D8 Update: Cavs, Phoenix Continue to Cruise

As we head down the stretch in the District 8 Basketball season, the Resurrection CSS Phoenix (Seniors) and the Woodland Cavaliers (Juniors) certainly appear to be the teams to beat.

On the Senior side, the Phoenix sit at 8-0, and can officially wrap up first place in the standings with a win tomorrow against St. Benedict (7-1).  The Saints got a bit of a scare yesterday from PRDG, holding them off in a 38-34 affair.

That's not to say that PRDG is any slouch, as they may (arguably) be the favourite in "A" CWOSSA -- they also had a close encounter with St. Mary's (37-31) earlier this season.

Here's a look at the standings:

Tier A
1.  Resurrection 8-0
2.  St. Benedict 7-1
3.  St. Mary's 5-3
4.  St. David 4-4

Tier B
1.  PRDG 4-4
2.  Mons. Doyle 4-4
3.  Woodland 1-7
4.  Rockway 0-8

Weekly Top 5 Performances (Monday, 10/17 to 10/24):
19 - Sydney Gucker-Wickie, RCSS vs. St. Mary's
19 - Cassandra Dumouchel, PRDG vs. Woodland 
15 - Julia Mascarenhas, SBCSS vs. PRDG
11 - Rachel Southern, SDCSS vs. Woodland
10 - Summer Pahl, St. Mary's vs. Resurrection
 
Junior
The Woodland Cavaliers officially locked up top spot in the D8 Junior league with a 48-26 win over second-place Resurrection yesterday afternoon.

The Cavs only led by 2, 15-13, at halftime, but surged in the second half, outscoring Rez 33-13.  Sydney VanderHoef (19), Jenna Duimering (17) and Alanna Parker (11) accounted for almost all of the Woodland scoring.  Maddy Cabral led the Phoenix with 8.

Here's how things sit in the 6-team league:

1.  Woodland 8-0
2.  Resurrection 6-2
3.  St. Benedict 4-3
4.  St. Mary's 3-4
5.  St. David 2-6
6.  Rockway 0-8

Weekly Top 5 Performances (10/17-10/24):
19 - Sydney VanderHoef, WCHS vs. RCSS
17 - Jenna Duimering, WCHS vs. RCSS
17 - Naomi Cruz, SDCSS vs. Rockway
12 - Jada DeJeu, RCSS vs. St. Mary's
12 - Chloe Bugdale, RCSS vs. Rockway
12 - Sydney VanderHoef, WCHS vs. SDCSS

2nd Annual Jacob Ranton Memorial Tournament - December 16 & 17

The second annual Jacob Ranton Memorial Senior Boys' basketball tournament will be co-hosted by Waterloo Collegiate and Bluevale Collegiate on December 16th and 17th.

Amazingly, last year's tournament was able to raise almost $20 000 in support of the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council (WRSPC).  In addition to the money raised, a dialogue was also raised among players, parents, and spectators about the importance of mental health and support for those affected by this disease.

I wanted to pass along the tournament's fund-raising page, for those interested in donating, or to read more about the tournament and mental-health initiatives backed by the WRSPC:

(Click Here for the Webpage)

CWOSSA Senior Girls Top 10 - October 25th

Not too much change at the top, with the Resurrection Phoenix, St. John's Green Eagles, and Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders continuing their solid play in their respective leagues.

It gets a bit interesting after that, given some of the recent results.  Here's a look:

1.  Resurrection CSS / Kitchener (1)
2.  St. John's College / Brantford (2)
3.  Waterloo-Oxford DSS / Baden (3)
4.  North Park CVS / Brantford (5)
5.  Our Lady of Lourdes / Guelph (T6)
6.  Bishop Macdonell / Guelph (T6)
7.  Assumption / Brantford (4)
8.  WCI / Waterloo (6)
9.  SJAM / Waterloo (9)
10.  Jacob Hespeler / Cambridge (NR)

HM:  Guelph CVI / Guelph; Brantford CI / Brantford; John F. Ross / Guelph.

WCSSAA Senior Girls: Competitive Balance Continues

The documented "competitive balance" in the WCSSAA Senior Girls' league continued this week.

For starters, the Preston Panthers were able to use a late surge to get an impressive home win over the visiting WCI Vikings on Tuesday, 36-34.  Areesha Shahnawaz had a strong performance for the Panthers in that one, pouring home 16 points.

Preston may just be coming into their own at the right time (the Panthers last week fell to defending champion SJAM by only 6 points, 46-40).

Waterloo-Oxford continues to rule the roost at the top of the standings, following a couple of dominating wins this week -- an eye-opening 59-20 mark over Grand River and a 58-19 verdict over rival Elmira.

It was not a good week for the Rens, who also dropped a 41-26 decision at home to Jacob Hespeler.  The Hawks, though, had a week to remember with two big road wins, including an earlier low-scoring 27-22 count over Bluevale.

In looking at the top scoring performances of the week, it was quite a week for Galt's Beth Fleming, who scored 25+ in back to back outings.  Here's a look at those:

Weekly Top Scoring Performances
26 - Beth Fleming, GCI vs. HHSS
25 - Beth Fleming, GCI vs. ECI
20 - Joanna Bamberger, SJAM vs. CHCI
20 - Mackeely Shantz, WODSS vs. GRCI
20 - Ramla Abdalla, WCI vs. ECI 

And now, the current standings:
1.  WODSS 9-0
T2.  SJAM 8-1
T2.  Jacob Hespeler 8-1
T4.  WCI 7-2
T4.  Bluevale 7-2
T6.  Grand River 5-4
T6.  Preston 5-4
8.  Galt 4-5
T9.  Elmira 3-6
T9.  Glenview Park 3-6
T11.  Cameron Heights 2-7
T11.  Huron Heights 2-7
13.  Eastwood 1-8
14.  Forest Heights 0-9

Senior Boys: Heinbuch Field Announced

It's about a month until the Heinbuch Classic Tournament in Kitchener, which (I'm told) will be hosted by the new Conestoga College athletic facility.

The teams have been announced, and, as usual, there's strong representation from the CWOSSA area.

One thing that I'm pleased to see is that the tournament remains as a high-school event, with no Prep Schools in the mix (unlike, say, the announced field for the Pinky Lewis tournament).

The local contingent will be led by, arguably, the CWOSSA favourite St. Benedict (Cambridge), who return almost their entire roster from a season ago.  The veteran Saints have a ton of 5th year talent (including reigning D8 MVP Zubair Seyed), and should be expected to make some noise.

Waterloo Collegiate, who are arguably the WCSSAA favourites entering this year, are also a club with veteran leadership (Aaron Grubb, Adam Piazza) and I would expect them to string together a couple of wins.

Resurrection CSS of Kitchener will be back at the Heinbuch after a several-year absence, led by Muyang Iluya and a dynamic backcourt featuring Ali Rashid and transfer Eddie Omari.  Omari previously played at St. Mary's in Kitchener, before moving to Thunder Bay and being a key contributor on a St. Ignatius CSS team that made OFSAA AA last year.  He's now back in Kitchener with the Phoenix.

Eastwood Collegiate, despite losing big man Cham Ujullu to graduation, has landed several key transfers (I'm told) from rival St. Mary's HS in Kitchener, which should put them in position to again compete for a WCSSAA title and a CWOSSA berth. 

A revamped SJAM team, who will rely heavily on an influx of grade eleven talent, and Brantford North Park round out the CWOSSA contingent.

The out-of-town entrants will be led by last year's champions and finalists, Toronto Oakwood and Hamilton MacNab.  The list of teams is as follows (no partiuclar order):

St. Benedict
WCI
SJAM
Resurrection
North Park
Eastwood
-----
Oakwood (Toronto)
J. Clarke Richardson (Ajax)
St. Roch (Brampton)
Holy Cross (Kingston)
Collingwood CI
Adam Scott CVS (Peterborough)
St. Thomas More (Hamilton)
MacNab (Hamilton)
Cardinal Newman (Stoney Creek)
Northern CVI (Sarnia)

Rez Seniors, KCI Juniors Take Titles at Jacob Hespeler

Jacob Hespeler's annual "Hawks Invitational" tournament, which sees the school's two full-sized gyms host a junior and a senior girls tournament the same weekend, finished another successful event this past weekend.

Several high-calibre CWOSSA teams were present at the event, highlighted by the two qualifiers for the Senior Girls' final -- Resurrection (CWOSSA #1) and Waterloo-Oxford (CWOSSA #3).

That championship game saw the Crusaders hang with Rez early; the game was tied 20-20 early in the third quarter.

However, from that point, the Phoenix went on a 10-0 run keyed by offensive efforts from Krissia Vasquez and solid shooting from Meghan Sharpe.  This was all the offense Rez would need for the remainder of the contest, as they went on to prevail by a 40-27 count.

Sydney Gucker-Wickie was also impressive for the Phoenix, weaving in traffic and displaying impressive aggressiveness for a grade ten player.

Emily Glendinning was solid as usual for the Crusaders, finishing several baskets inside while also displaying her all-around offensive game (ability to handle the ball plus deep three-point range).

The semifinals saw Rez handle Galt, 57-17, while Waterloo-Oxford down the host Jacob Hespeler Hawks 55-36.

First-round scores were Resurrection 52, Cameron Heights 22; WODSS 45, Bluevale 25; and Galt 32, St. Benedict 27.  It was a 7-team tournament, with Jacob Hespeler having an opening round "bye" in the bracketed affair.

Junior
On the junior side, the KCI Raiders were impressive from start to finish over the weekend, winning all three of their games quite easily en route to the title.  I didn't get the final score of their championship win over Bluevale, although the Raiders prevailed handily.

Grace Mickie and Maggie McLean were among the top performers for the Raiders, who received strong performances up and down their roster throughout the tournament.

Semifinal scores were KCI over Guelph Centennial, 62-37, and Bluevale over Resurrection 62-20.

First-round games were Bluevale 43, St. Anne (Clinton) 10; Resurrection 32, Cameron Heights 17; KCI 43, Galt 23; and Centennial 37, Jacob Hespeler 22.

D10 News: ODSS Juniors Enjoying Success; Parity Evident in Senior Circuit

It's been a while since the Orangeville Bears have tasted a D10 title.

In fact, the school itself has gone since 1991 without a basketball title of any kind (1990-91 Junior Boys), while it's been since 1988 for the Junior Girls and since 1984 on the Senior Girls' side. 

I would have been in diapers the last time the Senior Boys' won a title, back in 1982.

This year's ODSS junior girls' squad has just one loss on the campaign, a narrow 5-point defeat to two-time defending champ (and first place) Bishop Mac.

Their other 5 games?  The Bears have won those by an average margin of 35 points.

Lauren Faullong and Maggie Franz have been pacing the ODSS attack, with both girls averaging 15+ PPG.

Along with being a contender in the D10 circuit, you'd have to figure that the Bears should be among teams in contention for "AAA" CWOSSA.

Senior:  Lourdes Knocks Bishop Mac from Unbeaten Ranks
It's shaping up to be an interesting year in D10 Senior Girls' basketball.

After GCVI knocked off Lourdes last week (38-35), it seemed like the Bishop Mac Celtics would have the inside track to the #1 seed if they were able to handle Lourdes on Tuesday.

However, Lourdes' top three scorers -- Jada Codrington, Rainey Psenicka and Jessica Mathieu -- had other ideas, combining for 46 of Lourdes' 56 points en route to a 56-42 win over the visiting Celtics.

Both Lourdes and Bishop Mac are now 5-1 on the season.

GCVI missed a prime opportunity to move into a three-way tie for first, as they dropped to 4-2 with a 39-37 loss at JF Ross.  Ali Darling had 15 for JFR, while Abbey MacIntyre netted 12 for the Gaels.

JF Ross sits tied for 4th in the D10 standings at 3-3, which includes a season-opening forfeit to Centennial.

WCSSAA SG News: WODSS Crusaders Win WCSSAA Battle of the Unbeatens; Nancy Michael Continues Torrid Pace

It's been quite a turnaround from a year ago at Waterloo-Oxford.

With a strong junior talent core making their way to the senior ranks, the Crusaders have essentially gone from towards the basement of the WCSSAA league to all alone in first place after yesterday's home win.

It was a close one yesterday afternoon in Baden, where they defeated the visiting Waterloo CI Vikings by a 45-36 count to remain as the league's only undefeated team (6-0).

It was a close game throughout, with the 'Saders leading only by one point (21-20) at half, and by the same margin (32-31) after three.

They were able to take advantage of a few Viking miscues in the fourth quarter, outscoring WCI by a 13-5 score for the final margin.

Emily Glendinning paced WO with 13 points, while Mackeely Shantz added 11.  Ramla Abdalla and Victoria Giguere were the top scorers for the Vikes, with 11 and 8 respectively.

There is now quite a log-jam after first-place WODSS, with WCI, SJAM, Jacob Hespeler, and Bluevale all sporting identical 5-1 records.

Nancy Michael Continues Torrid Pace for Rens
The Grand River Renegades aren't a team to dismiss just yet from WCSSAA contention; the Rens have a 4-2 record and could easily be sitting at 6-0 given that their losses were in OT to Bluevale and by 1-point to Preston.

A big reason for their success has been the play of lightning-quick guard Nancy Michael, who is having one of the best scoring seasons in WCSSAA history.

In fact, with 175 points through six league games, Michael is averaging a mind-boggling 29.1 PPG.

Though the WCSSAA league has seen some great players over the years, I'm guessing that there has never been a player with that sort of scoring average over the course of the season.

Upcoming games against top teams WODSS, JHSS and WCI will certainly be a challenge, but you would think that she will have to see plenty of court time in what should be competitive match-ups.  It will certainly be something to keep an eye on as the season continues to progress.

CWOSSA Senior Girls' Top 10 - October 11

We're at about the mid-point of the Senior Girls' season, and things have (to

a degree) clarified themselves to allow me to post a "CWOSSA Top 10" on the Senior Girls' side for the first time.

Kitchener Resurrection leads the way in the initial rankings, based upon their undefeated league record as well as a tournament championship victory over St. John's (although I'd like to see a rematch as both teams were missing a couple of key contributors).

The depth of the Brantford league is evident with three teams in the top five, and a youthful -- but talented -- Brantford CI in an HM spot.

Waterloo-Oxford has made a significant turnaround from a year ago, and is sitting at #3 in the rankings following a win over WCI yesterday.  Their lone notable blemish is a narrow 5-point loss to St. John's in tournament play.

Bishop Macdonell would have been a top five team had I published these yesterday; however, their loss to Lourdes drops them into a tie for 7th with their "AA" rival.  The Guelph league looks quite interesting given Lourdes' narrow loss earlier to Guelph CVI (who just dropped a game to JF Ross themselves yesterday afternoon).

One caveat that I would note when reviewing the rankings is the depth and balance of teams this season.  In other words, the gap between #1 and #10 is not what it has been in previous years.  It should make for an exciting season!

1.  Resurrection / Kitchener
2.  St. John's / Brantford
3.  Waterloo-Oxford / Baden
4.  Assumption / Brantford
5.  North Park / Brantford
6.  WCI / Waterloo
T7.  Our Lady of Lourdes / Guelph
T7.  Bishop Macdonell / Guelph
9.  SJAM / Waterloo
10.  Bluevale / Waterloo
HM:  Brantford CI / Brantford; John F. Ross / Guelph; Guelph CVI / Guelph.

D8 Junior: Upstart Cavs Might Be The Team To Beat

The Woodland Christian Cavaliers are a team on the rise.

The Cavs have been steadily ascending the District 8 Junior basketball standings the past couple of years; in 2014, the Cavs were an 0-10 team but improved to 5-5 last season.

This year, the Cavs are the lone remaining unbeaten team in the D8 Junior circuit with a 3-0 record.

More impressive?  The Cavs haven't even played the last-place Rockway Flames just yet, posting wins over larger AA/AAA schools, including defending champion Resurrection, St. Benedict, and St. David.

The game against Resurrection (who are currently in second place with a 2-1 record) wasn't as close as the 28-22 final score might indicate.  In fact, the Cavs nearly pitched a shutout through two quarters, going into the halftime break up 16-1.<

Sydney VanderHoef and Jenna Duimering are a couple of club-level talents that form a dynamic duo for the Cavs.  They've combined for 62 of the Cavs' 88 points to date, a 70% clip.

If those two can continue their torrid pace, there's no reason to doubt that the Cavs have a solid chance at capturing the school's first girls' basketball title in school history.  In fact, Woodland has only ever won one D8 basketball title, a midget boys' basketball title way back in the first year of District 8 (1991).

The Cavs should also be favoured to stop another drought -- the school, despite some recent success at the Senior level (2012 & 2013 CWOSSA "A" champions) has never won a Junior Girls' "A" title.

At any rate, it's been an impressive start to date and definitely a team to keep an eye on as the season progresses!

Draw: Jacob Hespeler Junior Girls' Tournament

The draw for the Jacob Hespeler Junior Girls' tournament (which coincides with a senior tournament that weekend - draw to follow) has been released.  Participating teams include the host Hawks, Guelph Centennial, Galt CI, KCI, Resurrection, Cameron Heights, Bluevale and Tecumseh St. Anne's.

The tournament runs October 14th and 15th as follows:

Friday, October 14
9am:  Jacob Hespeler vs. Centennial
10:30am:  Galt vs. KCI
Noon:  Resurrection vs. Cameron Hts.
1:30pm:  Bluevale vs. St. Anne's
Consolation Semifinals:  3 & 4:30pm
Championship Semifinals:  6 & 7:30pm

Saturday, October 15
7th Place Game:  9am
Consolation Final:  10:30am
3rd Place Game:  Noon
Championship Final:  1:30pm

TheRecord.com: Waterloo-Oxford Off To Impressive Start in Girls' Basketball

Article By:  Mark Bryson

KITCHENER — The Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders are just three games into their season and have already improved on last year's totals. 

Emily Glendinning and MacKeely Shantz posted 18-point performances Thursday as the Baden girls rolled to a 46-19 win over the Cameron Heights Golden Gaels in Waterloo County senior high school basketball play. The Crusaders, who could only manage two victories last year, improved to 3-0 on the campaign and appear to be one of several teams in the championship hunt. 

A pair of Grade 10 additions — Madison Sadler and Shantz — have made an immediate impact on the Crusaders' senior roster. Sadler missed Thursday's game because of dental surgery, while Shantz came off the bench and had a dominant performance. 

"MacKeely adds a lot. She's one of our top players and she adds scoring, she adds defence, and she's just an overall great player. And Madi, she's a really good shooter that jacks up threes when we need her to," said Glendinning. 

"We all just get along and we play well together as a team. It's totally different from last year, we're much stronger and we're having a lot more fun." 

Waterloo-Oxford scored 28 consecutive points against Cameron Heights and was never seriously threatened. The Gaels led 6-4 at the midway point of the first quarter but didn't post another point until the third quarter when a basket by Mariah Zervos cut the Crusaders' lead to 32-8. 

Olivia Lennon led Cameron Heights with eight points and Laura Weber added six. 

The Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders would have been favoured to three-peat as WCSSAA champions — they defeated Cameron Heights in last year's final — but hugely talented Kate Moran opted to continue her education and basketball career at The Rise Centre academy in Brantford.

Moran's absence, according to Glendinning, moved the Crusaders and several other teams into the title hunt. 

"Kate was almost too good for the league, I think. She could shoot, she could drive, she could post up, she could play defence, and she's just a great player overall," she said. 

"You need to have height to play against her and if you don't have height, she's unstoppable. I think it makes the league fairer because they can't just lob the ball to her." 

Two years ago, Glendinning was on the Waterloo-Oxford senior squad that fell to SJAM in the final. Moran, in Grade 9 at the time, led her team with 24 points. 

SJAM remains one of the teams to beat, although the Highlanders suffered a surprising one-point loss to the Waterloo Vikings on Tuesday. 

The Gaels' hopes of reaching another WCSSAA final were lessened earlier this month when Nina Farkic, the league's MVP last season, decided to sit the year out. 

Retrieved From:  http://www.therecord.com/sports-story/6886754-waterloo-oxford-off-to-impressive-start-in-high-school-girls-basketball/

Brantford Expositor: "We Have A Lot of Options"

Originally Published on 9/30/16

Article By:  Brian Smiley


With no clear favourite in the Brant County high school senior girls basketball league, North Park Collegiate coach Andrea Hawkins feels this season is going to be different.


"I think there are four teams in Brantford that all have a shot at winning it, which is fun because every other year everyone knew who was going to win before the season started," said Hawkins.
"Everybody offers something a little bit different."


And that includes the Trojans, who are 1-1 to start the season.


Hawkins said she thinks North Park, Assumption College, Brantford Collegiate Institute and St. John's College are serious title contenders.


In its recent past, North Park has been on the small side and relied on Sarah Minutillo to handle the ball. With some size on the roster and several players stepping up for the graduated Minutillo, the Trojans seem to be well rounded.


"The nine I have are all great players," Hawkins said. "We can run, we can slow it down and we can pound it inside. We have a lot of options but we haven't been able to do that yet."


Several North Park players are battling injuries and illness.


Hawkins said she hadn't played with more than seven players until this week when North Park beat Paris District High School. In a loss to Assumption College, the Trojans had just six bodies available.


When she gets her roster back on track, Hawkins will lean on fifth-year players Brooke Cesar and Julia Rankin, along with returning seniors Dani Romany and Sydney Adams.


Graduates from the junior team - which finished second at the Central Western Ontario Schools Athletic Association championships last season - are Noelle Adams, Amber Leggett, Kristen Martin, Bria Yurczyszyn and Charyssa Advincula. All five have seen action and will continue to be counted on.


"They're great kids," said Hawkins. "They all have a role, they're all important and they all offer something very different to the team, which is nice."


She said that the players get along well.


"They have fun together which, to me, is one of the most important things I'm learning about this sport as I get older."


After playing earlier in Western University's Purple and White Tournament, the Trojans captured a championship on the weekend at St. Andre Bessette Catholic Secondary School in London.


North Park is preparing for a game on Thursday against BCI and one on Tuesday against SJC, "We go into every game trying to win and every game I treat as an important game," Hawkins said. "However, we're still trying to figure things out.


"The positive is I'm getting lots of kids floor time. The kids who are normally my No. 6 and 7 are getting a lot of minutes and getting better because of it. Other kids are learning different roles, which is good."


She said that having a deep roster will be a benefit.


"That first game against Assumption always meant something," Hawkins said. "This year, I don't think September matters at all. It doesn't matter if you finish first or fourth.


"I think it's going to come down to who is healthy and who improves the most come November. It's going to be an exciting year, which is great."


Retrieved From:  http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2016/09/28/we-have-a-lot-of-options

Early-Season Senior Round-Up: Despite Missing Pieces, Green Eagles Still Solid

Despite losing large chunks of last year's OFSAA Silver-Medal winning roster to graduation/prep schools, the St. John's Green Eagles again appear to still be one of the favourites for the CWOSSA "AAA" Senior Girls' title.

The Green Eagles dropped the finale of their home tournament last weekend to Resurrection CSS -- albeit in a game where both teams were missing a couple of key players.


This past weekend, in Guelph, the Green Eagles took the title of the Centennial Invational, a tournament that included some other CWOSSA contenders, including WCSSAA schools SJAM and Waterloo-Oxford.


The Crusaders are off to an unbeaten start in the WCSSAA league, although it's clear that it could be one of the more wide-open years in recent memory.  The aforementioned Highlanders, WCI (who despite a youthful roster have a 1-point win over SJAM to their credit), Bluevale and Grand River (who played a 2OT game that BCI won) are all in the mix, along with the Galt Ghosts, who return several key players from last year's team, including Beth Fleming.


Back to St. John's, the Green Eagles are among a quadrant of teams from a very competitive BCSSAA league that all could compete for a league and playoff title.  While the Green Eagles appear to have the inside lane, the gap isn't as wide as it's been in previous years with teams like Brantford CI, North Park and Assumption all in the mix.


The Resurrection Phoenix have gotten off to an undefeated start in District 8, and despite losing Jama Bin-Edward to Prep School, should still have the talent needed to win that league.  Rez's first three games in league play have seen them outscore their opponents by a combined margin of 169-36.


The final "major conference", the D10 league, also sees a familiar name at the top.  The Bishop Mac Celtics, like many of the other top schools, are dealing with their own prep school losses, but have reeled off three consecutive wins to start the season by a 168-62 score.  Fellow "AA" school Lourdes is also undefeated, while on the "AAA" side, JF Ross and Centennial are currently leading the way with 2-2 marks.