The Record: Cambridge High School Raises $13000 After Popular Teacher Gets Cancer

Article By:  Kevin Swayze

CAMBRIDGE — Hugs, laughter and a come-from-behind-to-win basketball game made it easy to forget about Gillian McKendrick’s untreatable cancer.


The Glenview Park Secondary School business teacher was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in June.

More than 50 students and teachers formed a team in the local Run for the Cure event Oct. 3. The $13,000 raised was tops for a local school.

McKendrick, 53, was guest of honour at the school Thursday, as pink shirts and ribbons were sported by staff and students. Chocolates were also sold for $2 each through the day, with the money going toward the school fundraising to fight breast cancer.

“I was embarrassed,” when first told of all the attention planned for her, McKendrick said.

“I don’t even stand up in staff meetings to talk.”

She’s undergoing radiation and chemotherapy to ease her symptoms, but no cure is offered for the advanced cancer.

Sitting in a wheelchair, McKendrick watched the school’s senior girls basketball team wear pink jerseys in her honour as it battled Sir John A. Macdonald. Throughout the game, McKendrick gently razzed students who stopped to say hello, or shared grins and gossip with teachers.

“I like to laugh,” she said.

“It’s a happy school . . . when you get to work around these students, you do feel happy.”

Her upbeat outlook in the face of a blunt diagnosis amazed teacher-librarian Shari Nicholas.

“She has a really positive attitude, with what’s going on,” Nicholas said. “I hope I’m able to do that if something like this happened to me.”

Glenview senior girls were down 26-14 at the half. During a mid-game ceremony, graduating team players received pink carnations from their coach. Then they gathered around McKendrick for hugs and presentation of a card saying “Fight.”

The team followed its own advice. When McKendrick left with 4:11 to go in the final quarter, a rally turned the score around to 39-35 for Glenview. McKendrick missed a nail-biter of a finish as Glenview held on for a 43-42 win.

Retrieved From:  http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/807043

BAA News: GHSS' Fawcett Passes Away, Team Withdraws From Playoffs

In some sad news to pass along, Jordan Fawcett, a member of the Grey Highlands SS senior girls' basketball team, passed away in her sleep on Monday night.

Fawcett was a well-known athlete from across the district --- she participated in OBA Basketball for Owen Sound/Collingwood, and was a track athlete for the Saugeen Track and Field club as well as her high school (placing 6th in the junior girls high jump at CWOSSA last year).  Of course, she was also one of the top performers from her school's team.  She was 15 years of age.

Her funeral is on Saturday in Markdale.  Obviously, our prayers are with her family at this time.  Some further information can be found through a Facebook page established in her honour.

As a result of this sudden and sad news, the GHSS junior & senior girls basketball teams will be defaulting their playoff games today in the BAA quarterfinals --- the senior girls finished 3rd and were to take on 2nd place West Hill SS, who will advance to the BAA North finals against the winner of #1 OSCVI and #4 Georgian Bay SS.  That game (as well as junior action) goes today.

In the BAA south (senior) conference, Kincardine DSS and Walkerton are tied for first and will play on Friday to determine first place in the south loop. 

The winner of that game will also host the "BAA Final Four" on November 11th. 

Playoff structure is such that the top remaining south team crosses over in a semifinal game against "North #2", while the top North team plays South #2; winners advance to the final. 

D4: Playoff Matchups

Here are the final standings (and playoff matchups) in the junior & senior D4 leagues:

Junior D4
1.  Erin DHS 8-2
2.  Wellington Heights 7-3
3.  Westside SS 6-4
4.  Norwell 5-5
-----
5.  Centre Dufferin 3-7
6.  Woodland 1-9

Playoff Matchups:
(1) Erin vs (4) Norwell - Monday, November 8th - 2:30pm
Season Series:  1-1.  Norwell W 28-27 at home 10/13; Erin W 46-26 at home 11/1.

(2) WHSS vs. (3) Westside - Monday, November 8th - 2:30pm.
Season Series:  1-1.  WHSS W 41-37 on road 10/4; Westside W 48-35 on road 10/20

Senior D4
1.  Westside 10-0
2.  Centre Dufferin 7-3
3.  Wellington Heights 7-3
4.  Erin DHS 3-7
5.  Woodland 3-7
6.  Norwell 0-10

Playoff Matchups
(1) Westside vs. (4) Erin DHS
Season Series:  Westside 2-0. W 47-12 on road 10/6; W 57-19 at home 10/27.

(2) Centre Dufferin vs. (3) Wellington Heights
Season Series:  1-1.  CDDHS W 51-32 on road 10/6; WHSS W 50-40 on road 10/27.

WCSSAA & D10: Thursday Picks

The final day in the regular season in both leagues.....hopefully my picks column can finish strong.  Here's today's selections:

WCSSAA YTD Picks:  68-10 (.872)
D10 YTD Picks:  49-3 (.942)

WCSSAA

Eastwood (8-3) at Galt (8-3)
Pick:  Galt
Big battle here, as the winner takes the 4th overall spot and one of the first-round playoff byes.  I'll lean to the homecourt Ghosts, who have been playing well as of late.

SJAM (3-8) at Glenview Park (1-10)
Pick:  SJAM
The 'Landers need the win to cement a playoff berth; though it should be close I"ll take them on the road here today.

Cameron Heights (10-1) at WODSS (3-8)
Pick:  CHCI
The Crusaders need to win today and get some help to get in the playoffs.  Unfortuntely, they're playing one of the top teams in the league today; CHCI takes this one to finish at 11-1.

Grand River (6-5) at Preston (6-5)
Pick:  GRCI
Another game that will have a big impact on the playoff landscape.  I will not go against the surging GRCI Renegades this time, as they've been making me pay for picking against them as of late.

Bluevale (7-4) at KCI (10-1)
Pick: KCI
Look for the Raiders to end their regular season on a winning note against the BCI Knights.

Elmira (5-6) at Jacob Hespler (3-8)
Pick:  EDSS
The Lancers have had some close outings as of late, and are coming off a tough loss to Bluevale on Tuesday.  Still, I look for them to be too much for the JHSS Hawks to handle in this one.

Forest Heights (1-10) at Southwood (6-5)
Pick:  SSS
After a relatively tough schedule, the Sabres got the benefit of a "bye win" on Tuesday, and now go up against the 1-10 Trojans.  I should warn them that the Trojans are better than their record would indicate, but that won't change my pick here:  Sabres to win.

D10 Picks

Orangeville (0-13) at JF Ross (10-3)
Pick:  JFR
The Royals will get the win they need today; however, in order to get 2nd they will also require CWDHS to lose to CCVI.

Lourdes (6-7) at St. James (2-11)
Pick:  OLOL
Both teams are locked into their playoff spots --- Lourdes 5th and St. James, 7th.  Lourdes wins on the road here to finish at .500.

Centre Wellington (10-3) at Centennial (4-9)
Pick:  CWDHS
As noted above, CW can clinch 2nd overall (and a home semifinal game) with a win today.  I think they'll get it done against the Spartans today.

Bishop Mac (12-1) at GCVI (8-5)
Pick:  BMAC
Both teams are securely in the #1 and #4 spots, meaning that this is a potential semifinal preview.  I don't expect to see the coaching staffs do anything crazy here as a result, but the Celtics will probably be a bit hungry for redemption after losing their first D10 game in forever on Tuesday.  BMAC to win.

D8 Wednesday: Junior Saints Hold Off Phoenix

The St. Benedict CSS Saints clinched top spot overall in the D8 junior girls league with an exciting 40-37 victory over the Resurrection Phoenix.

The Saints, who led 22-14 at halftime, were never able to fully pull away from the Phoenix ---- though they did lead most of the second half by 8-10 points.

With an 8 point lead and under 2 minutes to play, things really got interesting.  The Phoenix cranked up the defensive pressure and forced numerous Saint turnovers, while several SBCSS players did not do themselves any favours by taking quick shots on the offensive end.

The end result was a 38-37 SBCSS lead with under :40 to play in the game.  However, Jenelle Case and Dana Milani both went 1-for-2 from the free throw line before a Phoenix three-pointer at the buzzer (which looked on-line) clanged off the iron.

Case was a dominant force inside against Rez's undersized front line, pouring in a game-high 22 points.  The sleek-shooting Milani added 13.  The Phoenix were led by Marley Neiscier (14) and Andrea Phillippi (6). 

In the other junior game on Wednesday, St. Mary's had no trouble with the Rockway Flames, winning 34-13.  Maggie Sroujl (7) and Monica Januszek (7) were top scorers for the Eagles, while Emma Kschesinski (5) led Rockway.

Senior action saw no surprises on Wednesday ---- Rez took out St. Benedict 44-24, backed by 14 from Janelle Santi and 11 from Jacqui Rodrigues.  Meagan Mason (13) and Andrea Zapanza (9) led the Saints.

St. Mary's blasted Rockway 57-6.  Laura Franco (12) and Casey Palmero (11) provided double-digit efforts for SMHS, while Alex Hood had all 6 Flame points.

Junior Standings & Playoff Picture
1.  St. Benedict 9-0
2.  Resurrection 7-2
3.  St. Mary's 5-4
T4.  St. David 3-6
T4.  Monsignor Doyle 3-6
6.  Rockway 0-9

Notes:
a)  St. Benedict has clinched 1st, Resurrection 2nd, and St. Mary's 3rd.
b)  Therefore - Resurrection will host St. Mary's in one semifinal.  St. Benedict will host the 4th place team in the other.
c)  SDCSS & MDCSS will play on Monday --- the winner will get the final playoff position as well as the "AAA" CWOSSA berth! 

Senior Standings & Playoff Picture
1.  St. Mary's 9-0
2.  St. David 6-3
T3.  Resurrection 5-4
T3.  Monsingor Doyle 5-4
5.  St. Benedict 2-7
6.  Rockway 0-9

Notes:
a) The top 4 teams (SMHS, SDCSS, RCSS, MDCSS) have clinched playoff berths; SMHS will finish 1st overall.
b) Assuming Rez takes care of winless Rockway on Monday, they will finish no worse than 3rd.
c) If SDCSS beats MDCSS on Monday, they will finish 2nd, Rez 3rd, Doyle 4th.
e) If MDCSS beats SDCSS on Monday (by 4+ points), Rez gets 2nd, Doyle 3rd, SDCSS 4th.
f)  If MDCSS beats SDCSS on Monday (by 1 or 2 points), Rez gets 2nd, St. David 3rd, MDCSS 4th.

....so, still a lot to sort out on the senior side.

D8 Wednesday Picks

After Monday's games, which saw St. Mary's top St. David and Monsignor Doyle take out St. Benedict, we are set for an interesting final week in the D8 league.

Today's rather mundane matchups see winless Rockway travel to play first-place St. Mary's, while Resurrection hosts St. Benedict.

Needless to say, I'll be taking both the home schools today for my picks (YTD:  21-2, .913)

Before we go any further, here's the current standings in the D8 league:

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

Now, assuming Rez holds of St. Benedict today, it sets up what could be an interesting day on Monday with:

Rockway @ Rez (assuming Rez wins this one)
St. Mary's @ St. Benedict (meaningless as far as standings are concerned)

And, of course, St. David at Doyle.  As I've mentioned previously, should Rez win their final two games (likely) and Doyle defeat SDCSS, it sets up a potential three-way tie for second (6-4).

Resurrection would be awarded 2nd as they hold a +/- tiebreaker over both St. David and Monsingor Doyle.

As St. David won the first meeting against Doyle by only three, Doyle would need to win by 4+ at home in order to hold the tiebreak over the Celtics. 

More importantly, whoever finishes third will also avoid St. Mary's in the first round and would therefore likely be the "AAA" representative from CWOSSA.  Definitely a lot on the line.

Simcoe Reformer: Junior Raiders Hold On

Article By:  Jeff Dertinger

Despite the Sabres giving them fits throughout, the Delhi Raiders held serve to keep their perfect record intact.


Delhi improved to 7-0 in NSSAA junior girls basketball play with a 32-22 victory over the Simcoe Sabres (5-2) yesterday afternoon at SCS. It wasn't a dominating win by any means, yet the Raiders persevered to come out on top.

The difference in the game really came down to Simcoe's devastating scoring drought in the second and third quarters. The Sabres scored just one basket over that entire 16-minute stretch of play -- a tough thing for any team to overcome.

Conversely, Simcoe did out-score the Raiders in both the first and fourth quarters. The Sabres led after the opening eight minutes of play 8-7, then put up 12 points to Delhi's eight in the final frame.

Needless to say, the Sabres learned a lot about where they stand heading into next week's playoffs.

"The goal was to be better than we were the last time we played Delhi (a 43-12 Raiders win), and this was definitely better," Sabres coach Jim Carroll said. "We were able to shut down, not totally, but shut down to an extent some of the fast break points by Delhi, which they're really good at. And at the end, Jenna Schott finally found her stroke and sunk some nice baskets."

The Raiders had shooting woes of their own. Kendra Freund and Leah Ebdon struggled some with their finish -- although they were still easily the best players on the court for Delhi yesterday. Ebdon led all scorers with 12 points, while Freund put up 11.

Freund and Ebdon thrive on creating turnovers and turning them into quick points, which can crush the opposition's spirit. Freund's speed and ball-handling ability make her almost impossible to defend in a fast-break situation.

"Our defence could've been a lot better I think," said Freund "We want to be able to run our plays properly. This wasn't our best game."

Delhi assistant coach Kim Jansen said the tight game with Simcoe and Thursday's upcoming tilt with a strong Waterford club is just what the team needs.

"There was a bunch of little mistakes made today, and I think that's because the girls haven't seen a level of competition like Simcoe in a while. Simcoe applied pressure and they panicked a little out there," Jansen said.

"The more they get used to playing in those pressure situations, the better they'll respond in the future."

Delhi travels to Waterford while Simcoe hosts Holy Trinity Thursday. NSSAA junior girls basketball playoffs begin next Tuesday in Delhi at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

In the senior game, Simcoe kept its own unbeaten streak going with a 42-19 victory over the Raiders. Sabres forward Alyssa Becque led all scorers with 13 points and teammate Jade Ebdon had eight. Delhi's Emily Brooks scored 10 of her team's 19 points.

Over at Holy Trinity, the senior Titans kept pace with Simcoe by downing Valley Heights 42-16. Annessa Casier led all scorers with 18 points. Holy Trinity (8-1) hosts Simcoe (9-0) in the regular season finale Thursday with first place on the line.

Retrieved From:  http://www.simcoereformer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2828861

Brantnews.com: Lions Put Focus on Defence

Article By:  Tom Kennedy

A strong defensive effort, coupled with capable shooting has sent the Assumption College Lions to the semifinals.


The Lions senior girls' basketball team applied strong defensive pressure at their home gym on Tuesday to beat the Pauline Johnson Collegiate Thunderbirds 60-28.

While the Thunderbirds are eliminated from the competition, the Lions will advance to play the St. John's College Green Eagles in a must-win semifinal on Thursday.

Lions coach Rick Heron said his team will need all the defensive strength they can muster to take on the Eagles and their undefeated Brant County record.

”Going into the game against St. John’s, we wanted to really work hard in defence,” Heron said. “Obviously we have to do everything well to have a chance on Thursday.

“We need to limit the amount of time they have with the ball. It’s going to take our very best effort to beat them, they’re obviously a stellar team.”

Mistakes and execution of plays were the clear difference in the first half against the Thunderbirds, with the Lions making more use of their time with the ball.

“They were the better team,” Thunderbirds coach Neal Stamer said. “We’re just unlucky enough to play in one of the strongest basketball cities in Ontario.”

The Lions scored the first basket and although the Thunderbirds shot right back with one of their own, Lion Jerika Baldin upped the ante, netting a three-point basket to extend her team's lead.

Thunderbird Jessie Poisson hit a three point for her team shortly afterwards, but the Lions led 17-5 at the end of the first quarter.

The Lions turned the defensive pressure up a notch in the second, forcing more turnovers and intercepting a lot of passes to break the Thunderbirds' rhythm.

The Lions started the break away from their opposition late in the second quarter and had a convincing 27-8 lead at half time.

The Thunderbirds continued to work hard in the third half, but couldn't escape the defence of the Lions.

T-Birds Sam Buck and Brittany Hughes helped their team out with points in the third quarter, but the Lions continued to extend the scoring gap. The Lions led 46-19 at the end of the third.

Thunderbirds Krista Riimand and Chelsea Biggs gave their team some advantage under the net at both ends of the court, using their height to secure rebounds and block shots.

But the Lions worked the outside of the key as well as inside to construct their scoring chances.

The Lions tallied a further 14 points in the fourth to secure their spot in the semifinal.

The Lions were led in points scoring by Emily Gill (12), Meaghan Hanley (10) and Jerika Baldin (10). The Thunderbirds were led by Chelsea Biggs (15), Erica Hewson (5) and Sam Buck (5).

In the other senior girls’ basketball game on Tuesday, the Brantford Collegiate Institute Mustangs defeated the Paris District High School Panthers 53-20.

In junior basketball, BCI defeated PDHS 45-20 and the North Park Collegiate Trojans defeated the PJC Thunderbirds.

Semifinal schedule, Thursday


Junior
NPC at ACS, 4 p.m.
BCI at SJC, 5:30 p.m.


Senior
BCI at NPC, 7 p.m.
ACS at SJC, 7 p.m.

Retrieved From:  http://www.brantnews.com/sports.cfm?page=sports&section=read&articleId=9131

D10: Royals End Bishop Mac's 46 Game D10 Win Streak

Yesterday afternoon, the JF Ross Royals did something that no team has done since the 2007 season.

Beat the Bishop Macdonell Celtics.

The Royals ended the Celts' 46 game D10 league and playoff win streak, nipping Bishop Mac 48-45 right on Bishop Mac's home court.

After rolling through 2 consecutive 17-0 seasons (2008 & 09), the Celtics also won 12 in a row to start the 2010 campaign.  The Royals were also the last team to top Bishop Mac, defeating them in the 2007 D10 championship game.

In addition, it also marked the first home loss for Bishop Mac in senior girls' basketball in over three years (September, 2007). 

Ross was led by a dozen each from Vanessa Martini and Silvie Cafarella.  The Celts also had 2 in double figures --- Janine DeLeon (11) and Logan Lane (10).

Here's the rest of Tuesday's senior action:

Centennial 46, Orangeville 42
My Pick:  CCVI
The Bears almost pulled this one out, but came up just short.  April Davis (13) and Rebecca Matheson (12) were instrumental in keying ODSS' upset bid, but a trio of 9-point efforts from the Spartans helped to preserve the victory.

Centre Wellington 50, St. James 35
My Pick:  CW
Three Falcons in double digits helped to secure a double-digit win season for CWDHS --- Brenann Francis (12), Chelsea Riepert (11) and Erica McFadden (11).  Steph Wright had 11 for St. James, while Erica Zen added 7.

GCVI 28, Lourdes 24
My Pick:  GCVI
In a playoff preview, it looks like both teams didn't show too many cards and slugged it out to a 28-24 GCVI final, locking up 4th place for the Gaels.  Sierra McLaren (13) and Alysha Warnholtz (8) provided the bulk of the GCVI offense, while Kiera Bunnaman had 13 of Lourdes' 24 points.

D10 Senior Standings
1.  Bishop Mac 12-1
2.  CWDHS 10-3
3.  JF Ross 10-3
4.  GCVI 8-5
5.  Lourdes 6-7
6.  CCVI 4-9
7.  St. James 2-11
8.  ODSS 0-13

Playoff Picture:
-CWDHS clinches 2nd overall with a Thursday win vs. CCVI or a JF Ross loss vs. ODSS.
-Ross would get 2nd only with a win and a CWDHS loss, as CWDHS won both contests this year.
-All other spots have been secured:  1st - BMAC; 4th - GCVI; 5th - Lourdes; 6th - CCVI; 7th - St. James; 8th - ODSS.

Junior Girls - D10

Orangeville 45, Centennial 36
The ODSS Bears almost did it.  A win by 13+ would have given them 6th place over Centennial and, in all likelihood (with JF Ross on Thursday), would have put them in the driver's seat for AAAA CWOSSA.  However, they came up just short in the end.  Claire Fenton poured in 19 to lead the way, while Evelyn Burgess added 10.  Hannah Ferguson (11) and Chloe Runge (7) were tops for the Spartans.

St. James 47, CWDHS 29
No trouble for the Lions here, as they roar to 13-0.  Chelsey Gazzola (13), Sierra Rutherford (7) and Brittany Gazzola (7) were the top St. James performers, while Kristin Gora had 13 for CW, with Abby Humber adding 9.

Bishop Mac 40, JF Ross 27
Both teams had balanced attacks in this one, with no player topping 8 points.  Bishop Mac received that 8 point effort from Rebecca Morris, with teammates Sarah Calzonetti and Kerrie Sullivan scoring 6 each.  Ross received 6 each from Meghan Parkinson and Stephanie Gordon.

Lourdes 45, GCVI 43 (in OT)
The Gaels nearly pulled this one out, but the Crusaders survived another upset-minded squad on this afternoon.  Monica Trimble (15) and Cecilia Hudecki (10) led OLOL, while Jamie Young had a game-high 16 for the Gaels, with Clay Barley-Janzen chipping in 12 as well.

Junior D10 Standings
1.  St. James 13-0
2.  Lourdes 12-1
3.  Bishop Mac 9-4
4.  GCVI 8-5
5.  Centennial 4-9 (H2H over ODSS +/-)
6.  ODSS 4-9
7.  CWDHS 1-12 (H2H over Ross +/-)
8.  JF Ross 1-12

Playoff Positioning Notes:
1.  St. James has virtually locked up first, even should they lose against Lourdes on Thursday.  Lourdes gets first only if they can knock off the top-seeded Lions by 30+. 
2.  GCVI can overtake the Celtics for 3rd place with a win over BMac on Thursday by 17+ points.
3.  Centennial can clinch 5th with a win over 1-12 CWDHS on Thursday.  If they lose and ODSS beats Ross, ODSS would get 5th.

WCSSAA Junior: Thursday Scores & Standings

Here's Thursday's rundown from WCSSAA in the junior division:

Bluevale 39, Elmira 28
BCI:  Hannah Fishbein 13, Natalie Bishop 12
EDSS:  Julia Frey 10, Krista Weins 5, Tessa Charnuski 5

WODSS 47, Glenview Park 22
WODSS:  Madison Horst 23, Alisha Glendinning 7
GPSS:  Jocelyn Kivell 12

Grand River 53, Eastwood 20
GRCI:  Steph Schumacher 14, Ana Milanovic 14
ECI:  Lori Stankiewicz 7, Kayla Shantz 4

Southwood 37, Huron Heights 29
SSS:  Courtney Harley 13, Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor 8
HHHS:  J. Gangl 10, M. Parsons 8

Jacob Hespeler 51, KCI 31
JHSS:  Brooklyn Wright 12, Taylor Dennis 11
KCI:  Nikaya Snell 7, Sam Helm 6, Kelsey Dawe 6

Preston 51, Galt 24
PHS:  Ashley White 12
GCI:  Ashlyn Beckman 8

Cameron Heights 39, SJAM 32
CHCI:  Cathy Bekhyt 14, Ashanti Lewis 10
SJAM:  Jillian Reiter 8, Katie Fowler 7

WCI 40, Forest Heights 11
WCI:  Maggie Birch 19, Abby Breckles 7
FHCI:  Melita Trtovac 4

WCSSAA Junior Standings
T1.  Bluevale 11-0**
T1.  Jacob Hespeler 11-0**
T3.  Elmira 9-2*
T3.  Preston 9-2*
T3.  WODSS 9-2*
6.  Cameron Heights 8-3*
7.  Grand River 7-4*
8.  Southwood 5-6*
T9.  KCI 4-7*
T9.  SJAM 4-7*
T11.  Glenview Park 3-8*
T11.  WCI 3-8
T11.  Huron Heights 3-8
-----
T14.  ECI 1-10
T14.  Forest Heights 1-10
16.  Galt 0-11
* = clinched playoff spot
** = clinched first round bye

**Of note - as Glenview Park has defeated both WCI and Huron Heights, they have clinched a playoff spot. WCI and Huron Heights will play on Thursday, with the winner getting a playoff spot --- however, depending on other results and the tiebreak scenarios, it may not necessarily be 12th place.  Stay tuned!

WCSSAA Senior: Tuesday Results & Standings

We're back today, with a lot to take care of.  We'll get things started with the playoff race in WCSSAA's senior girls division.

I had noted that I needed to go 14-0 over the final 2 days of the season to finish above 90%.  Looks like I jinxed myself as I struggled to a 5-2 day on Tuesday, thanks in part to the surging Grand River Renegades (beating Eastwood) and the up-and-down Bluevale Knights (beating Elmira).

At any rate, let's get right down to business:

Bluevale 44, Elmira 41
My Pick:  BCI
The Knights pick up the big road win and essentially guarantee themselves a home playoff game.  Shannon Curran (15) and Elissa Dent (11) led the way; a now-healthy Lydia Frey responded with 14 for Elmira while Kaitie Martin added 9.

WODSS 47, Glenview Park 41
My Pick:  WODSS
The Crusaders are still alive in the playoff hunt, though they will need to beat Cameron Heights on Thursday to try and get in.  Alyssa Goodridge had 11 for Glenview, while Spencer Mitchell-Becker poured in a game-high 19 points for W-O.

Grand River 40, Eastwood 29
My Pick:  ECI
Wow.  The Renegades have now won 5-of-6 after dispatching ECI on the road.  Aileen MacLellan had 17 for the Rens, while Candice Scott was also in double figures with 11.  The Rens also held ECI star Michelle Hudyn to 11 points (Caitlyn Schlegel added 8 for the Rebs as well).

KCI 57, Jacob Hespeler 27
My Pick:  KCI
The Raiders have clinched either 2nd or 3rd with the win against JHSS.  Kate McTavish (14) and Skye Johns (11) were the leaders on this afternoon, while the Hawks received 12 from Sarah Guttin and 6 from Meaghan Rudd.

Galt 54, Preston 45
My Pick:  GCI
The Ghosts win their 8th game of the year, setting up an interesting finale against ECI on Thursday --- the winner gets a first-round bye in the WCSSAA playoffs.  Christine Phillips poured in 18 for the Ghosts, while teammate Jessie Lund added 14.  Kirsten Leach (13) and Nikea Worrell (12) were again top scorers for the Panthers.

Cameron Heights 53, SJAM 32
My Pick:  CHCI
The Gaels moved into double-digit wins, picking up their 10th against just one loss.  Camille Gardner had a nice outing for CHCI, with 16 points; Siki Jez added 13 more for Cameron.  Malena McCrossan-Moses scored a game-high 20 for the 'Landers.

WCI 62, Forest Heights 42
My Pick:  WCI
The Vikes wrapped up the playing part of their season undefeated (they'll be 12-0 with the "bye win" on Thursday).  Lindsay Taylor led WCI with 19, while Julia Pavlik also had a "15+" performance with 16 for the Vikes.  Sarah Potter netted 17 for the Trojans, with Blair McNaughton and Jocelyn Keeso scoring 10 each.

SSS:  Bye Win

So, with that all done with, here are the current standings.  We'll add in WCI's Thursday "bye win" as well:

WCSSAA Senior Girls Standings
1.  WCI 12-0**
T2.  KCI 10-1**
T2.  Cameron Heights 10-1**
T4.  Galt 8-3*
T4.  Eastwood 8-3*
6.  Bluevale 7-4*
T7.  Preston 6-5*
T7.  Grand River 6-5*
T7.  Southwood 6-5*
10.  Elmira 5-6*
T11.  SJAM 3-8
T11.  Jacob Hespeler 3-8
-----
T11.  WODSS 3-8 (but L H2H vs. JHSS & SJAM)
T14.  Glenview Park 1-10
T14.  Forest Heights 1-10

We'll run down the playoff picture in a bit......for now, just getting the results up.

Monday & Tuesday: D8, WCSSAA, D10 Picks

As I will be out of town tomorrow, here are the picks for today's D8 games, as well as tomorrow's games that are taking place in the D10 and WCSSAA leagues.

YTD D10 Picks:  46-2 (.958)
YTD WCSSAA Picks:  63-8 (.887)
YTD D8 Picks:  19-2 (.905)

....if I can go 14-for-14 in WCSSAA over this week's scheduled games, I can possibly sneak up to the 90% mark for the year on selections in all three leagues (barring a mess-up in D8, of course).

Monday D8

Monsignor Doyle (4-4) at St. Benedict (2-5)
Pick:  MDCSS
Look for the 'Stangs to officially clinch a playoff berth tonight with a win at SBCSS; a win would also keep them in the running for 3rd place overall.

St. David (6-2) at St. Mary's (7-0)
Pick:  SMHS
The Eagles will keep things interesting in the middle of the D8 pack; a win would also clinch them first place overall in the league standings.

Tuesday D10

Centennial (3-9) at ODSS (0-12)
Pick:  CCVI
Although both teams are securely locked in their positioning, the CCVI Spartans will still win this one.

JF Ross (9-3) at Bishop Mac (12-0)
Pick:  Bishop Mac
The Celtics will continue their winning ways, thanks primarily to their interior advantage in this contest.

St. James (2-10) at Centre Wellington (9-3)
Pick:  CWDHS
The Falcons will officially lock up 2nd place overall in the D10 with a win here on Tuesday; against the St. James Lions, I think that should happen.

GCVI (7-5) at Lourdes (6-6)
Pick:  GCVI
Considering that GCVI has Bishop Mac remaining, while Lourdes plays St. James, the winner of this game will likely get 4th overall and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.  At present, I think the Gaels are the better team, provided they don't take the Crusaders too lightly after beating a shorthanded Lourdes club by a bunch at home last time around.

Tuesday WCSSAA

KCI (9-1) at Jacob Hespeler (3-7)
Pick:  KCI
Though the Hawks are fighting for their playoff lives, they can rest a bit easier knowing that they will be in the postseason unless the WODSS Crusaders can beat both GPSS today and Cameron Heights on Thursday.  In this one, the KCI Raiders are going to be too much for them on their homecourt tomorrow.


Bluevale (6-4) at Elmira (5-5)
Pick:  EDSS
The Lancers are getting healthy at the right time, and the Knights have struggled a bit as of late.  I'll give the slight edge to the homecourt Lancers here.

WCI (10-0) at Forest Heights (1-9)
Pick:  WCI
The Vikes improve to 11-0 here.....and, actually, 12-0 since they have the "bye win" on Thursday as well.

SJAM (3-7) at Cameron Heights (9-1)
Pick:  CHCI
Not sure exactly when the last time that the Gaels were in double-digits in the win column ---- regardless, they've improved a lot from last year's 6-6 mark.  Oh, and they win at home here (in case that wasn't clear).

Grand River (5-5) at Eastwood (8-2)
Pick:  ECI
I'll go with Eastwood against the surging Grand River Renegades, but it isn't going to be the easiest game in the world for them.  A tough ECI schedule this week features GRCI & GCI ---- I expect at least a split or better, and I'll take them at home here.

Preston (6-4) at Galt (7-3)
Pick:  GCI
The Ghosts will set up a showdown for 4th place (and a home QF game) on Thursday with Eastwood by winning at home here.

Glenview Park (1-9) at WODSS (2-7)
Pick:  WODSS
The Crusaders will get right back into the playoff hunt with a win here; however, as they have lost to both of the current 3-7 teams (SJAM & JHSS), they'll also need to beat Cameron Heights on Thursday in order to make the playoffs.

Bye Win:  Southwood

Boys Season Starts; SMHS Set to Compete in Pinky Lewis Next Weekend

Today is November 1st, which means it is the "official date" that tryouts and/or practices can begin for junior and senior boys teams in the CWOSSA area.

Of course, we'll have previews and such at a later date, but we may as well get right to some news in the meantime:

The St. Mary's Eagles from Kitchener will be competing in the annual "Pinky Lewis" tournament in Hamilton next weekend.  The annual high-profile tournament will again feature several of the top teams in Ontario --- most notably Oakville's Loyola Secondary School and J. Clarke Richardson out of Ajax.

The tournament features an odd number of teams --- 21 ---- however, there are 7 pools of 3 teams with the top team from each pool and one "wild card" making up the 8 teams advancing to the quarterfinals.

The pools are as follows:
A - Dunbarton (Pickering), Oakville Loyola, Sherwood (Hamilton)
B - J. Clarke Richardson, SJAM (Hamilton), Timmins CVI
C - Barton SS (Hamilton), Notre Dame (Burlington), Hamilton Brebeuf
D - Newman (Stoney Creek), Orchard Park, Sarnia St. Patrick's
E - Ancaster, Pine Ridge (Pickering), Regina Mundi (London)
F - Kitchener St. Mary's, ACMT, Westmount (Hamilton)
G - St. Mary's (Hamilton), Lester B. Pearson (Burlington), Sarnia Northern

At early glance, I would anticipate St. Mary's being able to beat Westmount, with the winner of the ACMT/St. Mary's game taking first place in Pool F.

Although ACMT was an extremely strong club last year (eg - they defeated CWOSSA AAAA champion Bluevale in the SOSI 71-36), a recent blog on the hoop-la.com notes that they are in "re-build mode" after having graduated 10 players from last year's team:

"The defending Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic league champions ACMT Jags are in rebuilding-mode this season having graduated 10 players from last year's squad. Despite the massive turnover and a soon-to-be roster filled with nine grade 11's, opposing teams still shouldn't sleep on them. Led by the backcourt combo of junior Hamid Nessek and senior Richard Momat, expect a fast, aggressive style of basketball from the small French mountain school. 6'2" Jean Victor MukaMa will provide much of their perimeter offence. According to ACMT head coach Martin Valliancourt, MukaMa could be the best shooter they have had since 2006-07 Catholic All-Star Alain Grubac. The ACMT Jags surprised a lot of people last year winning the Catholic title and although expectations aren't that high this year, they could still surprise teams that are already looking past them."

It still won't be an easy test by any stretch of the imagination, but at least it seems to be a game that the Eagles might be able to pull out if they play well --- depending, of course, if they can get their chemistry going through the tryouts and practices they'll have over the next 10 days.

SOSI: St. John's Ousted in Semifinals; WCI drops 2 in Tough Pool

The St. John's Eagles advanced to the semifinals of this past weekend's SOSI tournament in Hamilton, before dropping a 54-45 decision to the hometown St. Thomas More Knights.

The Eagles defeated Bishop Tonnos of Ancaster (39-32) and General Amherst of Amherstberg in pool play, clinching top spot and advancing to play Regina Mundi (London) in the quarterfinals. 

After dispatching RMC, they were not able to take out the Knights, backed by their strong contingent of supporters.

Kelly Van Leeuwen was named as a tournament all-star.

Meanwhile, the WCI Vikings also competed in the tournament, but had a difficult time in an extremely strong pool.  The Vikes dropped an 87-57 decision to St. Thomas More, before losing to Tecumseh St. Anne's.  Both clubs are currently seen as "top 10" in Ontario.

Centennial Colts Classic: St. Mary's Nipped in Consolation Final

The St. Mary's Eagles senior girls' basketball team advanced to the consolation final before dropping a heartbreaking 43-42 decision to Gatineau, Quebec's Nicolas High School at the Centennial College "Colts Classic" tournament this past weekend in the GTA.

The Eagles got off to a tough start, facing two of the top teams in the GTA.  In their opener, the Eagles dropped a 67-39 decision to Notre Dame of Ajax, currently the top ranked GTA club.  Kaitlyn Schenck had 17 points in the loss.

The tournament format saw first round winners play first round losers, so the Eagles' second round opponent was Sir Edmund Campion SS out of Brampton; Campion was victorious in that matchup 44-25, though Schenck did have another double digit effort with 11.

The two losses placed St. Mary's in the consolation bracket on Saturday morning, where they promptly dispatched of Pickering's Dunbarton High School by a 40-23 score.  Schenck had 18 for the Eagles, while Dunbarton received 11 points from Chanel Ramcharan.

In the consolation semifinals, the Eagles dispatched of Scarborough's Pope John Paul CSS 53-36, backed by 14 points from Emily Webber, and setting up the aforementioned matchup against Nicolas, who defeated Aurora SS 31-28 and Toronto's Senator O'Connor 49-38 to advance to the consolation championship.

Despite the one point loss in the final, it would appear that the Eagles played some tough competition which should help to prepare them for the playoffs in both the D8 and (should they advance) CWOSSA.

The Eagles are back in action this afternoon for a D8 league game at home against the St. David Celtics.