In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded North Battleford Vikings clocked the 16th-seeded Humboldt Mohawks 72-27 after leading 47-10 at the half. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Meadow Lake Carpenter Spartans edged the 8th-seeded North Battleford John Paul II Crusaders 47-45 after leading 27-21 at the half. The Crusaders were coached by Bryce Tockey. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Hounds torched the 13th-seeded Warman Wolverines 96-40. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Estevan Elecs dumped the 12th-seeded Nipawin L.P. Miller Comprehensive Bears 84-62. Elecs coach Jesse Smoliak told the Estevan Mercury that “we missed some lay-ups, but the team made up for it on creating turnovers on the defence. A great effort by everyone on the team with everyone scoring. We knew we had to focus on this game first and then focus on the final next.” Sarah Dacuycuy paced the Elecs with 14. Charlotte Andrist added 12, Kishi Rioferio 10 and Haylee Jones 10. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Melfort Comets crushed the 15th-seeded Martensville Royals 83-26 after leading 26-2, 43-10, 57-17 at the quarters. Alexa Hangs-Copeland paced the Comets with 17. Hannah Linnell added 13. Kate Misskey led the Royals with 10. The Royals also included Brodie Yuzik. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Regina Sheldon-Williams Spartans dispatched the 10th-seeded Moose Jaw Vanier Vikings 67-52 as Mattea Hamilton scored 32. The Vikings led 14-11 after one quarter and 25-23 at the half. The Spartans led 43-42 after three quarters. Jenna Meili led the Vikings with 15. The Vikings also included Jewellyn McDonald, Maurissa Metz, Gracie Bzdel. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers bombed the 14th-seeded Regina Martin Monarchs 69-27. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Moose Jaw Central Cyclones dusted the 11th-seeded Balgonie Greenall Griffins 74-37.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded North Battleford Vikings stomped the 9th-seeded Meadow Lake Carpenter Spartans 99-35 after leading 60-16 at the half
The 4th-seeded Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Hounds edged the 5th-seeded Estevan Elecs 48-41. The Elecs led 18-15, 31-30 and 38-37 at the quarters. But in the fourth frame, coach Jesse Smoliak told the Estevan Mercury “we had a couple bad turnovers which gave ND some points. Our girls played with heart and wanted to win. I was really proud of our team for the effort they put in during the week and throughout the season. … We knew we had to break ND’s pressure and get quick shots up to try to tire them out. We made a lot of great shots in the first three quarters but then nothing seemed to fall for us in the fourth.” Shanelle Rioux paced the Elecs with 12. The Elecs (coached by Jesse Smoliak, assisted by Ashleigh Dzuba, Larissa Smeltzer, Bridget Bjorndalen and Rob Andrist) also included Sarah Dacuycuy, Charlotte Andrist, Kishi Rioferio, Haylee Jones, Tianna Seeman, Renee Stephanie, Bethany Montebon, Danica Memory.
The 2nd-seeded Melfort Comets bombed the 7th-seeded Regina Sheldon-Williams Spartans 93-49 as Alexa Hangs-Copeland scored 13. Lalaine Taeza paced the Spartans with 14. The Spartans also included Mattea Hamilton. The Comets led 26-10, 51-17 and 76-31 at the quarters. “We were feeling pretty confident,” Comets coach Kelly Linnell told the Melfort Journal. “I’m pretty proud of these girls because they work so hard and have good team chemistry and are just great people on and off the court.”
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers mauled the 6th-seeded Moose Jaw Central Cyclones 71-40. Piper Ingalls nailed a trey at the buzzer to give the Toilers a 53-29 lead after three quarters. Ingalls told Discover Moose Jaw “there was two seconds left so I just whipped and it happened to go in. I thought it hit the net and it just fell, I didn’t know it went in.” Ingalls paced the Toilers with 23. Emily Mackenzie added 11 and Abby Tusch 10. The Toilers led 19-9 after one quarter and 40-20 at the half. The Cyclones (coached by Tianna Adams) included Emily Blackmore, Nylah Seaborn, Malea Kletzel, Alexa Watterson, Kirstie Johnstone, Katie Coulson.
In the semis, the top-seeded North Battleford Vikings defeated the 4th-seeded Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Hounds 60-55 after leading 39-24 at the half. Anika Cottini paced the Vikings with 16. Sydney Milum led the Hounds with 21.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Melfort Comets whipped the 3rd-seeded Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers 70-49 after leading 41-18 at the half. Yetunde Ige led the Comets with 19. Alexa Hangs-Copeland added 11. Emily MacKenzie paced the Toilers with 16.
In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers torched the 4th-seeded Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Hounds 70-53. The Hounds led 12-11 after one quarter. The Toilers led 31-21 at the half. “Our first game didn’t go as planned but I’m really proud of everyone for turning the corner, coming back and coming home with bronze,” Toiler Abby Busch told Discover Moose Jaw. “Our coaches spent a lot of time after our first game to figure out a game plan for this one and it seemed to really execute throughout the whole game. … We’re a pretty small team, so we just stayed in the key and let them shoot from the outside, we just tried to shut down their [big] posts and it seemed to work really well.” Piper Ingalls said “it’s pretty amazing, last game of my high school career, it’s awesome. My shots were just falling today.” Piper Ingalls paced the Toilers with 38. Jocelyn Lightfoot led all Hounds scorers. The Hounds (coached by Reegan Ortman and Wayne Morrison) also included Sydney Milum, Mimi Anglo, Julia Bancroft, Ziwan ‘Karry’ Cai, Rola Germakana, Sommer Hagley, Tressie Ireland, Rylan Kearns, Chloe South, Faith Stark, Eden Tabin, Sadie Turning Robe, Brookly Walbaum and Madelyn Weisshaar.
In the final, the top-seeded North Battleford Vikings dusted the 2nd-seeded two-time defending champion Melfort Comets 71-51 after leading 31-21 at the half. Abbey Neufeld paced the Vikings with 24. Lauren Riley added 13. Avery South paced the Comets with 7. Alexa Hangs-Copeland added 6, Hannah Linnell 6 and Yetunde Ige 6. “North Battleford played better in that game and deserved to win. They hit the shots when they needed them and their post was strong at both ends of the court,” Comets coach Kelly Linnell told the Melfort Journal. Linnell told northeastNOW it just wasn’t their year. “We had a hard time scoring against them. It was a little bit of a tougher game. Things didn’t go our way early on in the game and North Battleford played really well. Their post, offensively we couldn’t stop her and defensively she was shutting us down on the other end. They were the better team that game for sure. I’m really proud of the girls and how hard they worked. We didn’t give up, the girls were still fired up in the fourth quarter, and we had a little run in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t the year for us this year, it was definitely their year. It just goes to show how hard it is to get that gold medal,” she said. “The last two years we went to HOOPLA and we won, it just seemed to fall into our hands. We’re looking for next year to continue that trend to make it back to HOOPLA again.”
The bronze medalist Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers: Piper Ingalls; Emily MacKenzie; Abby Busch; Alexia Aikman; Alexis Lang; Megan MacDonald; Anna Maelde; Caitlyn Johnson; Caitlin Miller;
The silver medalist Melfort Comets: Yetunde Ige; Alexa Hangs-Copeland; Jenna Fedusiak; Avery South; Hannah Linnell; Nicole Fedorychka; Laurin Riley?; coach Kelly Linnell
The gold medalist North Battleford Vikings: Abbey Neufeld; Anika Cottini; Laurin Riley; M Mitchell; K Rathwell; coach Bryan Cottini