In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders whipped Meadow Lake 66-28 after leading 37-18 at the half. Rae Braaten paced the Crusaders with 15. Dalyce Emmerson added 10. Brooke Dallyn led Meadow Lake with 19. …………………………………………………… The Moose Jaw Central Cyclones crushed the Regina Miller Marauders 66-36 as Alex Butler scored 35. Vanessa O’Dow paced the Marauders with 11. The Marauders also included Annora Bourgeault, Chantel Berricult, Chelsea Harty, Dayna Parker. …………………………………………………… The Saskatoon Tommy Douglas Tigers clubbed the Yorkton Sacred Heart Saints 75-39 after breaking to a 20-4 lead. Elecktra Charles led the Tigers with 24. Karinne Seiferling added 21. Taylor Shymanski paced the Saints with 11. Shayla Merriam added 8. …………………………………………………… The North Battleford Vikings defeated the Yorkton Regional Raiders 56-47 after leading 28-17 at the half. …………………………………………………… The Swift Current Ardens dusted the Regina Martin Monarchs 77-13 after leading 20-2, 47-4 and 62-8 at the quarters. Tessa Andres paced the Ardens with 19. Lindsay Siemens added 15. Hayley Chalk added eight points and five steals. Nikki Francouer pulled down 12 rebounds, Jill Kennedy added 11 of her own, and Jane Kennedy had eight steals. Trina Pasap led the Monarchs with 5. The Monarchs also included Courtney Tafelmeyer, Shaylynn Cherepushchak, Lindsay Kuhnke, Jazmine Rostie, Jessica Zaryski. …………………………………………………… The Balgonie Greenall Griffins edged the Estevan Elecs 69-66 after leading 16-13, 34-33 and 54-49 at the quarters. Alyssa Shivak paced the Griffins with 24, while Brittany Kaczmar hit several treys. Jade Shirley led the Elecs with 21, while Christa Clearwater dominated the perimeter. …………………………………………………… The Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders stomped the North Battleford John Paul II Crusaders 68-25 after leading 38-8 at the half. …………………………………………………… The Moose Jaw Peacock Toilers dumped the Weyburn Eagles 53-31 after leading 23-13 at the half.
In the quarterfinals, the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders defeated the Moose Jaw Central Cyclones 54-29. The Cyclones led 11-4 after one quarter but the Crusaders clawed back to a 20-18 lead at the half. Rae Braaten paced the Crusaders with 21. Dalyce Emmerson added 16 and dominated the boards. Jina Barker led the Cyclones with 16.
The North Battleford Vikings clubbed the Saskatoon Tommy Douglas Tigers 67-47. The Tigers (coached by Brad Smith) included Jasmine Houde, Elecktra Charles, Alexis Olynyk, Shyan Pastl, Breena McInnes, Samantha Matschke, Jada Aria, Karinna Seiferling, Mikayla McDonald, Judy Lewis-Germain, Andrea Knudsen, Kenzie Friesen.
The Swift Current Ardens dispatched the Balgonie Greenall Griffins 49-39 as Lindsay Siemens scored 19 and 8 steals. Nikki Francouer added 8 points and 10 boards. Britney Kaczmar paced the Griffins with 17. The Ardens trailed 25-18 at halftime and by as many as nine points during the game but took command in the fourth quarter. “I think there were more nerves than I was anticipating,” said coach Rod Siemens. “Especially after last night where I thought we shot the ball very well and took care of the ball. Today we struggled offensively right from the start… It was a bit of nerves and just maybe not being focused on the offensive end.” The Ardens hit 18-80 (.220). “We actually probably expected it to be a lot easier,” admitted forward Jill Kennedy. “We thought it wasn’t going to be a challenge considering we have only lost to one (4A) team all year. But I am glad it was a good game and not a blowout because it is a lot more fun that way.” The Ardens won the final quarter 19-8. “I think it all goes back to defense. In the start of the second half the ball wasn’t going in for us but the girls felt it was just a matter of time because defensively we did a tremendous job in the second half with a real team effort,” said Siemens. Kennedy said that despite the unexpected adversity the team stuck together to pull out the win. “I think it is when we are together as a group in the timeouts and in between quarters we are always just so positive. Our coach is always there and is making us do everything better. When our team is together as one, we always play better. I think that in the first half we were not as together as we normally are.” The Griffins also included Alyssa Shivak.
In the last quarterfinal, the Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders defeated the Moose Jaw Peacock Toilers 67-58. “We came out strong, we pushed the ball, we were very aggressive … I think we did great,” said Jade Hendous. The Toilers worked their way into the lead early when Racquel Lys knocked down a jump shot just seconds after tipoff. That 2-0 lead, which lasted all of 15 seconds, would be the only time the Toilers were ahead on the scoreboard all game. Jade McFee answered back with a layup to even the score at 2-2, and within minutes the Marauders had opened up a seven-point cushion, thanks in part to a Hendous three-pointer. Moose Jaw’s Amy van den Hooven drove to the basket late in the first quarter, getting the hoop and the harm for a three-point play to make the score 14-7 for the Marauders. The second quarter began with the Marauders up 19-11, but baskets from Kayla Tycholiz, Megan Manson, Tori Glynn and a three-ball from Hendous helped the Marauders jump out to a 31-12 lead. Moose Jaw’s resiliency was on display again as the seconds ticked off the clock to end the first half. A three-pointer from the Toilers’ Karli Bell, and a buzzer-beater from Kayla Bugg brought the score to 35-19 for St. Mary at halftime. Midway through the third quarter, St. Mary fans received a scare when a collision between Hendous and Lys left the petite St. Mary point guard writhing in pain on the floor. She was forced to leave the game. Hendous’ replacement, Althea Matheson, answered the bell with a layup on her first touch, but was forced to take a seat on the bench injured after running into a screen she never saw coming just seconds later. But Hendous recovered from her spill and retook the reigns of St. Mary’s offence. The third quarter ended with a three-point play from Hendous, who finished with a game-high 20 points. “She’s a warrior,” Marauders coach Dwayne Gareau said of Hendous. “She’s our primary ball-handler, she pushes the pace, she makes plays (and) she makes shots for us. She took a couple of charley horses, but she got back in the game — what more can I say.” Hendous went down in another collision late in the fourth quarter, this time with Moose Jaw’s Jessica Williams, and the Toilers pulled within nine points of the Marauders thanks to a Brittany Hiscock three-pointer. But that was as close as they would get. “When you’re down by 15, people think the game is over, but that’s not what our team is about, and I think they showed that in the fourth quarter,” Toilers coach Renee Verge said. “My girls played with so much heart.”
In the semis, the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders dumped the North Battleford Vikings 51-23 as Dalyce Emmerson scored 15 and Raquel Marshall 14. Tianna Balfour led the Vikings with 8. Quinn Eberle added 6. Crusaders head coach Ken Morrison said his team is at its best when everyone contributes offensively — and that was the case Friday. “We were firing on all cylinders,” Morrison said. “It was a pretty good team effort.” The Crusaders avoided a nervous start, but North Battleford seemed to let the bright lights of Hoopla affect its play early in the game. “I think they were pretty nervous, and their legs were pretty heavy … so that worked out in our favour,” Morrison said. “We’re just going to come out and play our game, and stay calm, and be focused and really execute. I think if we play hard, things will work out in the end for us.”
In the other semi, the Swift Current Ardens eliminated the Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders 48-43 as Tessa Andres scored 26 and Lindsay Siemens 11. Jade Hendous led St. Mary with 16. Althea Matheson added 13. Relying on their vast experience at Hoopla, the Ardens jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter on their way to a 29-15 lead at halftime. The Ardens played solid zone defense throughout the game that prevented the Marauders from getting the ball into their post players. A dominating rebounding effort against their much taller opponents did not hurt either as the Ardens got double digit rebounding performances from Jill Kennedy, Francoeur and Siemens.
In the bronze medal match, the Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders stomped the North Battleford Vikings 45-26 as Meagan Manson scored 12 and Kayla Tycholiz 7. Tianna Balfour led the Vikings with 8. Hailey Zehner added 4. The Vikings also included Halley Zehner.
In the final, the top-seeded Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders whipped the Swift Current Ardens 54-33 as Rae Braaten scored 16, Racquel Marshall 14 and 6-3 Dalyce Emmerson 13, along with 23 boards and six blocks. Tessa Andres led the Ardens with 18. Lindsay Siemens added 7. The Crusaders played a smothering defensive game to hold the Ardens offence in check. The Ardens jumped out to an 8-3 lead but the game was tied 11-11 after one quarter and the Ardens trailed 26-21 at the halftime break. The third quarter proved to be the Ardens undoing as they were outscored 19-5 as Andres and Jane Kennedy picked up their fourth fouls and Lindsay Siemens added her fourth foul early in the fourth quarter. “I looked up and the clock was at two minutes, we were up by 17 … and I just got the jitters,” Crusaders forward Laura Halyk told the Prince Albert Daily Herald. “I didn’t even hear the buzzer go. I got the ball, and everyone surrounded us. I was like, ‘What is going on?’ It was absolutely amazing.” Crusaders coach Ken Morrison said “we just felt if we kept doing what we are supposed to be doing, that they would wear down. I think the girls learned from their experience (at past Hooplas) and did a really god job of keeping a level head and executing.” Chana Harris said “it was really exciting, even on the bench. It’s everything we wanted. This has been our goal for the past three years I’ve been on the team, and to finally reach it feels really great.” Morrison said “I’m just proud of the girls. They’ve worked hard all year, and some of them for four years. It’s always good to come out on top.” The Ardens fought hard to come back in the fourth quarter but they could not make up ground against the Crusaders man-to-man defense. “I’m still very proud of the girls and their accomplishments throughout the season. It is a great disappointment right now to lose the championship but a provincial silver medal will be a great memory in the future,” said Ardens coach Rod Siemens.
The bronze medalist Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders: Jade Hendous; Meagan Manson; Kayla Tycholiz; Jayde McFee; Tori Glynn; Althea Matheson; coach Dwayne Gareau
The silver medalist Swift Current Ardens: Tessa Andres; Lindsay Siemens; Jane Kennedy; Jill Kennedy; Nikki Francoeur; Hayley Chalk; Sidney Thomas; Amy Pepin; Paige Patey; coach Rod Siemens
The gold medalist Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders: Dalyce Emmerson; Rae Braaten; Raquel Marshall; Lexi Gordon; Ranelle Mamczasz; Laura Halyk; Kristin Czychowski; Shalice Coutu; Sarah Cooper; Nicki Harris, Chana Harris; Morgan Braaten; Katelyn Mitchell; Ranelle Mamczasz; Chenele Fisher; coach Ken Morrison; coach Jennifer Ferguson