Will be doing a few of these over the next couple of days -- AAA & AAAA, junior & senior.
CWOSSA "AAAA" Girls Preview
If some of these teams and players seem familiar, they should be. Four of six teams competing in the Junior "AAAA" Championship were here last year. Here's a quick rundown of the teams as well as my selections.
Junior - Pool "A"
St. Mary's Eagles (Kitchener - D8 #1)
Despite having 2 top grade 10s (Lindsay Lessard & Lindsay Taylor) play up in senior, the Vikes are back in the CWOSSA playdowns.
This year's team got off to a rocky start, including a loss to Galt (a non-playoff WCSSAA team). However, the Vikes have hit their stride and are the favourite in tomorrow's WCSSAA final against Southwood. They are led by Erin Helsby, Alex Klein, and Julia Pavlik.
Centennial CVI Spartans (Guelph - D10 #2)
The young Spartans only posted a 5-9 record en route to a 5th place finish during D10 league play this season, however, they get the CWOSSA nod as the three teams that they finished ahead of were all "AAAA" schools.
It will likely be a quick "two and out" for CCVI, but hopefully they can build on things with a young roster for next year. That said, you never know what can happen in a "one game" situation.
Lizzy Woods and Kendra Achonwa are the top performers to keep an eye on for the Spartans.
Junior - Pool "B"
John F. Ross Royals (Guelph - D10 #1)
The Royals gained experience last year and are hoping to improve on their CWOSSA experience from a year ago, where they lost both pool-play games.
JF Ross has a bevy of talented guards, led by veterans Silvie Cafarella and Carolyn Holmes, and grade nine Sydney Resch, Ross' MVP in their D10 championship game loss to St. James. Rachel Pollock provides some front-court scoring.
The Royals have been inconsistent at times, and will have to be at their best in order to advance out of a very tough "B" pool.
Bluevale CI Knights (WCSSAA #2)
CWOSSA "AAAA" Girls Preview
If some of these teams and players seem familiar, they should be. Four of six teams competing in the Junior "AAAA" Championship were here last year. Here's a quick rundown of the teams as well as my selections.
Junior - Pool "A"
St. Mary's Eagles (Kitchener - D8 #1)
The Eagles enter this tournament as the prohibitive favourite. They return the majority of their scoring offense from last year's team that advanced to the CWOSSA semfinals.
Guard Kaitlyn Schenck is the catalyst for the Eagles, and is a consistent double digit scorer who can fill the net in a variety of ways. Laura Boterman provides added depth in the backcourt.
Waterloo CI Vikings (Waterloo - WCSSAA #1)
Guard Kaitlyn Schenck is the catalyst for the Eagles, and is a consistent double digit scorer who can fill the net in a variety of ways. Laura Boterman provides added depth in the backcourt.
Waterloo CI Vikings (Waterloo - WCSSAA #1)
Despite having 2 top grade 10s (Lindsay Lessard & Lindsay Taylor) play up in senior, the Vikes are back in the CWOSSA playdowns.This year's team got off to a rocky start, including a loss to Galt (a non-playoff WCSSAA team). However, the Vikes have hit their stride and are the favourite in tomorrow's WCSSAA final against Southwood. They are led by Erin Helsby, Alex Klein, and Julia Pavlik.
Centennial CVI Spartans (Guelph - D10 #2)
The young Spartans only posted a 5-9 record en route to a 5th place finish during D10 league play this season, however, they get the CWOSSA nod as the three teams that they finished ahead of were all "AAAA" schools.
It will likely be a quick "two and out" for CCVI, but hopefully they can build on things with a young roster for next year. That said, you never know what can happen in a "one game" situation.
Lizzy Woods and Kendra Achonwa are the top performers to keep an eye on for the Spartans.
Junior - Pool "B"
John F. Ross Royals (Guelph - D10 #1)
The Royals gained experience last year and are hoping to improve on their CWOSSA experience from a year ago, where they lost both pool-play games.
JF Ross has a bevy of talented guards, led by veterans Silvie Cafarella and Carolyn Holmes, and grade nine Sydney Resch, Ross' MVP in their D10 championship game loss to St. James. Rachel Pollock provides some front-court scoring.
The Royals have been inconsistent at times, and will have to be at their best in order to advance out of a very tough "B" pool.
Bluevale CI Knights (WCSSAA #2)
The Knights, a semifinalist from a year ago, are back and hoping to improve on that finish.
They enter as the 2nd WCSSAA seed, but have proven they can hang with the top teams (they were the only team to defeat JHSS during regular season play).
With last year's dynamite player, Elissa Dent, having moved up to senior, several players have stepped in to fill the void. They include Natalie Bishop, Amy Shinkar, and Hannah Fishbein.
The Knights are a slight underdog in their pool, but they will be playing on familiar WCSSAA courts. Perhaps that will propel them into the semifinals....
Assumption CS Lions (D5 #1)
The Lions, coming off a 51-37 defeat in game #2 of the D5 final are hoping to find themselves on the right side of at least one game in pool play. The Lions have a young roster that should be a force next year ---- but they can definitely compete this year, so don't be surprised to see them in the semifinals, or even sneaking into the final.
Rebekah Couperus (who averaged double digits against NPC in the 2 game final) is their top scorer. Emily Gill and Abby Heron have solid scoring ability as well.
Pool Predictions:
"A"
St. Mary's 2-0
WCI 1-1
Centennial 0-2
"B"
Assumption 2-0
JF Ross 1-1
Bluevale 0-2
Semifinals:
Waterloo OVER Assumption
St. Mary's OVER JF Ross
Final:
St. Mary's OVER Waterloo
They enter as the 2nd WCSSAA seed, but have proven they can hang with the top teams (they were the only team to defeat JHSS during regular season play).
With last year's dynamite player, Elissa Dent, having moved up to senior, several players have stepped in to fill the void. They include Natalie Bishop, Amy Shinkar, and Hannah Fishbein.
The Knights are a slight underdog in their pool, but they will be playing on familiar WCSSAA courts. Perhaps that will propel them into the semifinals....
Assumption CS Lions (D5 #1)
The Lions, coming off a 51-37 defeat in game #2 of the D5 final are hoping to find themselves on the right side of at least one game in pool play. The Lions have a young roster that should be a force next year ---- but they can definitely compete this year, so don't be surprised to see them in the semifinals, or even sneaking into the final.
Rebekah Couperus (who averaged double digits against NPC in the 2 game final) is their top scorer. Emily Gill and Abby Heron have solid scoring ability as well.
Pool Predictions:
"A"
St. Mary's 2-0
WCI 1-1
Centennial 0-2
"B"
Assumption 2-0
JF Ross 1-1
Bluevale 0-2
Semifinals:
Waterloo OVER Assumption
St. Mary's OVER JF Ross
Final:
St. Mary's OVER Waterloo
.......Good luck to all teams!
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