn Pennell led Bayridge with 15. Julie Brand added 14 and Marilyn Benn 10. Julie Brand contained junior national team player Hutashi Wilson to single digits. “We had to play some good defence against a team that rebounding very tough and also had some excellent shooters,” said Steele. Melissa McGrath led the Trojans with 15. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded London Oakridge Oaks thrashed the Scarborough Cedarbrae Colts 55-25 as Deb Van Leeuwen scored 11. Lataya Gordon led the Colts with 8. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Sarnia St. Christopher Cyclones dumped the Nepean St. Paul Golden Bears 50-45 as Beth Dragan scored 10. Lisa Bergin led the Golden Bears with 14. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded London Regina Mundi Catholic Titans stomped the Waterloo Collegiate Vikings 75-56 as Julia Hillis scored 18. Julie Devenny led the Vikings with 15. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords whipped the Etobicoke Collegiate Rams 49-25. Krista Ariss scored 5 for the Lords. Lynn Ariss added 2. The Rams included Natassia Subbhan, Andrea Robson, Ruth Lancashire …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Guelph Centennial Spartans crushed the Sudbury Notre Dame North Stars 49-28 as Katie McPherson and Anna James each scored 17. Danica Popolnsky paced the North Stars with 9. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders edged the top-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors 45-41. Each team moved directly into the quarterfinals. Ashleigh Cuncic led St. Mary’s with 14. Julie Lamparski added 13 and Lora te Boekhurst 9. Crusader guard te Boekhurst hit a pair of treys down the stretch as the Crusaders pulled out the win. Te Boekhurst told the Hamilton Spectator that “this game helped us get rid of the nerves. Number two beating number one and all of a sudden, it’s just, get to the championship.” Crusaders coach Rich Wesolowski said te Boekhurst “wants to prove herself. We try to get her to relax. She might get a little too excited. I don’t know what you call her. She’s a sparkplug. … I could have put chains and a muzzle on them and they would play that hard. That’s the Hamilton style. Everyone was really into it.” The Crusaders led 15-7 after one quarter and 19-15 at the half. Westdale led 34-30 only in the fourth quarter. Justine Panavas paced Westdale with 12. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords whipped the Etobicoke CI Rams 49-25 as Erin Magee scored 13. Nastassia Subban led the Rams with 17.
In the second seeding round: …………………………………………………… The Kingston Bayridge Blazers edged the Sudbury Notre Dame North Stars 52-50 on a pair of last second free throws by Julie Brand. With 30 seconds to play, Sudbury tied the score at 50 with a trey. Kingston turned over the ball but Sudbury missed a free throw, setting the stage for the foul on Brand and winning free throws. Kingston led 24-23 at the half. Karlyn Pennell led the Blazers with 15. Brand added 14. Andrea Bignard paced the North Stars with 19. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Etobicoke Michael Power-St. Joseph Trojans defeated the 7th-seeded Guelph Centennial Spartans 29-21 as Melanie James scored 14. Anna James led the Spartans with 6. Katie McPherson added 5. The Spartans also included Julie Wallace, Danielle McGhee. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords clocked the Waterloo Collegiate Vikings 56-39 as Erin Magee and Krista Ariss each scored 19. Eline Kamphuis led the Vikings with 13. Jen Mullin added 9. The Vikings also included Amanda Kieswetter, Julie Devenny, Kate McCrae, Lindsay Jennings. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Sarnia St. Christopher Cyclones dumped the Scarborough Cedarbrae Colts 48-30 as Kylene Davies scored 16. Soshanna Roberts paced the Colts with 16. The Colts included La Toya Chalmers, Desari Bacchus, Dina Katsoulis. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded London Oakridge Oaks dispatched the Nepean St. Paul Golden Bears 34-32 as Heather Brown scored 10. Christine Murphy and Emily Murphy each scored 10 to pace the Golden Bears. The Golden Bears (co-coached by Steve Kenny) also included Lisa Bergin, Tammy Nera, Alana McGoldrick. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded London Regina Mundi Catholic Titans defeated the Etobicoke Collegiate Rams 67-27 as Julie Hillis scored 18. Nastassia Subban paced the Rams with 9. The Rams also included Andrea Robson, Ruth Lancashire.
In the quarterfinals, the 2nd-seeded Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders defeated the unseeded Etobicoke Michael Power-St. Joseph’s Trojans 47-33 as Leanne Rowthorn scored 11. Meaghan McGrath led the Trojans with 15. The Trojans also included Melanie James, Melissa McGrath, Hutashi Wilson, Denise Heckbert.
The top-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors defeated the 8th-seeded Kingston Bayridge Blazers 50-31 as Shona Thorburn scored 16, Rebecca McCool 11, Justine Panavas 9 and Christen Dickenson 8. Thorburn, who hit three treys in the first half, told the Hamilton Spectator that “we were a different team out there. We came out weird (in round one). Now we know what to expect. … I had to set myself up properly and I was more open today.” Karlyn Pennell led Bayridge with 10. Blazers coach Dave Steele told the Kingston Whig-Standard that Westdale’s defence simply proved too formidable. “Most of the time we were able to handle it, but when we couldn’t we made mistakes that enabled them to get points in transition.” Westdale took an early 13-3 lead. The Blazers rallied to within 15-9 before Westdale took command with a 21-10 second quarter. The Blazers (coached by Steele) also included Julie Brand, Alana Parrett, Marilyn Benn, Liza Ellis, Andrei Heidebrecth, Brenda Kirton, Kathleen Dumas.
The 4th-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords defeated the 5th-seeded Sarnia St. Christopher Cyclones 56-45 as Erin Magee and Jen Grebeldinger each scored 12. Muffy Somers led St. Christopher with 10.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded London Oakridge Oaks defeated the 6th-seeded London Regina Mundi Catholic College Titans 52-34 as Katie Coulson scored 11. Sandra Pompa led Regina Mundi with 9.
In the semi-final, the Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders defeated the 4th-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords 44-32. Leanne Rowthorn paced the Crusaders with 13 and Ashleigh Cuncic 7. The Lords notched 24 points from the line. Rowthorn told the Hamilton Spectator that “we always about trying to take it one game at a time.” Krista Ariss led Nelson with 10. Erin Magee added 8.
In the other semi, the London Oakridge Oaks defeated the top-seeded Hamilton Westdale Warriors 51-39 as Katie Coulson scored 18. Shona Thorburn led Westdale with 23.
In the bronze medal match, the Hamilton Westdale Warriors defeated the 4th-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords 50-48. Shona Thornburn led Westdale with 26. The Warriors led 12-8, 30-20 and 47-30 at the quarters. They opened the second frame with a 14-0 run. Jen Grebelbinger paced Nelson with 13, including 10 in the final quarter. Grebeldinger told the Hamilton Spectator that “they are really good at blocking the middle.” Lords coach Gord McNeice said “we played tremendous but we didn’t convert it to points. We didn’t shoot well either.” The Lords (coach Gord McNeice) also included Krista Ariss, Lynn Ariss, Erin Magee, Leslie James, Amy Stevens, Lindsay Hunting, Carly Black and Melain Lagzdins.
In the final, the Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders defeated the 3rd-seeded London Oakridge Oaks 44-36. Crusaders fifth-year guard Leanne Rowthorne scored 14 despite playing with a sprained ankle suffered at the Canadian cross-country running championships earlier in the week. Rowthorn scored the Crusaders first seven points, giving them a three-point lead they’d never relinquish. St. Mary’s took control in the second quarter with a 15-3 run that put them ahead 28-11 at the half. The Oaks were only 3-19 from the floor in the first half but opened the third quarter with a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 33-21. But then Rowthorn drained a three which deflated the Oaks. Although they had a brief 5-0 spurt in the fourth quarter, the Crusaders defence proved too tough to handle. Heather Brown led Oak Ridge with 11. The Crusaders hit five treys before a capacity crowd of 1026 at Sheridan College. St. Mary’s took control early in the game and coasted, at one time leading by 19. Crusaders post Kristina Murphy shut down Oakridge in the paint. Rowthorn told the Toronto Star “it’s been a very rough week and I’m glad it has ended on a happy note. My grandfather died and I also sprained my ankle at the national cross-country finals and didn’t finish. I was happy to see my grandmother come and watch me play and I told her I’d sink a three-pointer for her.” Oakridge coach Don Rowden said a Rowthorn trey that hit the rim and bounced twice before falling in was a backbreaker early. “That was a critical shot. Everything they put up went in and it seemed like we shot and shot and nothing happened.” The Crusaders finished 23-1 on the campaign, while Oakridge finished 36-5.
The bronze medalist Hamilton Westdale Warriors: Shona Thorburn; Christen Dickenson; Justine Panavas; Jaclyn Secore; Rebecca McColl; Erin Adachi; Stephanie Uren; coach Amos Connolly
The silver medalist London Oakridge Oaks: Katie Coulson; Deb VanLeeuwen; Heather Brown; Melissa Murray; Allison Fickling; Kathryn Gibbs; Kathleen Thompson; Nikki Hillis; Becky Cantor; Casey Pratt; Jessica Pratt; Tira Pratt; Janice Sutherland; Allison Petrie; Kim Schram; Lindsey Elliott; Jordan Haddad; Lindsay Neale; coach Don Rowden; assistant Marilyn Duhamie; manager Larry Potter
The gold medalist Hamilton St. Mary’s Crusaders: Renee Beach; Lisa Critchley; Ashleigh Cuncic; Cortney Cuncic; Amanda Kergan; Casie Kergan; Lisa Ketchmark; Julie Lamparski; Kristina Murphy; Nicole Powell; Jen Rao; Leanne Rowthorn; Lora te Boekhorst; Andrea Wade; Emily Wearing; Julia Williams; coach Rich Wesolowski; assistant Rena Wesolowski; assistant Jason Tatti; assistant George Lamparski; manager George Lamparski