The Preston Panthers advanced one step closer to a first-round bye and home quarterfinal game on Tuesday, clipping the wings of the visiting Jacob Hespeler Hawks in a 51-50 thriller. Kirsten Leach had a tremendous effort, pouring in 24 points, while grade eleven rookie Ashley White added 16.
A couple more rookies --- Brooklyn Wright (18) and Taylor Dennis (16) --- topped the JHSS scoresheet. And yes, I had picked the Hawks to win so congrats to the Panthers for tripping me up on that one.
Both teams had entered the game with identical 8-1 records.
The other big game on Tuesday saw the Eastwood Rebels jump right back into the thick of the hunt for one of the top four seeds in WCSSAA with a 46-40 home win over Bluevale. Michelle Hudyn poured in 27 points in the victory, while Lindsay Ward added 8. Bluevale received 20 from Natalie Bishop and 11 more from Sarah Hamm.
That was my other game in the "incorrect" column on Tuesday as I had pegged the visiting Knights to pull out the W.
Anyways, let's move right into yesterday's other results & the standings after Tuesday's action:
KCI 60, Galt 32
My Pick: KCI
No trouble for the Raiders on the road as they virtually lock up a playoff spot with the win. Olivia Nelles (16), Nikaya Snell (12) and Christiana Koebel (12) were all in double-digits for the Raiders, while Milica Stevanovic had 11 and Suzanna Lam 8 for Galt.
Elmira 53, Huron Hts 30
My Pick: EDSS
No surprise here, but a big win for the Lancers who clinch a .500+ record in league play. Krista Wiens netted 14 and Jessica Reichard 8 in the win, while Emily Bidinosti (12) and Melissa Whigham (7) led the way for Huron.
Southwood 34, Glenview Park 28
My Pick: SSS
A bit closer than I might have expected, but that's how these rivalry games can tend to go. Nicole Barnard (9) and Abby Todd (7) had the notable efforts for Southwood, while GPSS received a game-high 10 points from Jennifer Renton and 5 each from Maggie Tucker and Alyssa Goodridge.
WCI 47, Cameron Heights 19
My Pick: WCI
No trouble for the Vikes as they shut down one of the upper-tier teams in WCSSAA on the defensive end. Lindsay Taylor (15) and Lindsay Lessard (13) led the Vikes' scoring on Tuesday, while Liz McLellan had 13 of Cameron's 19 points.
Forest Heights 48, SJAM 34
My Pick: FHCI
Blair McNaughton poured in 20 points and Sara Potter added 9 as FHCI also clinched a .500+ record on Tuesday. Jillian Reiter had a game-high 21 for SJAM, with Malena McCrossan-Moses adding 10.
Bye Win: Grand River
WCSSAA Standings
1. WCI 10-0 (R: JHSS, Bye Win)**
2. Preston 9-1 (R: CHCI, EDSS)*
T3. Bluevale 8-2 (R: SSS, FHCI)*
T3. Eastwood 8-2 (R: GPSS, CHCI)*
T3. Jacob Hespeler 8-2 (R: WCI, HHHS)*
T3. Cameron Hts 8-2 (R: PHS, ECI)*
T7. Elmira 6-4 (R: GRCI, PHS)*
T7. Forest Hts 6-4 (R: KCI, BCI)*
T7. Southwood 6-4 (R: BCI, KCI)*
10. KCI 4-6 (R: FHCI, SSS)*
T11. Galt 2-8 (R: SJAM, GPSS)
T11. Grand River 2-8 (R: EDSS, SJAM)
T11. Glenview Park 2-8 (R: ECI, GCI)
------------------------
14. SJAM 1-9 (R: GCI, GRCI)
15. Huron Heights 0-9 (R: Bye Win, JHSS)
Analysis:
WCI should take their final game over Jacob Hespeler to officially wrap up first place, but after that it gets really interesting. There are 5 quality teams battling for 3 first-round byes and the resulting home quarterfinal games.
The team with the "biggest uphill battle" is Cameron Heights, who still have a pair of top teams (ECI & PHS) on their schedule. If you're wondering the head-to-head potential tiebreakers, here are who everyone up top has lost to:
Preston - lost to Eastwood; beat JHSS
Eastwood - lost to WCI & Elmira; beat PHS & BCI
Bluevale - lost to ECI; beat CHCI & JHSS
Jacob Hespeler - lost to BCI
Cameron Heights - lost to BCI
As for the rest of the picture, it's very similar. For the equally crucial 7 through 9 spots (home first-round playoff game for the 7 and 8 teams), Forest Heights looks to have the slight edge based upon their win over Southwood. Southwood has beaten Elmira, while EDSS & FHCI did not play.
KCI is in based upon H2H wins over GPSS and Glenview Park (i.e. they couldn't finish on the outside looking in based upon the tiebreak scenarios).
The final playoff spots are a five-team race between GPSS/GCI/GRCI (2-8) and SJAM (1-9). This will all be sorted out thanks to future games between GCI/SJAM, GCI/GPSS, GRCI/SJAM. Definite edge to Galt as they already have a win over Grand River and two decent chances at wins in their final two games.
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