In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Saskatoon Marion M. Graham Falcons defeated the 9th-seeded North Battleford John Paul II Crusaders 52-43. The Crusaders (coached by Bruce Yockey) included Sarah Morrison, Abby Closen, Courtney Johnson, Loretta Colvin, Hannah Wilhelm, Megan Yockey, Ali Lesmeister, Kaitlyn Yockey, Jessica Heidt, Kaitlin Tarasoff, Lauren Brandle, Prisca Mbwebwe and Anya Illingworth. …………………………………………………… The original schedule listed the 4th-seeded Weyburn Eagles as playing the 13th-seeded Saskatoon Bedford Road Redhawks. The game does not appear to have been played and Weyburn advances to the quarterfinals. The Redhawks, if the game was played, (coached by Jessica Stang, assisted by Jasmin Stang) included Serena Patel, Sarah Patel, Rishona Avivi, Kristen Barrie, Malina Rondilla, Anna Letwiniuk, Dana Lucas, Honeah Sanderson, Talia Polzen and Rachel Ermine. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Warman Wolverines clocked the 12th-seeded the Balgonie Greenall Griffins 75-50. The Griffins included Layne Legien. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Moose Jaw Central Cyclones dumped the 10th-seeded Humboldt Mohawks 49-37. The Mohawks were coached by Paul Raycroft. …………………………………………………… The 11th-seeded Meadow Lake Carpenter Spartanettes defeated the 6th-seeded Moose Jaw Vanier Spirits 46-39. The Spirits (coached by Jonathan Gionet) included Annah McDonald, Trinity Roberts, Jenna Meilli, Kirah Brown, Alexis Jones, Mackenzie Miller, Emily Koller.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Melfort Comets torched the 8th-seeded Saskatoon Marion M. Graham Falcons 96-41 after leading 46-15 at the half. “The girls played fantastic. The first five minutes we were a little wound up. (We had) lots of turnovers (but) they were just so excited to play,” Comets coach Kelly Linnell told the Melfort Journal. “They came out (shooting) shots over the basket and made a few bad passes within (but) they settled down and played a hard game and played as a team. They had lots of fast breaks. I’m very proud of them. … We played really solid zone. We’re quick. The girls can anticipate where the ball is going to go and they can read those passes to steal.” The Falcons (coach Jodi Smith-Windsor, coach Marissa Glanville, manager Jemver Portuguese, manager Ayra Rosaldo) included Quinn Courtney, Elaine Hsu, Rianel Castro, Bronwyn Murray, Alijah Pascual, Camryn Scarfe, Emma Rodman, Terryn Bateman, Jace Wright, Jada Roach, Suzy Laniece, Sydney Kohlman, Aloiza Fakat and Morgan Beattie.
The 4th-seeded Weyburn Eagles edged the 5th-seeded Warman Wolverines 56-54. The Wolverines were coach by Greg Tebay.
The 2nd-seeded North Battleford Composite Vikings rolled the 7th-seeded Moose Jaw Central Cyclones 80-30. “We’re really working hard and I have a lot of confidence in the girls right now and how they are playing,” Vikings head coach Bryan Cottini told the Battlefords News-Optimist. “With our performances as of late, I would have been really disappointed if we hadn’t won that game. It’s a big win and it’s another step towards our end goal.” The Vikings led 26-7 after one quarter and romped. “We saw Central use a full court press against Humboldt in the game here Friday and that was something that I told the girls to keep an eye out for in our pre-game chat,” Cottini said. “I’m not sure if it was a respect for our point guard or what it was, but we really didn’t see that a lot today. I was really happy with how our post players preformed today, as they really took it to Central down low.” Nahoni Tootoosis led the Vikings with 15. Jenna Fransoo added 14. Sydney Booth and Katie Coulson each scored 6 to pace the Cyclones. “North Battleford’s a very good and aggressive team,” Cyclones coach Jocelyn Wigmore said. “I felt like our first half defence was pretty good, as we were matching their aggressiveness, but we just couldn’t hold them off as they kept pushing forward.” The Cyclones (coached by Jocelyn Wigmore) also included Erika Thomson, Rae Whitehead, Kirstie Johnstone, Ashlyn Jesse, Marlee Barber, Aby Korbo, Kada Klein.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers smacked the 11th-seeded Meadow Lake Carpenter Spartanettes 65-23.
In the semis, the top-seeded Melfort Comets crushed the 4th-seeded Weyburn Eagles 57-37 after leading 31-19 at the half. Keely Hangs-Copeland led the Comets with 15. Hailey Neiszner led the Eagles with 13. “We were nervous in the first quarter and it took a while to relax and play basketball. The girls played well as a team,” Comets coach Kelly Linnell told the Melfort Journal.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers whipped the 2nd-seeded North Battleford Composite Vikings 68-49 after leading 37-20 at the half. It marked the third consecutive year in which the Toilers beat the Vikings in the semis. Katherine McDougall paced the Toilers with 18. Nahoni Tootoosis paced the Vikings with 13. “Peacock came out really strong and they had built up so much of a lead that it was tough to come back,” Tootoosis told the Battleford News-Optimist. Vikings coach Brian Cottini said “when we beat them at their tournament earlier in the year, Peacock was still trying to find themselves a little bit as they have quite a young team. I didn’t think anyone could be more aggressive than us, but they certainly were in that game.”
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded North Battleford Composite Vikings stuffed the 4th-seeded Weyburn Eagles 78-49 after leading 35-30 at the half. “It’s really exciting to get a medal, especially as this is my last year,” graduating Vikings player Nahoni Tootoosis told the Battlefords News-Optimist. “The girls played well this weekend and it’s pretty awesome to finish off my high school career with this.” Vikings coach Brian Cottini said “after a tough loss in the semifinal yesterday, I was really proud to see how the team stepped up and found a way to win a medal.” The Vikings dominated the third quarter by a 25-5 count. “We didn’t deal with their full court press very well in the first half and we ended up turning the ball over quite a lot as a result,” Cottini said. “We started to calm down in the third quarter and we were able to break through their defence. Two of our girls really stepped up to help with that. Mia Cottini hit five three-pointers in the third quarter and Nahoni was just a beast down low to get some key baskets.” Tootoosis led the Vikings with 29. “Once we cleaned up our passes, we were able to find a bit of an advantage in the paint,” Tootoosis said. “We were able to build off of that as the game went on and we were able to pull away.” Hailey Neiszner led the Eagles with 14. The Eagles also included Mary Sidloski, Brynna Spence, Payton Oberg, Tiarrah Umbach.
In the final, the top-seeded Melfort
Comets clubbed the 3rd-seeded Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers 64-42 after leading 31-18 at the
half. “I am so proud of these girls. They worked so hard all year
in practice and were totally committed. I’m excited for the girls and the
recognition that this is the first ever team provincial title in the history of
MUCC (Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate). It still doesn’t feel
real,” Comets coach Kelly Linnell told the Melfort Journal. The Comets led
31-18 at the half. Rachell Linnell paced the Comets with 16 points and 10
boards. Piper Ingalls added 11, while Keely Hangs-Copeland nabbed 8 boards. “The
final was exciting. There were lots of fans showing their support and the
girls were excited to play. I thought they would have come out a lot more
nervous but they took control right at the beginning,” Linnell said. ”We
still missed lots of easy shots in the first quarter, but the girls were still
playing their game.” Katherine McDougall led the Toilers with 17.
The bronze medalist North
Battleford Composite Vikings: Nahoni Tootoosis; Mia Cottini; Anna Atcheynum; coach
Bryan Cottini
The silver medalist Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers: Katherine McDougall; Macaela Crone; Abby Busch; Alexis Long; Piper Ingalls; Alexia Aikman; Kennedy Ward; Meagan McDonald; coach Vaughn Crone
The gold medalist Melfort Comets: Alexa Hangs-Copeland; Kelly Hangs-Copeland; Rachel Linnell; Lauren Lueken; Tyrelle Audette; Carleigh Amsom; Jenna Fedusiak; Avery South; Hannah Linnell; Kayla Kish; Nicole Fedorychka; Amy Constant; coach Kelly Linnell