In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Hounds stomped Wynyard 73-20 as Selali Acolatse scored 15. Amy Prychak led Wynyard with 12. …………………………………………………… The Canora Cougars defeated the Melville Cobras 82-66 as Breanne Lozinski scored 24. Caity Santos led Melville with 12. The Cobras also included Kelsey Zulynick. …………………………………………………… The Outlook Blues whipped the Prince Albert Collegiate Institute Golden Bears 73-44 as Rayanne Brown and Erin McNeill each scored 17. Crystal Davidson led PACI with 19. Outlook broke to early lead but PACI kept working and fought to make it a two-point game in the half. Outlook took command in the second half. Outlook led 22-15, 32-30 and 56-33 at the quarters. …………………………………………………… The Caronport Cougars edged the Clavet Cougars 69-68 as Lauren Haffner scored 20. Danica Cox led Clavet with 23. At the start of the game Clavet was running the floor very well and playing solid defense. To start the second half Caronport got its running game going and began to close the gap. In the fourth quarter Caronport kept chipping away at the lead until the last 4 minutes when they tied it up. Clavet led 19-10, 42-26 and 53-47 at the quarters. …………………………………………………… The Moose Jaw Vanier Spirits crushed Melfort Comets 74-52 as Alisha Amey scored 26 and Kehlsie 25. Alanna Hirsch led Melfort with 20. Andi Taylor added 10 and Danielle Wehrkamp 9. Vanier led 33-16, 46-25 and 61-39 at the quarters. “If you can play the number two seed and only lose by 20 and put 52 points on the board, it is a good thing,” said Melfort coach Penny Anderson. “They have got a pretty good shot at winning the whole thing in the 3A division. They have a very solid team. The girls played really well, you can’t be unhappy with that game at all.” The Comets had seen their bench shrink over the season, with injuries to Kathy Goudy and Jenni MacNaughton. “Over the whole season injuries took its toll on us,” Anderson said. “But they played right up to the buzzer.” …………………………………………………… The Dalmeny Cougars dumped Regina Christian 84-76 as Candace Hueser scored 17 and Brittani Picard 15. Renee Martens led Regina Christian with 29. The Grizzlies also included Heather McMaster, Tiffany Fitzpatrick. Dalmeny broke to a 13-3 lead. Dalmeny led 23-16, 45-37 and 62-58 at the quarters. …………………………………………………… The Outlook Lutheran Collegiate Bible Institute Lady Bisons mauled the Maidstone Huskies 90-26 as Kelly Koshinsky scored 15, Vanessa Mulvey 12 and Kim Njaa 12. Chandler Wall led Maidstone with 8. Kelsey Wilkinson added 6. LCBI started off strong and used an up-tempo game to end the quarter at 38-8. Maidstone’s Chandler Wall started the second half with two treys but LCBI controlled the game. LCBI led 46-18 at the half and 75-25 after three quarters. …………………………………………………… Indian Head nipped the Humboldt Mohawks 70-69 as Jessica Kizulk scored 13, Shana Blenkin 13, Sherrie Fortin 11, Randi Yee 11 and Layce Donaldson 10. Paige Crozon led Humboldt with 17. Sam Hopfner added 11, Kaitlyn Grieman 11 and Taylor Crozon 10. Humboldt led 19-12, 39-31 and 51-45 at the quarters. Humboldt led the whole game up until the last 3 seconds. Humboldt had leads of up to 12 points but Indian Head always fought their way back. Both teams pressed and created turnovers. Indian Head was down by 8 in the last minute and Sherrie Fortin scored two key 3 pointers, the last one with 3 seconds left to win the game.
In the quarterfinals, the Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Hounds crushed the Canora Cougars 72-44 as Kayla Hannah scored 15. Saran Weinbender led Canora with 12. Notre Dame led 34-25 at the half. The Cougars also included Kara Kobelka.
The Outlook Blues defeated the Caronport Cougars 57-49 as Rayanne Brown scored 12, Kaci Halseth 14 and Erin McNeill 10. Brooke Olmstead paced Caronport with 19. Shayla Durksen and Lauren Haffner each added 9. Caronport led 14-8 after one quarter. Outlook led 30-29 at the half and 47-41 after three quarters. Outlook began to pound the ball inside in the second quarter and built a lead of six.
The Moose Jaw Vanier Spirits whipped the Dalmeny Cougars 94-54 as Caitlin Folk scored 20, Alisha Amey 18 and Kehlsie Crone 16. Brittany Picard paced the Cougars with 19. The Spirits led 20-15 after one quarter and were never threatened, leading by as many as 25. “Everyone helped out,” said Folk. “When the starters went off, the next line stepped up to the plate and played just as well.” While standout guard Kehlsie Crone sat on the bench with three fouls for the entire second quarter, the Spirits built a solid lead. Dalmeny fought to within 10 points before Katey Cotter hit a three-point shot to extend the lead. Courtney Kelly came off the bench to score six straight points and then Cotter hit a buzzer-beating three to give the Spirits a 51-32 lead at half time. “It’s never good to have anyone in foul trouble, but I liked the way we maintained our composure,” said Vanier coach Bob Gottselig. “We didn’t sweat it. Everybody stepped up and did their job and we played well.” The Spirits wouldn’t look back as their transition game and strong defence allowed them to pull away. Dalmeny was in foul trouble for much of the game and had three players foul out in the fourth quarter.
In the last quarterfinal, Outlook Lutheran Collegiate Bible Institute Bisons dumped Indian Head 89-59 as Holly Chappell scored 22, Leah Adelman 18, Kim Njaa 12, Vanessa Mulvey 8, Kelly Koshinsky 7, Sydney Little 5, Emma Johnson 5, Hannah Hundeby 4 and Tanya Mortenson 3. Stephanie Appleton led Indian Head with 18. Cara Focht added 10, Jessica Kizulk 7, Sherrie Fortin 6, Jesse Reese 5, Shana Blenkin 5, Chantell Betteridge 4, Layce Donaldson 2 and Randi Yee 2. LCBI led 24-13, 46-21 and 69-41 at the quarters.
In the semis, the Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Hounds defeated the Outlook Blues 59-47 as Kayla Hannah scored 18. Rayanne Brown led Outlook with 17. Notre Dame led 17-10, 34-18 and 46-31 at the quarters. When Hannah got inside “we didn’t have a solution for her,” Blues coach Wayne Sandbeck told the Regina Leader-Post.
In the other semi, the Moose Jaw Vanier Spirits clipped Outlook Lutheran Collegiate Bible Institute Lady Bisons 80-67 as Caitlin Folk scored 22. Kim Njaa led LCBI with 22. Vanier led 28-15 after one quarter. LCBI led 35-33 at the half. Vanier led 59-47 after three quarters. The Spirits overcame a bad second quarter to down the defending provincial high school girls 3A basketball champions. “We were generally pleased with our performance,” Vanier coach Bob Gottselig told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “Our only glitch was foul trouble. We just have to be smarter.” Starting guard Kehlsie Crone picked up three fouls in the first quarter. She sat for the whole second quarter and watched as LCBI out-scored Vanier 20-5 to take a two-point lead into the half. With Crone back in the lineup, the Spirits were up by a dozen after three quarters. “She takes their best defensive players and draws them towards her,” said Gottselig. “If she’s not scoring . . . she’s finding somebody open who can score. When she comes off the court then they focus a lot more of their attention on Caitlin (Folk) and the scoring tends to dry up. She’s one of the premier players in this city and in the province and when she’s sitting down any team is going to suffer.” The Spirits were able to neutralize Bisons guard Leah Adelman who was the leading scorer in their Hoopla semi last year. “Our guard play throughout the game was stellar,” said Gottselig. “LCBI has a very talented player — she has the nicest pull-up jumper I’ve seen this year — and our guards did a great job on her.” In addition to slowing the Bisons’ outside game, both of LCBI key post players — Njaa and Holly Chappell — picked up their fourth fouls in the third quarter. From there the Spirits depth took over as they pulled away to win. In the second half, with both post players Kim Njaa and Holly Chappell in foul trouble, the Lady Bisons had to go to their bench and they could not maintain their rebound supremacy. “Inexperience at this level,” Bisons coach Bryan Akre told the Regina Leader-Post. “It showed. The subs that come in just haven’t had the experience at this level. We have the leadership, but to play at this level you have to have more depth.” Chappell fouled out with 57 seconds left in the third quarter. “Yes, it’s disappointing,” she said. “I’m just upset I didn’t get to play that last quarter.”
In the bronze medal match, the Outlook Lutheran College Bible Institute Bisons whipped the Outlook Blues 69-33 as Kim Njaa scored 15. Kacci Halseth led Outlook (coached by Wayne Sandbeck) with 10.
In the final,
the Moose Jaw Vanier Spirits crushed the Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre Dame
Hounds 73-50 as Caitlin Folk scored 31 and Kehlsie Crone 30. Folk also nabbed
10 boards. Crone dished 9 assists. Kayla Hannah led Notre Dame with 18,
including 8-10 from the line. The Spirits led 38-31 at the half. The Spirits
solution to trying to slow down the Hounds’ six-foot post was to throw fresh bodies
at her. The Spirits used four different players to guard Hannah and held the
provincial team player to 18 points. “Allison Gottselig, Alisha Amey, Taylor Miller
and Halsey Shaheen they had the job of just guarding (Hannah) and just playing
her one-on-one,” said Vanier coach Bob Gottselig, “(Hannah) is bigger than they
are. She’s stronger than they are. She’s as skilled an offensive player as
there was on the floor. They got a lot of bruises in this game to get that gold
medal and I’m really proud of them.” Vanier’s Caitlin Folk would have been
another candidate to guard Hannah but Gottselig wanted to keep Folk free to be
at her best offensively. “There’s a lot of contact under there and hitting the floor,”
said Gottselig. “Not only is it physically draining, but it’s mentally draining
as well to take that abuse and keep on ticking. (Folk) didn’t have to take the
punishment that the other girls did and she was just money with the ball in her
hands shooting that shot over the big girl at the line.” Folk said “we wanted
this so bad and we got it. It’s the best feeling I’ve had all year. I can’t
explain it. Words can’t say it. Every girl came out there with such intensity and
it was a team effort.” The Spirits used 13 players in the final — including
contributions from a pair of Grade 9s — as they used their depth to help
overpower the top-ranked Hounds. Crone said “it was the hardest game I think
we’ve ever played. We played like a team and we dug deep right when we needed
to. When the momentum changed our way, we kept it going and it was awesome.” The
game was very close for most of the first half before a late 9-2 run gave
Vanier a 38-31 half time lead. In the second half the Spirits kept their lead
intact and in the fourth quarter pushed it to double-digits and beyond as their
defence held the Hounds to 19 second half points. “Crone and Folk had great
games,” said Notre Dame coach Wayne Morrison. “I knew they were very good. I’ve
seen them play a lot, but I think that’s the best I’ve seen either of them play.
(Folk) was well-defended at times and made some really nice baskets. What do
you do?” Folk missed two shots in close on the Spirits’
first trip down the floor. After the game she chalked that up to nerves and a
little too much adrenaline. The nerves evaporated quickly as she was nearly perfect
from then on as she hit shot after shot to help add to the Spirits’ lead. “I
felt so good playing today,” said Folk. “My shots were on. The girls gave me
some wicked passes.” In addition to Folk’s hot hand, Crone was driving to the
basket and either scoring or creating shots for other players. Crone did have
to briefly go to the locker room after twice being flattened by mid-court screens
by Notre Dame’s Kelsey Bossenberry. However, Crone would provide the dagger in
the Hounds hopes as she was fouled while hitting a three-point shot. Crone
would convert the four-point play to put the Spirits up 65-47 and the foul on
Bossenberry was her fifth of the game. “We’ve worked so hard and it’s the most
amazing feeling ever,” said Crone, a Grade 11, who added that it was special to
help the seniors win a title. “It’s an amazing group of girls,” said Folk.
The bronze medalist Outlook Lutheran
Collegiate Bible Institute Lady Bisons: Kim Njaa; Kelly Koshinsky; Vanessa Mulvey;
Holly Chappell; Leah Adelman; Sydney Little; Emma Johnson; Hannah Hundeby;
Tanya Mortenson; coach Bryan Akre
The silver medalist Wilcox Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Hounds: Kayla Hannah; Selali Acolatse; Kelsey Bossenberry; Jillene George; Allie Mansbridge; Kayla Hannah; Elaine Lockwood; Johnnie Nasecapow; Jessica Frison; Ashlyn Higgs; Kristine Lovatt; Megan Weisshaar; coach Wayne Morrison
The gold medalist Moose Jaw Vanier Spirits: Caitlin Folk; Alisha Amey; Kehlsie Crone; Katey Cotter; Courtney Kelly; Molly Cox; Allison Gottselig; Taylor Miller; Halsey Shaheen; coach Bob Gottselig