In the regional qualifiers and Regina city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Archbishop M.C. O’Neill Titans defeated the Miller Marauders 70-63 as Cymone Bouchard scored 20. Phoebe De Ciman led the Marauders with 19. The Marauders also included Melissa Tuttosi, Shannon Hoffman, Stephanie Harding. …………………………………………………… The Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns stomped the Martin Monarchs 83-48 as Jessica Kaczowka scored 25. Tasha Lawson led the Monarchs with 13. The Monarchs also included Kelly Davison, Angel McQuarrie. …………………………………………………… The Balfour Redmen spanked the Campbell Tartans 84-61 as Randi Elphick scored 20. Richelle Thallgot led the Tartans with 18. The Tartans also included Courtney Holt, Tricia Chadwick, Chrystal Bolander, Deborah Krause, Morgan Hewitt, Michelle Hayes. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Winston Knoll Wolverines dispatched the Thom Trojans 71-66 as Leah Anderson scored 26. Jennie Voakes led the Trojans with 17. The Trojans also included Kim Picot. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Balfour Redmen dusted the Winston Knoll Wolverines 94-70 as Miranda Santberger scored 26. Brittany Heisler led the Wolverines with 18. The Wolverines also included Leah Anderson, Jen Rogne, Tara Barr. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns dispatched the Archbishop M.C. O’Neill Titans 57-46 as Rumali Werapitiya scored 18. Cymone Bouchard led the Titans with 20. The Titans also included Jerilyn Ninowski, Jesa Cozine, Brotzel, Jacquie Lukomski. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Balfour Redmen defeated the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns 70-59 as Tenille Kirkland scored 15, Jana Schweitzer 14 and Miranda Santberger 14. Jessica Kaczowka paced the Golden Suns with 20. Paula Demay added 11.
In the regional qualifiers and Saskatoon city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Holy Cross Crusaders clipped the St. Joseph Guardians 76-62. …………………………………………………… The Bishop J. Mahoney Saints torched the Aden Bowman Bears 80-53. …………………………………………………… The Evan Hardy Souls stomped the Mount Royal Mustangs 95-51. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the E.D. Feehan Trojans crushed the Walter Murray Marauders 89-31 as Chantel Deptuch scored 18, Sara Knowles 17 and Anita Rajic 17. Christy Marcinkoski scored 9 to lead the Marauders (coached by Colleen Larson-Meier). Jill Stein added 8. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Evan Hardy Souls clocked the Holy Cross Crusaders 84-52 as Pam Walter scored 21. Mel Francis led the Crusaders with 10. The Crusaders also included Barb Westcott. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the E.D. Feehan Trojans edged the Bishop J. Mahoney Saints 84-82 in double-overtime as Sara Knowles scored 20 and Anita Rajic 34. Mackenzie Grant scored 34 to lead the Saints (coached by Sharon Klein). …………………………………………………… In the final, the E.D. Feehan Trojans dispatched the Evan Hardy Souls 73-65 as Catherine Leiffers scored 21, Alysa Knowles 18, Chantal Deptuch 16, Anita Rajic 10 and Michelle Doepker 8. Rosalyn Howey paced the Souls with 19. Nicole Poirier added 14 and Lauren Evans 10.
In the small cities playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Swift Current Ardens dusted the Estevan Elecs 82-34. …………………………………………………… The North Battleford Comprehensive Vikings clocked the Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders 84-39. …………………………………………………… The Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders whipped the Yorkton Regional Raiders 70-54. …………………………………………………… The Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers received a bye? …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers spanked the North Battleford Vikings 66-31. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Swift Current Ardens torched the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders 72-48. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers defeated the Swift Current Ardens 56-46. Both teams advanced to Hoopla.
In the quarterfinals, the Saskatoon Evan Hardy Souls defeated the Swift Current Ardens 66-58. Forward Danielle White took command over the five seven minutes as the Souls pulled out the win. “She was unbelievable from the perimeter,” Ardens coach Dave Redekopp told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “She was the difference down the stretch.” White said the shots were there. “They were collapsing on Nicole (Poier, who scored 20, so Lauren (Evans) just drove and dished. All I had to do was hit the open shots.” Evan Hardy dominated the first half, with Evans directing traffic and White coming in off the bench to provide solid defence. But a late trey by Gina Selinger and a layup by Tanza Voth rallied the Ardens to within 36-23 at the half. Swift current cut the margin to nine within three minutes as guard Robin Spencer force a series of turnovers. They soon had the margin down at 54-51 when Hardy starter Rhea Maranduk fouled out. Enter White, who scored 10 of Hardy’s next 11 points to ice the win. “We were able to move the ball and get open looks,” said White, who scored 15. “It was tough but we relaxed at the end and came through. This was a statement game. We wanted to show that we had a lot more energy after losing cities. We want to redeem ourselves this weekend.” Nicole Poier led the Souls with 20. Lauren Evans notched 11, Rosalyn Howey 9, Rhea Maranduk 7, Pam Walter 2 and Shain Swidrovich 2. Amy Thomas led Swift Current with 19. Robin Spencer added 15, Janet Stewardson 11, Gina Selinger 9, Tanza Voth 2 and Mammie Dunlop 2, while Cari Harriman, Karen Anderson and Ashley Wagner were scoreless.
In the other quarterfinal, Regina Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns defeated the Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers 47-41. “We were a bit nervous at the start, first-game nerves,” Jessica Kaczowka, who scored 18, told the Star-Phoenix. “At half time, coach said this could be our last game. That got us going and we played aggressively in the second half.” Rumali Werapitiya added 14 for the Golden Suns, Paula Demay 5, Kelsey Karst 4, Amanda Lodoen 3, Tess Macaig 2 and Anne-Marie Rollo 1. Courtney Andrews led Moose Jaw with 16. Allison Gottselig added 11, Deana Seida 6, Katie Jordison 3, Christina Roweel 2, Alissa Fritzler 2 and Pam Gottselig 1, while Kyla Wright was scoreless.
In the semis, Regina city champion Balfour Redmen defeated the Saskatoon Evan Hardy Souls 58-42. The Souls committed nearly 30 turnovers. “Some girls went away from the things they do well,” Hardy coach Maureen Howey told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “We looked a little tentative against their (2- 2-1) press.” Led by guard Tenille Kirkland, Balfour led 31-25 at the half and romped. Kirkland repeatedly broke down the Souls defence off the dribble. “We were able to run the court well second half,” said Kirkland. “We dictated the tempo and got them out of their game.” Tenille Kirkland paced the Redmen with 15. Randi Elphick added 12, Leona Brickwell 12, Jana Schweitzer 7, Kathy Hunter 6, Miranda Santbergen 2, Amber Humeny 2 and Lara Schmidt 2. Nicole Poier led Hardy with 23. Shaina Swidrovich added 5, Lauren Evans 4, Danielle White 4, Pam Walter 4 and Rhea Maranduk 2.
In the other semi, 4th-seed Regina Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns defeated top seed Saskatoon E.D. Feehan 56-48. Catherine Lieffers and Anita Rajic gave Feehan an early lead but couldn’t keep Jessica Kaczowka out the paint as the 6-1 post scored nine points in the first 12 minutes, largely off offensive rebounds, and then dominated the second half. Sara Knowles, who led Feehan with 17 points, scored seven in a row to help cut the lead to four with two minutes left, but LeBoldus Golden Suns hung on. “We’ve been a second half team this year,” Kaczowka, who scored 22, told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “We come out more intense and focused.” Feehan coach Heather Garman said she wasn’t too disappointed. “I just wish we could have played better. It’s always hard to lose, but at least when you play well, you had a chance. This wasn’t our best game; they deserved to win. We couldn’t stop Jessica. She took the ball so strong, and we didn’t have an answer.” Kelsey Karst added 7 for the Golden Suns, Kim Crawford 7, Rumali Werapitiya 6, Paula Demay 4, Shannon McGeady 3, Anne-Marie Rollo 2, Amy Loeden 2, Tess Maciag 1 and Amy Kilbeck 1. Sara Knowles paced the Trojans with 17, Catherine Lieffers 8, Anita Rajic 8, Chantel Deptuch 6, Michelle Doepker 5, Tara Hryciuk 2 and Tasha Kaminsky 2.
In the bronze medal match, the Saskatoon E.D. Feehan Troys defeated the Saskatoon Evan Hardy Souls 59-52 as Sara Knowles scored 17, Anita Rajia 17, Catherine Lieffers 13, Chantel Deptuch 4, Michelle Doepker 4, Alysa Knowles 2 and Tasha Kaminsky 2. Nicole Poier paced the Souls (coached by Maureen Howey) with 20. Lauren Evans added 9, Rhea Maranduk added 7, Danielle White 7, Rosalyn Howey 5, Pam Walter 2 and Shaina Swidrovich 2.
In the final, Regina Balfour Redmen captured their first provincial title after 19 years at the helm of Wendy Bileski. Forward Amber Humeny hit the winning bucket on a bank shot as the buzzer sounded as Balfour defeated the Regina Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns 52-51. Balfour finished the season with a (27-4) record, registering an average victory margin of 21 ppg. It marked the fourth time in provincial tournament history that a school had swept both the boys and girls crowns. Leboldus’ Jessica Kaczowka hit a layup with 10 seconds to play to give the Suns a 51-50 lead. But Tenille Kirkland drove the court and dished the ball to Humeny for the winner. Kirkland told the Regina Leader-Post that “Miss Bileski put all of it into our hands. That surprised me. Usually, you’d think a coach has a diagrammed play. She just said to get the ball in and whoever has it – drive. … I saw her so clearly. Amber was so open.” Bileski said “what we wanted to do is drive t othe basket. We thought maybe they’d foul us, we could get a layup, or maybe get a three-point play. Other than that, I couldn’t diagram it any better than how it happened. It was a good read, a good feed and good hands by Amber.” Kirkland told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix that “we wanted to drive hard and hope for a good shot. We knew they wouldn’t want to foul us.” Humeny said “I was just in the right place; I thought she was going to shoot. During the last timeout, I couldn’t hear what the coach was saying. I went on the court and thought: ‘what are we going to do?.” Kaczowka said “I thought we had it. I knew we had to play tough defence but we had the advantage.” Balfour took a 10-point lead as their 2-2-1 press proved effective and Jana Schweitzer nailed a series of buckets. But layups by Kacwozka and Rumdi Werapitiya trimmed the margin to 27-23 at the half. Randi Elphick scored for Balfour. Kelsey Karst answered for LeBoldus. Balfour led 50-47. But Jessica Kaczowka hit two free throws to draw the Golden Suns with one with 1:33 to play. She then notched a putback to give LeBoldus a 51-50 lead with 11 seconds to play. Kaczowka said “we so much pressure on us at the start of the year. As defending city and provincial champs, we had a lot of pressure on us. I thought we handled it pretty well.” Balfour often triple-teamed Kaczowka in the second half. Leboldus coach Jim Gallagher called it “a good strategy from their perspective. But I feel bad for Jess. I’ll be glad when she gets away from this and can just play normal ball.” Bileski said “I didn’t really draw anything up, just told them to go. I couldn’t have asked for anything better than the ball in Tenille’s hands.” Kirkland said “I never imaged it would feel so good. It was sloppy for a while but I knew we had to finish the game. This is the best feeling I’ve ever had.” Tenille Kirkland paced the Redmen with 11. Jana Schweitzer added 10, Leona Brickwell 10, Randi Elphick 7, Miranda Santbergen 6, Kathy Hunter 4 and Amber Humeny 4. Rumali Werapitiya paced the Golden Suns with 13. Jessica Kaczowka added 11, Kelsey Karst 8, Paula Demay, Shannon McGeady 6, Anne-Marie Rollo 3 and Kim Crawford 2.
The bronze medalist Saskatoon E.D. Feehan Troys: Chantel Deputch; Sara Knowles; Anita Rajic; Catherine Lieffers; Michelle Doepker; Tara Hryciuk, Chantel Deptuch; Alysa Knowles; Tasha Kaminsky; coach Heather Garman
The silver medalist Regina Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns: Jessica Kaczowka; Rumali Werapitiya; Kelsey Karst; Paula Demay; Shannon McGeady; Anne-Marie Rollo; Kim Crawford; Amanda Lodoen; Tess Maciag; Amy Kilbeck; coach Jim Gallagher
The gold medalist Regina Balfour Redmen: Randi Elphick; Mandy Gullickson; Sara Hearn; Amber Humeny; Miranda Santbergen; Leona Brickwell; Jana Schweitzer; Laura Ford; Kathy Hunter; Carrie Jamieson; Tenille Kirkland; Lauren Wawro; Kim Melenchuk; Carrie Webster; Amanda O’Connor; Lara Schmidt; coach Wendy Bileski; manager Karen Hunter