Centennial Colts Classic: Eagles Fall to #1 GTA Team

The St. Mary's Eagles opened up their action at the Centennial College tournament with a 67-39 loss to Notre Dame of Ajax, who are currently ranked in the top 3 high school teams in Ontario (and #1 in the GTA).

The Eagles received a 17-point effort from Kaitlyn Schenck, while Lindsay Panchan led Notre Dame with 22.

Things aren't going to get any easier for St. Mary's this afternoon, either.

As the tournament format pits first round winners against first round losers in the second round, the Eagles will play another top team out of the GTA, Brampton's Campion SS.  Campion defeated Senator O'Connor 55-24 in their game this morning.

A win would advance the Eagles to the consolation quarterfinals tomorrow at noon, while a loss would have them play in the consolation quarterfinals at 9:00am.

Weekly Power Ranking: "AAAA" CWOSSA

Last week's ranking in brackets:

Senior Girls
1.  St. John's - Brantford (1)
2.  Waterloo CI (2)
3.  St. Mary's - Kitchener (3)
4.  Centre Wellington - Fergus (4)
5.  Cameron Heights - Kitchener (5)
6.  Eastwood - Kitchener (7)
7.  JF Ross - Guelph (6)
8.  Guelph CVI (8)
9.  Grand River - Kitchener (NR)
T10.  Resurrection - Kitchener (NR)
T10.  Assumption - Brantford (10)

Dropped Out:  Bluevale - Waterloo (Last Week:  9)

Junior Girls
1.  St. John's - Brantford (1)
2.  Assumption - Brantford (2)
3.  Bluevale CI - Waterloo (3)
4.  Guelph CVI (5)
5.  St. Benedict CSS - Cambridge (4)
6.  Centennial CVI - Guelph (6)
7.  Resurrection - Kitchener (7)
8.  Cameron Heights - Kitchener (8)
9.  St. Mary's - Kitchener (10)
10.  Grand River - Kitchener (9)

Weekly Power Ranking: "AAA" CWOSSA

Last week's ranking in brackets:

Senior Girls
1.  North Park CVS - Brantford (1)
2.  Kitchener CI (2)
3.  Brantford CI (3)
4.  Galt CI - Cambridge (5)
5.  St. David CSS - Waterloo (4)
6.  Monsingor Doyle - Cambridge (6)
7.  Westside SS - Orangeville (7)
8.  Preston HS - Cambridge (8)
T9. Southwood SS (9)
T9.  Elmira DSS (10)
T9.  Centre Dufferin DSS - Shelburne (NR)

Junior Girls
1.  St. James CHS - Guelph (1)
2.  Jacob Hespeler SS - Cambridge (2)
3.  Brantford CI (3)
4.  Waterloo-Oxford DSS - Baden (4)
5.  Elmira DSS (7)
6.  North Park CVS - Brantford (5)
7.  Preston HS - Cambridge (7)
8.  Huron Heights SS - Kitchener (9)
9.  Southwood SS - Cambridge (8)
10.  Kitchener CI (10)

Weekly Power Ranking: "AA" CWOSSA

A minor shift in the senior rankings this week, as OSCVI (thanks in part to a first-round tournament win over JF Ross last weekend) vaults over Lourdes for 2nd in my senior ranking.

Last week's ranking in brackets:

Senior Girls "AA"

1.  Bishop Macdonell - Guelph (1)
2.  Owen Sound CVI (3)
3.  Our Lady of Lourdes - Guelph (2)
4.  Sacred Heart HS - Walkerton (4)
5.  Kincardine DSS (5)

Junior Girls "AA"

1.  Our Lady of Lourdes - Guelph (1)
2.  Bishop Macdonell - Guelph (2)
3.  Owen Sound CVI (3)
4.  Sacred Heart HS - Walkerton (4)
5.  Georgian Bay SS - Meaford (NR)

Dropped Out:  Erin DHS (5)

Weekly Power Ranking: "A" CWOSSA

Last week's ranking in brackets:

Senior Girls

1.  Walkerton DSS (1)
2.  Valley Heights SS (3)
3.  Delhi DSS (2)
4.  Chelsey DHS (4)
5.  Rockway - Kitchener (5)

Junior Girls

1.  Delhi DSS (1)
2.  Peninsula Shores - Wiarton (2)
3.  Waterford DHS (3)
4.  Rockway - Kitchener (5)
5.  Chesley DHS (4)

NSSAA: Thursday Results

Senior

Simcoe 40, Waterford 20
Simcoe:  Olivia Richards 9, Alyssa Becque 8.
WDHS:  Gillian Bergsma 6.

Valley Heights 28, Delhi 26

Holy Trinity 38, Port Dover 12

Owen Sound Sun Times: Tall Centre Makes Life Hard For Opponents

Article By:  Bill Walker

Think of Erika French as a basketball tailor.


The six-foot-four OSCVI Falcons centre spends most of her time causing alterations to the opposition's shots.

"Coach always says that one of the main NBA stats is alters and so I just work on that rather than actually try and hit it out of their hands," the 18-year-old Grade 12 (+1) student said Tuesday who scored a game-high 10 points as the Falcons earned a hardfought 20-16 win over the crosstown rival West Hill Raiders in Bluewater Athletic Association north division senior girls basketball play.

"I try to do that on everyone's shot. I just try to make it harder on them to shoot."

The score was low on both sides of the ball for several reasons but one of the big ones for West Hill was French.

The centre imposed her will in the defensive zone, forcing the Raiders to hurry their shots or throw up wild attempts in order to avoid a block.

"When everything breaks down, there's nothing like having that eraser at the back end to block a shot or alter a shot," said Falcons coach Lee Jacques.

"She does a great job on defence plus we focus a lot of our offence through her."

It wasn't French alone that caused West Hill to score so few points.

"I'd like to say it was all Erika and she does have some influence on shots but we missed a lot of wide-open lay ups," said Raiders coach Ken Lougheed.

"We don't shoot very well and ultimately you have to hit open shots. We play pretty good defence but we don't shoot very well and it becomes a mental thing."

The score looked like it came from a hockey game with a 2-0 OSCVI margin after the first quarter. And they eventually resembled a football game with 10-9 and 14-11 scores at the end of the half and third quarter respectively.

Jocelyn Anderson added eight points for OSCVI.

Shellee Meigs had six points for West Hill while Maddie Lougheed added five.

"Sometimes it's good defence and sometimes its bad offence and when you put them together, you get 20-16," said Jacques, who also put some of blame onto jitters at playing their cross-town rivals.

"The same shot we never miss in a game we'll miss against this team. They want to win so badly against each other that it makes it so hard."

Retrieved From:  http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2818515

Brantford Expositor: Senior, Junior Eagles Perfect 10s

Article By:  Ed O'Leary

St. John's College Green Eagles completed the regular-season schedule undefeated Thursday night in the senior and junior divisions in Brant County high school girls' basketball.


Both teams finish in first place with 10-0 records and earn byes through next Tuesday's sudden-death, quarter-final playoff games.

At Paris, the Green Eagles defeated the Paris District High School Panthers 49-23 in the senior game and 46-16 in the junior game.

Deidra McDermid scored 10 points for the high-flying senior Eagles. Arielle Mendoza got eight points and Rachel Cleary netted seven.

Speedy guard Sam Ferretti scored 13 points for the senior Panthers. Olivia Arrowsmith and Emma Perry each scored six points.

Jamie Foster and Sadie Rowe each scored eight points for the junior Eagles and Jessika Dignan added six points. Alex Forsyth scored eight points for the junior Panthers.

North Park Collegiate Trojans finished in second place in the senior division to also earn a quarter-final bye. The Trojans concluded their schedule with a 60-33 win over the Pauline Johnson Collegiate Thunderbirds at PJC to finish with a 7-3 record.

In other senior action, Brantford Collegiate Institute Mustangs defeated Assumption College Lions 56-46 to grab third place with a 6-4 record while the Lions finish fourth at 5-5.

The T-Birds finish fifth at 1-9 and the Panthers sixth at 0-10.

The quarter-finals will see the Panthers travelling to BCI and the T-Birds flying over to Assumption. Games times haven't been announced.

Thursday's leading scorers:

North Park -Cassie Fletcher 19, Allison Ballantyne 12, Jess Grant 8.

PJC -Jessie Boisson 8, Colleen Thibert 7, Erica Hewson 6, Crista Riimand 6.

BCI -Candy Spencer 19, Tory Spencer 16, Claudia DiFrancesco 11.

ACS -Emily Gill 14, Rebekah Couperus 11, Meaghan Hanley 11.

Assumption defeated the BCI Colts 42-23 to finish in second place in the junior division with an 8-2 and earn a bye through the quarter-finals.

In other junior action, North Park defeated the PJC Warriors 51-30 to finish in third place.

North Park and Assumption each finished with 5-5 records but the junior Trojans had the better points differential in meetings between the two teams.

Paris District gets fifth place and PJC sixth.

In the junior quarter-finals Tuesday, PJC will play at Noerth Park and Paris District will travel to BCI.

The quarter-final winners will advance to sudden-death semifinals next Thursday.

Thursday's leading scorers:

North Park -Abbey Johnston 21, Abbey Sales 14.

PJC -Shelley Laughlin 15, Amber Kozinski 6, Natasha Irwin 5.

Assumption -Alex Vandyk 12, Sara Harris 9.

BCI -Rachel Adkins 5, Melanie Guennette 4, Lexis Lancaster 4.

Retrieved From:  http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2822127

WCSSAA Senior: Thursday Scores; Vikes Clinch 1st Overall

No major surprises in WCSSAA play on Thursday, though the GPSS Panthers did give Bluevale a scare, falling by only 3 points (38-35).

The WCI Vikings did secure first place overall with a big win over Preston (though only 10-0, the Vikes will automatically pick up their 11th win next week with the "Huron Heights bye win").  They currently hold tiebreaks over the one-loss teams, KCI and Cameron Heights.

Here's the recaps:

Elmira 41, WODSS 32
My Pick:  EDSS
A big win for the Lancers as they improve their playoff positioning.  Kaitie Martin and Jessica Reichard were in double figures for Elmira (11 each), while the Crusaders received 8 points from Shelby Hofstetter and 6 each from Spencer Mitchell-Becker and Carly Kowalik.

Galt 63, Forest Heights 37
My Pick:  GCI
Galt posts a big win at home over the struggling Trojans, though FHCI does have a bright spot in G/F Blair McNaughton --- who scored 27 points in this one.  Galt was led by Liz Phillips (15), Milica Stevanovic (13) and Suzanna Lam (12).

Bluevale 38, Glenview Park 35
My Pick:  BCI
The Knights were almost upset on the road, but were able to hold off GPSS thanks to double digit efforts from Elissa Dent (12) and Shannon Curran (11).  Courtney Grosse had 13 to lead the Panthers.

Cameron Heights 47, Jacob Hespeler 29
My Pick:  CHCI
The Gaels continue to stay in the hunt for 2nd place overall, with a comfortable home win against the Hawks.  Three Gaels combined for almost all of the Cameron points --- Erin Robbins (15), Liz McLellan (15) and Siki Jez (14).  Sarah Guttin (13) and Sarah Couchman (11) were the JHSS players in double digits.

KCI 51, SJAM 33
My Pick:  KCI
The Raiders received 18 from Kate McTavish and 8 from Skye Johns en route to their 9th win of the campaign.  Emily Temple had 12 for SJAM in the loss.

WCI 78, Preston 37
My Pick:  WCI
The Vikings pounded the Panthers at home to (as mentioned above), clinch first place overall in WCSSAA.  The Lindsays ---- Lindsay Lessard (15) and Lindsay Taylor (15) led the way with Alex Klein adding 13.  Kirsten Leach and Nikea Worrell had 15 apiece for Preston.

Eastwood 41, Southwood 29
The Rebels continue to stay in the running for 4th place (and a first round bye) by taking out the Sabres.  Michelle Hudyn had 20 ECI points on Thursday, while teammate Caitlyn Schlegel added 7.  Alex Palvetzian and Nicole Barnard netted 9 each for Southwood.

Grand River - Bye Win (HHHS)

WCSSAA Senior Girls Standings
1.  WCI 10-0**
T2.  KCI 9-1**
T2.  Cameron Heights 9-1**
4.  Eastwood 8-2*
5.  Galt 7-3*
T6.  Preston 6-4*
T6.  Bluevale 6-4*
T8.  Grand River 5-5*
T8.  Elmira 5-5*
T8.  Southwood 5-5*
T11.  SJAM 3-7
T11.  Jacob Hespeler 3-7
------
13.  WODSS 2-8
T14.  Forest Heights 1-9
T14.  Glenview Park 1-9
* = clinched playoff spot
** = clinched first round bye

WCSSAA Junior: Thursday Scores & Standings

Waterloo-Oxford 42, Elmira 41
In an exciting game, the Crusaders topple the Lancers from the ranks of the unbeaten with a one-point road victory.  Madison Horst led the way for WODSS (14), while Alisha Glendinning put home 11 points.  Krista Weins had a game high 23 for Elmira, with Emilie Mechler adding in 7.

Forest Heights 32, Galt 19
Cass Wettlaufer had 17 points as the Trojans post their first win on the season by beating the winless Ghosts.  Galt received 8 each from Carissa Grove and Cass Ramlal.

Bluevale 38, Glenview Park 17
The Knights continue to roll, improving to 10-0 on the season.  Natalie Bishop (10) and Tessa Dent (9) were tops for Bluevale, while GPSS received 6 from Maggie Tucker and 5 from Jocelyn Kivell.

Jacob Hespeler 47, Cameron Heights 26
Another big win for the Hawks as they keep pace with Bluevale in the race for first overall.  Brooklynn Wright had 16 in this one, while Naomi Adams added 14.  Ashanti Lewis contributed 8 to lead the Gaels.


SJAM 36, KCI 35
The 'Landers nipped the Raiders to leapfrog them in the standings (as they now hold the tiebreaker).  Julia Deakin and Jillian Reiter had 12 each for SJAM; Christiana Koebel had a game-high 16 for the Raiders.


Preston 34, WCI 26
The Vikes came close, thanks to holding Preston star Ashley White in check (9 points).  Aubrey Forica had 9 as well for Preston, while Maggie Birch was the high scorer for the Vikes (and the game) with 11.

Southwood 30, Eastwood 27
The Sabres held off the Rebels to secure a playoff berth.  Cali Doran and Abby Todd had 8 each for SSS in the win, while ECI received 9 from Kayla Shantz and 8 from Lori Stankiewicz.


Huron Heights 42, Grand River 38
In the upset of the day, the Huskies pick up their 3rd win of the season at the expense of Grand River.  Emily Bidinosti was key for the Huskies, pouring in a game-high 18.

WCSSAA Junior Girls Standings
T1.  Bluevale 10-0**
T1.  Jacob Hespeler 10-0**
3.  Elmira 9-1*
T4.  Preston 8-2*
T4.  Waterloo-Oxford 8-2*
6.  Cameron Heights 7-3*
7.  Grand River 6-4*
T8.  SJAM 4-6
T8.  KCI 4-6
T8.  Southwood 4-6
T11.  Glenview Park 3-7
T11.  Huron Heights 3-7
---------
13.  WCI 2-8
T14.  Eastwood 1-9
T14.  Forest Heights 1-9
16.  Galt 0-10
** = clinched first round bye
* = clinched playoff spot

BAA: Thursday Scores

Senior

West Hill 48, Grey Highlands 18
WH:  Maddie Lougheed & Chelsea King combined for 18 points
GH:  Ashley Christie 7

Junior

OSCVI 34, Grey Highlands 22

D10: Thursday Scores & Standings

The playoff picture is a lot clearer in the D10 league after Thursday afternoon's action.  Here's the rundown, beginning with the Senior games:

JF Ross 53, Lourdes 44
My Pick:  JFR
The Ross win assures them of finishing no worse than 3rd in the D10 standings ---- and it puts them in a good spot to potentially earn one of the two "AAAA" CWOSSA berths from the D10 league.  Grade 11 guard Silvie Cafarella led the balanced Royal attack with 10 points, while Vanessa Martini and Kayla VandeKemp added 9 each.  Kiera Bunnaman had 17 for OLOL, while Claire Endicott added in 10.

Bishop Mac 63, Centennial 35
My Pick:  BMac
The Celts clinch first place overall with the win.  Allison Morris had 14 and Katie Labron 13 in the victory; Charlotte Clarke led the Spartans with 11.

Centre Wellington 49, Guelph CVI 41
My Pick:  CWDHS
Transfer student Erica McFadden had another solid outing for the Falcons, pouring in 23 points in this contest; teammate Hailey Salvian added 6 for CW.  Sierra McLaren led the Gaels with 21, while Gaby Staunton chipped in 8.

St. James 48, ODSS 20
My Pick:  STJ
Despite missing 2 key starters, the St. James Lions still rolled in this one, backed by Jade McGarr's 18 point effort.  Tori Quinn led the Bears with 7 points.

D10 Senior Standings
1.  Bishop Mac 12-0
T2.  CWDHS 9-3
T2.  JF Ross 9-3
4.  Guelph CVI 7-5
5.  Lourdes 6-6
6.  Centennial 3-9
7.  St. James 2-10
8.  ODSS 0-12

Playoff Notes:
1.  Bishop Mac has clinched 1st overall.
2.  CWDHS can clinch 2nd overall with a combination of any of the following:  two wins next week (St. James; CCVI); one CW win and one JF Ross loss (Bishop Mac; ODSS remain for them); or two JF Ross losses.
3.  GCVI and Lourdes will play a quarterfinal playoff game --- the order (4th or 5th) of those teams will be determined next week.
4.  Centennial, St. James, and ODSS look to be securely in the 6th, 7th, and 8th spots barring some big upsets next week.


Junior Girls

Guelph CVI 57, Centre Wellington 21
GCVI:  Jamie Young 18, Katie Strongman 8, Clay Barley-Janzen 8, Cally Strongman 8
CWDHS:  Chloe Trapp 6

Bishop Mac 48, Centennial 45
BMac:  Rebecca Morris 17, Alexa Valeriote 7, Anna deLange 6.
CCVI:  Hannah Newman 17, Hannah Ferguson 14, Micayley Cromwell 6.

Lourdes 50, JF Ross 18
OLOL:  Monica Trimble 13, Cecilia Hudecki 9.
JFR:  Megan Simpkins 4, Camila Rosenberg 3.

St. James 58, ODSS 35
STJ:  Brittany Gazzola 18, Chelsey Gazzola 14, Julia Toscan 7.
ODSS:  Claire Fenton 13, Rachel Adams 10

Junior D10 Standings
1.  St. James 12-0
2.  Lourdes 11-1
T3.  Bishop Mac 8-4
T3.  GCVI 8-4
5.  Centennial 4-8
6.  ODSS 3-9
T7.  Centre Wellington 1-11
T7.  JF Ross 1-11

WCSSAA Junior: Corrected Standings

Due to a minor entry error on the WCSSAA website (due in part to SJAM being a "road" team for their "home" games), there is a correction to make to the WCSSAA standings.

Originally, SJAM's September 30th game against Huron Heights was recorded as 37-35 for HHHS; in actuality, I have been informed that the reverse was true (37-35 SJAM was the final).  It is now shown as correct on the website.

As such, we can flip the records of those clubs ---- HHHS is 2-7 and SJAM is 3-6.

In all likelihood (and barring any upsets), this means that the winner of the Huron Heights/WCI game next week will take the 12th and final playoff berth.

I've updated the playoff post as well, but here's how things "officially" look heading into today's junior WCSSAA action:

WCSSAA Junior Girls Standings
T1. Bluevale 9-0*
T1. Jacob Hespeler 9-0*
T1. Elmira 9-0*
T4. Cameron Heights 7-2*
T4. Preston 7-2*
T4. Waterloo-Oxford 7-2*
7. Grand River 6-3*
8. KCI 4-5
T9. Southwood 3-6
T9. Glenview Park 3-6
T9.  SJAM 3-6
T12. Huron Heights 2-7
T12. Waterloo CI 2-7
-------
14. Eastwood 1-8
T15. Forest Hts. 0-9
T15. Galt 0-9
*=clinched playoff berth

WCSSAA: Junior Girls Playoff Race

As per a request, here's a "junior girls" playoff picture in WCSSAA.

The Bluevale Knights and Jacob Hespeler Hawks look like relatively good bets to both finish the season at 12-0.  In all likelihood, the tie will have to be broken for first place via point differential against common opponents.

As previously mentioned, in the common opponent +/- tiebreaker, wins and losses are capped at 15 points.  That means that a 15 point win and a 45 point win would both still be "+15" in the official calculation (and vice-versa for a loss).

As such, here's how things between Bluevale and JHSS currently stack up:

Common Opponents:  SSS, PHS, WCI, ECI, HHHS, FHCI 

Common Opponents To Come:  GPSS (JHSS +15); EDSS (TBP); KCI (TBP); CHCI (BCI +15)

Bluevale:  15+15+15+15+15+15 = 90
JHSS:      13+15+15+15+15+15 = 88 

.....looks like it will come down to the wire between these two!

Based upon remaining schedules, I like for two of Elmira, WODSS, or Preston to be the other clubs finishing in the top 4 and earning first round byes.  Of course, as I mentioned in the senior post, we'll see what happens when the games are actually played!

Here's the rundown:

Bluevale Knights
Current Record:  9-0
Remaining:  vs GPSS, at EDSS, at KCI
Projected:  3-0
Projected Finish:  12-0

Jacob Hespeler Hawks
Current Record:  9-0
Remaining:  at CHCI, vs KCI, vs EDSS
Projected:  3-0
Projected Finish:  12-0

Elmira Lancers
Current Record:  9-0
Remaining:  vs WODSS, vs BCI, at JHSS
Projected:  1-2/0-3
Projected Finish:  10-2 or 9-3

Cameron Heights Gaels
Current Record:  7-2
Remaining:  vs JHSS, vs SJAM, at WODSS
Projected:  1-2
Projected Finish:  8-4

Preston Panthers
Current Record:  7-2
Remaining:  at WCI, at GCI, vs GRCI
Projected:  3-0
Projected Finish: 10-2

WODSS Crusaders
Current Record:  7-2
Remaining:  at EDSS, vs GPSS, vs CHCI
Projected:  3-0/2-1
Projected Finish:  10-2 or 9-3

Grand River Renegades
Current Record:  6-3
Remaining:  vs HHHS, at ECI, at PHS
Projected:  2-1
Projected Finish:  8-4

KCI Raiders
Current Record:  4-5
Remaining:  vs SJAM, at JHSS, vs BCI
Projected:  1-2
Projected Finish:  5-7

Southwood Sabres
Current Record:  3-6
Remaining:  at ECI, vs HHHS, vs FHCI
Projected:  3-0/2-1
Projected Finish:  6-6 or 5-7

Glenview Park Panthers
Current Record:  3-6
Remaining:  at BCI, at WODSS, vs SJAM
Projected:  1-2/0-3
Projected Finish:  4-8 or 3-9

Huron Heights Huskies
Current Record:  2-7
Remaining:  at GRCI, at SSS, vs WCI
Projected:  1-2/0-3
Projected Finish:  3-9 or 2-10

SJAM Highlanders
Current Record:  3-6
Remaining:  vs KCI, at CHCI, vs GPSS
Projected:  1-2/0-3
Projected Finish:  4-8 or 3-9

WCI Vikings
Current Record:  2-7
Remaining:  vs PHS, at FHCI, at HHHS
Projected:  2-1/1-2
Projected Finish:  4-8 or 3-9

Eastwood Rebels
Current Record:  1-8
Remaining:  vs SSS, vs GRCI, at GCI
Projected:  1-2
Projected Finish:  2-10

Forest Heights Trojans
Current Record:  0-9
Remaining:  at GCI, vs WCI, at SSS
Projected:  1-2/0-3
Projected Finish:  1-11/0-12

Galt CI Ghosts
Current Record:  0-9
Remaining:  vs FHCI, vs PHS, vs ECI
Projected:  1-2/0-3
Projected Finish:  1-11/0-12

WCSSAA & D10: Thursday Selections

Starting to wind things down in both the D10 & WCSSAA leagues; after today's action next week is the last week of the regular season - hard to believe we're almost at the playoffs!

YTD D10 Picks:  42-2 (.955)
YTD WCSSAA Picks:  56-8 (.875)

Here's today's selections:

D10

Lourdes (6-5) at JF Ross (8-3)
Pick:  JFR
Look for the Royals to bounce back from their setback to CW in this one.

Centennial (3-8) at Bishop Mac (11-0)
Pick:  BMac
Both teams are pretty well locked into their playoff positions --- CCVI at #6 and Bishop Mac at #1.  The Celtics take this one.

Centre Wellington (8-3) at Guelph CVI (7-4)
Pick:  CWDHS
Things could get interesting in the D10 standings with a GCVI win; however, I'll still take the Falcons even on the road today.

Orangeville (0-11) at St. James (1-10)
Pick:  STJ
Erica Zen and the Lions will shoot their way to their 2nd victory of the season here today.

**Update:  Looks like Zen AND Erica Rawson are both out with the flu for St. James.  The Lions may be pulling up some juniors for this contest; that said, I'll stick with my original pick but it could be interesting!**


WCSSAA
Jacob Hespeler (3-6) at Cameron Heights (8-1)
Pick:  CHCI
It's "spirit day" at Cameron Heights with this being the highlighted match of the day.  The tagline for the game is "Breaking Hearts and Ankles --- CHCI Senior Girls Basketball".  Though I can't comment on behalf of the CHCI student population, they will at least break the hearts of the Jacob Hespeler Hawks by winning this one and improving to 9-1 on the year.

Preston (6-3) at Waterloo CI (9-0)
Pick:  WCI
Even without Alyssa Shortt, I like the Vikes at home --- becoming WCSSAA's first double-digit winner in the process.

Glenview Park (1-8) at Bluevale (5-4)
Pick:  BCI
After slipping up against GRCI on Tuesday, the Knights should get back into the win column at home today.

KCI (8-1) at SJAM (3-6)
Pick:  KCI
The Raiders will keep their hold on 2nd place in the WCSSAA standings with a "home road win" against the nomadic Highlanders.

Forest Heights (1-8) at Galt (6-3)
Pick:  GCI
The Ghosts are still in the hunt for a possible first-round bye; they improve their chances with a win at home today against Forest Heights.

WODSS (2-7) at Elmira (4-5)
Pick:  EDSS
This is always a solid rivalry, but the Lancers have been better as of late so I'll take them to improve their record to .500 and get right back in the thick of the playoff group.

Southwood (5-4) at Eastwood (7-2)
Pick:  ECI
The Rebels will look to continue their strong play as of late at home today; I look for another big game from Michelle Hudyn here en route to a win.

Bye Win:  GRCI (will improve to 5-5)

D4: Wednesday Results & Standings

Senior Girls D4

Woodland CHS 33, Norwell 16
WCHS:  Cassandra Passchier 13, Laura Clappison 6
NDSS:  Riley Jack 7, Karlee Duggan 5

Westside SS 57, Erin DHS 19
WSS:  Brooke Rowland 18, Sami Mikulik 10, Rachel Wilson 10
EDHS:  Carleigh Monk 7

WHSS/CDDHS - not yet reported

Senior D4 Standings
1.  Westside 9-0**
2.  Centre Dufferin 7-1**
3.  Wellington Hts 5-3*
4.  Woodland 3-6
5.  Erin DHS 2-7
6.  Norwell 0-9
* = clinched playoff berth
** = clinched home playoff game (semifinal round)

Junior Girls D4

Wellington Hts. 36, Centre Dufferin 29
WHSS:  Nicole Bauman 19
CDDHS:  Britney Davison 14

Westside 29, Erin DHS 20
WSS:  Jenna Gomes 6
EDHS:  Becca Morrison 16

Norwell 37, Woodland CHS 30
NDSS:  Chelsea House 12, Erica Runstedler 8
WCHS:  Emma Roorda 12, Rebecah Oosterhof 9

Junior D4 Standings
T1.  Westside 6-3*
T1.  Erin DHS 6-3*
T1.  Wellington Hts 6-3*
4.  Norwell 5-4*
-----
5.  Centre Dufferin 3-6
6.  Woodland 1-8
* = clinched playoff berth

D8 Senior: Phoenix Top Celtics to Gain Key Advantage

In senior girls D8 play last night, the Resurrection Phoenix ran over the St. David Celtics by a 51-33 final score, setting up a very interesting final couple of games in the D8 circuit.

The win drops the Celtics to 6-2 on the season, with tough games remaining against unbeaten St. Mary's and a hot team of late, Monsignor Doyle.

Resurrection, meanwhile, now has the tiebreaker over St. David, and has a lighter schedule down the stretch --- St. Benedict and Rockway.

As for those Monsignor Doyle Mustangs (who defeated Rockway last night), they play St. Benedict next; with a win on Monday and a St. David loss to St. Mary's, it would in all likelihood set up an exciting finish for the D8 playoff spots.

Resurrection will likely be 5-4 heading into the last game of the season, while the Mustangs also should be 5-4.  A St. Mary's win over St. David would have them sitting at 6-3.

The Celtics can take the fun out of things by beating Monsingor Doyle to clinch home court in the first round and a 7-3 record on the season.  However, a Doyle win over St. David (keep in mind it was a 3-point game last time out) would have all 3 clubs tie with 6-4 records. 

Resurrection also holds the point differential tiebreaker over Monsingor Doyle.

At any rate, should be an interesting final couple of weeks in the D8 senior circuit.  Here's Wednesday's recap:

Resurrection 51, St. David 33
RCSS:  Megan Robinson 21, Janelle Santi 10
SDCSS:  Tabitha Siegfried 18

Monsignor Doyle 48, Rockway 17
MDCSS:  Alisa Tkaczyk 11, Marley Gray 10
RMC:  Alex Hood 7, Natalie Hemmerich 4

Senior D8 Standings
1.  St. Mary's 7-0**
2.  St. David 6-2*
T3.  Resurrection 4-4
T3.  Monsingor Doyle 4-4
------
5.  St. Benedict 2-5
6.  Rockway 0-8 
* = clinched playoff spot
** = clinched first-round home playoff game

D8 Junior

Resurrection 57, St. David 31
RCSS:  Angelika Jarski 16, Sarah Schultz 12
SDCSS:  Paige Howard 9, Laura Aiguiar 9

Monsignor Doyle 62, Rockway 16
MDCSS:  Jade Loehle 14, Cassandra Edmondson 13
RMC:  Stephanie Veltri 9

Junior D8 Standings
1.  St. Benedict 7-0**
2.  Resurrection 7-1**
3.  St. Mary's 3-4
T4.  St. David 3-5
T4.  Monsingor Doyle 3-5
6.  Rockway 0-8
** = clinched playoff berth and first-round home playoff game

WCSSAA Senior Girls: The Playoff Race

Here's a quick look at the remaining schedule for WCSSAA and how I anticipate the playoff picture might shake down ---- of course, there's a reason as to why they play the games so don't be surprised to see a couple of upsets before all is said and done!

According to the WCSSAA Website, tiebreaks are broken in the following manner:

1.  Head to Head among the tied teams
2.  Record against common opponents
3.  Point differential against common opponents
4.  Strength of Schedule

WCI Vikings
Current Record:  9-0
Remaining:  vs. PHS, at FHCI, Bye Win.
Projected:  3-0
Projected Finish:  12-0, First Place

KCI Raiders
Current Record:  8-1
Remaining:  at SJAM, at JHSS, vs Bluevale
Projected:  3-0
Projected Finish:  11-1, 2nd (will come down to point tiebreak; KCI currently has edge there)

Cameron Heights Gaels
Current Record:  8-1
Remaining:  vs JHSS, vs SJAM, at WODSSS
Projected:  3-0
Projected Finish:  11-1, 3rd

Eastwood Rebels
Current Record:  7-2
Remaining:  vs SSS, vs GRCI, at Galt
Projected:  3-0/2-1
Projected Finish:  10-2 or 9-3, 4th

Preston Panthers
Current Record:  6-3
Remaining:  at WCI, at Galt, vs GRCI
Projected:  2-1/1-2
Projected Finish:  8-4 or 7-5, [5th or 6th]

Galt Ghosts
Current Record:  6-3
Remaining:  vs FHCI, vs PHS, vs ECI
Projected:  1-2/2-1
Projected Finish:  8-4 or 7-5, [5th or 6th]

Southwood Sabres
Current Record:  5-4
Remaining:  at ECI, Bye Win, vs FHCI
Projected:  2-1
Projected Finish:  7-5, 7th to 9th (depending on applicable tiebreaks)

Bluevale Knights
Current Record:  5-4
Remaining:  vs GPSS, at EDSS, at KCI
Projected:  2-1/1-2
Projected Finish:  7-5 or 6-6, 7th to 9th (depending on applicable tiebreaks)

Elmira Lancers
Current Record:  4-5
Remaining:  vs WODSS, vs BCI, at JHSS
Projected:  3-0/2-1
Projected Finish:  7-5 or 6-6, 7th to 9th (depending on applicable tiebreaks)

Grand River Renegades
Current Record:  4-5
Remaining:  Bye Win, at ECI, at PHS
Projected:  1-2/2-1
Projected Finish:  5-7 or 6-6, 8th to 10th (depending on applicable tiebreaks)


SJAM Highlanders
Current Record:  3-6
Remaining:  vs KCI, at CHCI, at GPSS
Projected:  1-2
Projected Finish:  4-8, 11th

Jacob Hespeler Hawks
Current Record:  3-6
Remaining:  at CHCI, vs KCI, vs EDSS
Projected:  0-3
Projected Finish:  3-9, 12th (hold head-to-head tiebreak over WODSS)

WODSS Crusaders
Current Record:  2-7
Remaining:  at EDSS, vs GPSS, at CHCI
Projected:  1-2
Projected Finish:  3-9, 13th

Forest Heights Trojans
Current Record:  1-8
Remaining:  at GCI, vs WCI, at SSS
Projected:  0-3
Projected Finish:  1-11, 14th

Glenview Park Panthers
Current Record:  1-8
Remaining:  at BCI, at WODSS, vs SJAM
Projected:  0-3
Projected Finish:  1-11, 15th