Vikings, Trojans Impress at Etobicoke Ram - Humber College Tournament

The WCI Vikings and the North Park Trojans did CWOSSA proud over the weekend at the Etobicoke Collegiate/Humber College Invitational Tournament.

The two CWOSSA squads actually mad it an "all-CWOSSA" championship final in a tournament with some very good competition from out of town (and, in particular, the GTA).  Scores for both squads were:

WCI

WCI 73, Jarvis 20 (Round 1)

WCI 58, Etobicoke CI 38 (QF) -- L. Taylor 22, L. Lessard 20

WCI 55, Bill Crothers Elite 48 (SF) -- L. Lessard 32

NPC

North Park 39, Notre Dame (Ajax) 34

North Park 44, Northern (Tor.) 30

North Park 56, Louis Riel (Ott.) 30

Not bad by either squad.  For WCI, Etobicoke CI is ranked #16 in the GTA rankings, while Bill Crothers Elite is their "A" squad (talented team mostly focused on AAU competition and not eligible for OFSAA).

North Park, meanwhile, took down two top ten GTA teams (ND #3, Northern #9) and one of the top teams from Ottawa down en route to the final.

The championship final between the two clubs was an extremely physical and hard-fought affair; the game was tied 8-8 after one, and the Vikes were able to grab a slim (20-15) halftime edge.  The Vikes never gave up the lead in the second half en route to the win --- though North Park did keep things very competitive despite some serious foul trouble (3 starters fouling out).  In the end, WCI took the contest 48-39, backed by 26 points from Lindsay Lessard.  

I did not receive word if a tournament all-star team was announced by the time of this post, but I would think that Lessard would be a shoo-in for tournament MVP, having averaged almost 30 PPG through the semifinal and final games.

The Bishop Mac Celtics also participated, but dropped their opener in a close game to Louis Riel 57-48, before rebounding to have some success on the consolation side of the draw.

All in all, a very successful weekend for these CWOSSA teams.  Undoubtedly, all three should be (in my opinion) at least top-5 seeds in their respective OFSAA competitions (WCI - AAAA, North Park - AAA, Bishop Mac - AA).  Of course, they'll have to make it through their league and CWOSSA playoffs to get there, but I have a feeling that we're in for another potentially successful showing at girls' OFSAA for this area!