And we're off! St. John's rolls through Western Purple & White; Van Leeuwen MVP

The St. John's Green Eagles, who are projected to be the top team in CWOSSA Senior Girls' basketball this season, lived up to their preseason hype with a dominating effort this past weekend in London at the annual "Purple & White" Senior Girls' tournament.

The tournament is recognized as a very competitive preseason tournament, and requires skill and depth to win it, given that teams must win 5 games in 2 days (32-team event).  Nonetheless, this was not an issue for the Green Eagles who not only won all 5 games, but did so by at least 15 points per contest.

St. John's took out Windsor LaSalle (52-22), London John Paul II (62-26), Sarnia St. Patrick's (71-34), Windsor St. Anne's (66-47) and then Barrie Innisdale in the final (44-29).

Kendra Van Leeuwen, who has committed to NCAA D1 George Washington, led the way for the Green Eagles and was named as the tournament's MVP.  Kaitlyn Overeem was a first-team all-star.

Three other CWOSSA teams were also in attendance.

The WCI Vikings went 1-2, dropping their opener to Collingwood (55-24) before rebounding with a win over London South (53-11).  The Vikes lost a consolation quarterfinal to London Gold Medal, the lone club team in the field, 40-28.

Brantford North Park dropped their opener 52-38 to Sarnia St. Patrick's, then were dispatched 57-31 by Waterdown in their second game.  They did get a win in their 3rd game, 26-22 over Windsor LaSalle.

Brantford Assumption was also in the field, and had a tough draw, losing to powerhouses Sarnia Northern (62-32) and Holy Trinity (51-22) before defeating London Catholic Central (49-34) in their finale.

If you're interested in checking out the full results, they're available on the Western website.