WCSSAA Senior: Tuesday Results

No significant surprises on opening day in WCSSAA play, as my picks went a perfect 7-0 (thanks to a decision to pick KCI over Cameron Heights).

Here's how things went down:

Forest Heights 25, Preston 16
A low-scoring affair in West Kitchener, but the Trojans pulled out the "W" with Linna Liou leading the way (9 points).  Cassidy Wettlaufer added 7 for FHCI, while Emily Butler (9) and Breanna Johnson (7) combined for all of the Panther scoring.

WCI 53, Galt 21
The Vikes opened up a large lead in the first half of this one, and picked up their first league win in the post "Klein/Pavlik/Taylor" era.  Kaylee Anagnostopoulos had 10 and Courtney Banham 9 for the Vikes, while Megan White and Kadija Mohammed had 6 each for the Ghosts.

Jacob Hespeler 57, SJAM 27
No trouble for the Hawks in their opener, as Candice Wright (24) and Jasmine Ramcharan (22) both had impressive performances.  Sam Shantz paced the Highlanders with a 10-point effort.

WODSS 47, Eastwood 12
One of my top teams in CWOSSA opened their season as expected with a comfortable win at Eastwood.  Alisha Glendinning (14) and Kyla Burrough (8) led the way for W-O, while Sam Legue had a team high 7 for the Rebels.

Bluevale 48, Elmira 24
The Knights doubled-up on the Lancers on Tuesday afternoon, with Julia Curran (15) and Natalie Bishop (12) leading the way.  Nicole Cressman had 6 for the Lancers.

KCI 50, Cameron Heights 41
One of the "games of the day" certainly didn't disappoint as the Raiders went into Cameron Heights and left with a very big win among two teams that are projected in the upper half of the league standings.  Alia Hazineh and Frances Campbell had 10 each for KCI, while Tonisha Lewis (11) and Nina Farkic (9) led the Gaels.

Grand River 56, Southwood 28
Grade 10 Nyamuoch Teny poured in 20 points and Jamie Noonan added 8 as the Renegades defeated the Sabres at home to open their season.  Taylor White had 15 and Cali Doran 4 for Southwood.

WCSSAA Junior: AAA Schools Impress on Opening Day

Chalk one up for the little guys.

Well, maybe not literally --- but the "AAA" schools that participate in the WCSSAA league had a field day on Tuesday against their larger "AAAA" opposition.

In "AAA" vs. "AAAA" match-ups, the "AAA" schools went 5-1 head-to-head.  Pretty impressive. 

Winners included Preston (FHCI), Galt (WCI), Jacob Hespeler (SJAM), Waterloo-Oxford (ECI) and KCI (Cameron Heights).  Bluevale was the lone "AAAA" school to post a victory, over Elmira, while Grand River had a bye on opening day.

Special congratulations go to Preston and Glenview Park for their opening day wins; the two schools combined for only 3 victories a season ago so there definitely appear to be some improvements on the court for those Cambridge schools.

Here's a recap of the results:

Preston 35, Forest Heights 19
Annie Collins had 8 points to pace Preston as they pulled out an opening day win.  Sona Khalifeh had 5 for the Trojans.

Glenview Park 32, Huron Heights 26

Galt 43, WCI 26
Emma Buck had 13 and Erin Wilson netted 11 as the Ghosts picked up a big opening-day win on the road.  Victoria Giguere led WCI -- and all scorers -- with 15, while Ramla Abdalla added 6.

Jacob Hespeler 27, SJAM 25
The Hawks nipped the 'Landers thanks in part to 13 points from Shianne Riggan and 5 more from Maggie Peterson.  Deri Curtin (8) and Griffin Lack-Shane (6) led SJAM.

WODSS 36, Eastwood 10
Big opening-day win for the Crusaders, with Emily Glendinning pacing the way with an 11-point effort.  Kai Wilson had 5 more for WODSS, while Danielle Gardiner led ECI with 4.

Bluevale 50, Elmira 24
Zoey Scanling (8), Kiera Grein (7) and Megan Reid (7) paced a balance Bluevale attack on Tuesday; the Lancers also had a balanced scoresheet with four players scoring 4 points each.

KCI 45, Cameron Hts. 20
The defending WCSSAA champions got off to a 1-0 start thanks to a couple of their key returnees, including Olivia Mickie with 12 and Erin Markle netting 10.  Emma Atkinson and Alison McGilvary had 4 each for the Gaels.

D10: Tuesday Results

Both of last year's champions, the Guelph CVI Gaels (Junior) and Bishop Macdonell Celtics (Senior) posted wins on the opening evening of D10 girls' basketball yesterday.

On the junior side, it was a rematch of last year's D10 championship game with a very similar result --- the Gaels defeated the St. James Lions by a 36-31 final (last year's D10 championship game was a 35-30 score).

Abby MacIntyre led all scorers with 11 for GCVI, while Stephanie Giovinazzo netted 7 for St. James.

Other junior scores were:

JF Ross 61, Orangeville 15
Mya Leacock poured in 19 for Ross, while Ali Darling was also in double-figures with 11.  Jodi Pratt (6) and Deena Rahal (4) topped the Orangeville scoring.

Bishop Mac 52, Centennial 24
Carter Godwin had a game high 18 points for Centennial but it wasn't enough as the Celtics rolled in this one.  Johanna DeJong (14), Sophia Nash (10) and Leah Parisotto (10) all had double-digit efforts for BMAC.

Lourdes 55, CWDHS 11
The McIntosh's paced the Crusaders on Tuesday, with Maddy netting 10 and Hannah scoring 8.  Abby Clayton was best for the Falcons with 4.

Senior
As mentioned in Rob Massey's article below, the Bishop Mac Celtics got off to a 1-0 start with a home win over the depleted Centennial Spartans by a 33-16 score.

Jess Morris (9) and Rebecca Morris (7) paced the Celtics, while Emma Cain had a game-high 11 for Centennial.

Also in D10 senior play:

JF Ross 47, Orangeville 17
The Royals received 18 from Teddi Taran and 8 from Maddy Darling in their big win over Orangeville.  Sam French had 8 and Sarah Rose 7 for the Bears.

St. James 43, Guelph CVI 27
The Lions, one of the league's favourites, posted an opening road win on Tuesday.  Nastassja Herriot and Chelsey Gazzola had 8 each for the Lions, while Sydney Wilson paced the Gaels with 6.

Lourdes 51, CWDHS 26
Monica Trimble pumped home 17 points and Erin Gerstenkorn added 12 as the Crusaders cruised past the Falcons.  Maddie Fennell (8) and Chloe Trapp (6) were the top CW scorers.

Guelph Mercury: Celtics Young, But Backed By Tradition

Article By:  Rob Massey

GUELPH — Bishop Macdonell might be the girls' factory of District 10 basketball play.

That could be put to the test this year as the defending champion Celtics are a young squad by high school senior terms.

                      

"We're full of green bananas. That's probably the best way to put it," Bishop Mac coach Karen Bremner said after the Celtics opened their season with a 33-16 victory over the short-staffed Centennial Spartans Tuesday at Bishop Mac. "We're extremely young. We lost a lot of really talented kids, but the nice thing about coaching at BM is that there's always something coming through the pipeline."

                      

Bishop Mac won the D10 title last year with a 44-37 victory over Lourdes in the final.

"We're young and we're going to go through some growing pains, but the expectations haven't changed from last year," Bremner said.

                      

As is usually the case early in the season, Tuesday's opener was a little disjointed at times. The hosts led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter, 14-10 at the half and 21-13 after the third quarter before pulling away in the final quarter.

                      

"It's always like that when you play the first game of the season," Bremner said. "It's usually a mess and to compound things, we do have players playing up (from junior) and there is the stigma of playing senior basketball. They were a little nervous, but I thought they did well."

                      

The win was the 18th consecutive in league play for the Celtics. They won all 14 league games last season and the final three of the 2011 campaign.

                      

Jessica Morris collected nine points for the Bishop Mac while Rebecca Morris had seven and Madison Martinez five. Six players had two points apiece.

                      

Emma Cain led all scorers with 10 points for Centennial while Elizabeth Newman hit for two and the other four players suited up for the game had one point apiece.

                      

Best news for the Spartans was the no one was hurt in the game. They were missing four players — three injured and one ill.

 

Retrieved From:  http://www.guelphmercury.com/sports-story/4085486-celtics-young-but-backed-by-tradition/

Brantford Expositor: Senior Green Eagles Ready for Title Defence

Article By:  Brian Smiley

Even though the St. John's College Green Eagles are the seven-time – that's right, seven – defending BCSSAA champions in senior girls' basketball, they don't expect an eighth title to come easy.

“The competition this year is just as good as it's been the past two years,” SJC coach Matt Lynch said.

The Green Eagles will open the Brant County Secondary Schools Athletic Association regular season with the other five competing schools on Thursday.

“I think we're going to be fairly competitive for another BCSSAA championship. I think the league is going to be competitive as it has been for the last two or three years with us, North Park, Assumption and BCI,” Lynch said. “Every night there's going to be some meaningful game being played and it's going to be exciting to be a part of.”

For the past several seasons, the Green Eagles have not only done well at the BCSSAA level but also outside this area.

Despite coming up short last year at the Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association 'AAAA' championships, making the final last year marked the 10th straight season the Eagles have done that.

And even though they finished second at CWOSSA, St. John's still advanced to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championships, going 1-3.

This is Lynch's seventh year coaching and he's joined by his usual crew – Gina Tarantello and Steve Van Leeuwen. Those three have helped lead SJC to silver (2011) and gold (2009) medals at the OFSAA 'AAAA' championships and another silver (2008) at the 'AAA' provincial tournament.

This season the Green Eagles will move back down to 'AAA' and, in preparation, St. John's began its year by going 2-1 at Western University's Purple and White tournament.

“It was a good start to the season,” said Lynch. “It gave us a few things to work on but a few positives, too.”

When Brant County play begins, SJC will be leaning on Kendra Van Leeuwen to lead the way.
“Kendra's been impressive,” said Lynch of his Grade 10 point guard. “She's done everything we've asked her to do and more. She makes all her teammates better.

“She's a great athlete, a great basketball player and a great person as well.”

Other notables the team include small forwards Megan Thompson, Maddie Cohoon and Leah Coon and shooting guards Brianna Bavota and Monica Polgar.

The coaches know that they have a strong team from top to bottom.

“It's a team effort regardless of who gets their name in the paper or not,” Lynch explained. “Anybody on our team is capable of stepping up and having big minutes for us and making key contributions.”

Despite the fact the Green Eagles roster includes a couple of Grade 10s three years younger than some players, the team seems to be jelling quite nicely.

“The chemistry right now is really good,” said Lynch. “We're ahead of schedule with how the girls are playing together.

“They come to practice every night with a great work ethic and a great attitude. We're just going to keep building and improve every night.”

The coach, who said there's a strong history at the school, can't wait to get going.

“I'm excited for another great season,” he said. “We're excited for a competitive league and where we're at.

“I think we're fortunate that we get some great basketball players that come to St. John's. It all starts with our junior program. They're prepared when they come into St. John's in Grade 9 and 10. When they come to play senior, they're committed, come to practice every night and work hard.

“As a result, we've been pretty successful over the years.”

Retrieved From:  http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2013/09/17/senior-green-eagles-ready-for-hoops-title-defence

D10: Tuesday Picks

Like WCSSAA, there's a lot of player turnover in the D10 league, with many of the league's all-stars having moved on.

Early returns (pre-season tournaments) indicate that the league's Catholic schools --- Bishop Macdonell, Lourdes, and St. James, are the teams to watch.

St. James, in fact, took home the title this past weekend at JF Ross' home invitational (8-team) senior event.

Though I don't have much time today, here's my opening set of picks for the senior circuit.  I'll get a preview up in advance of day two on Thursday:

JF Ross over Orangeville
Bishop Mac over Centennial (*game of the day)
Lourdes over CWDHS
St. James over Guelph CVI

WCSSAA Commentary & Opening Picks

Although I'll try and get something more "in-depth" up in the next few days, the WCSSAA season is upon us.

For the first time in a long time, parity may be the name of the game in the 2013 WCSSAA league.

The league's perennial powerhouse, the WCI Vikings, have won 9 of the last 10 league titles, with their lone loss being a year that they were still favoured to win (2009 against KCI, when the Raiders won on a last-second shot).

However, WCI probably isn't considered the favourites this year.  In fact, an estimated 80% of the team's scoring offense from a season ago has now moved on, including three players to post-secondary basketball (Alex Klein/NCAA D1 Bryant U; Lindsay Taylor/CIS Memorial U; Julia Pavlik/CIS Waterloo - Redshirt).

The Vikes do return Kaylee Anagnostpoulos, a WCSSAA All-Star honourable mention from a season ago, while 6th woman Courtney Banham also returns.  WCI also some strong talent coming up from the junior ranks, keyed by Isabella Kellerman and Danielle Sauve.

Hoping to take advantage of WCI's youthful roster are two veteran teams that appear poised to make a run for the title --- the Bluevale Knights and the Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders.

The Knights have four starters back from a WCSSAA semifinalist squad in 2012, keyed by 2nd-team WCSSAA all-star Natalie Bishop, Sarah Hamm, Kailee Sawyer, and Julia Curran.

Waterloo-Oxford, meanwhile, returns virtually their entire roster from a season ago, including the only returning first-team WCSSAA all-star from 2012 (Maddy Horst).  Forward Alisha Glendinning and guard Becca Payne are the other major contributors back in Baden.

Last year's finalist, the Jacob Hespeler Hawks, are dealing with a couple of key losses (Brooklyn Wright & Taylor Dennis) but can take solace in the fact that they are returning Courtney and Candice Wright, both of whom played up in the senior ranks in 2012.  The Hawks look like a strong favourite to secure one of the two "AAA" CWOSSA berths, while guard play will be a key determinant in their final WCSSAA placing.

Grand River, KCI, Southwood and Cameron Heights appear to be "contenders" for top-8 positions in the league, with potential to upend one of the four teams listed above if their youthful rosters can gel quickly.

Preseason All-Stars (1st Team)
Maddy Horst, Waterloo-Oxford (G) - 1st team 2012
Natalie Bishop, Bluevale (G)  - 2nd team 2012
Kaylee Anagnostopoulos, WCI (G) - HM 2012
Courtney Wright, Jacob Hespeler (F)
Candice Wright, Jacob Hespeler (F) - HM 2012
Hunter Johns, Cameron Heights (F) - HM 2012

Top Newcomer/Rookie:  Tara DeBoer, Grand River (Gr. 10 / F)

Projected Order of Finish
1.  Bluevale / Waterloo
2.  Waterloo-Oxford / Baden
3.  Waterloo Collegiate
4.  Jacob Hespeler / Cambridge
5.  Grand River CI / Kitchener
6.  Cameron Heights CI / Kitchener
7.  Kitchener Collegiate
8.  Southwood SS / Cambridge
9.  Huron Heights SS/ Kitchener
10.  SJAM / Waterloo
11.  Eastwood CI / Kitchener
12.  Forest Heights / Kitchener
13.  Galt Collegiate / Cambridge
14.  Elmira DSS / Elmira
15.  Preston HS / Cambridge

Tuesday's Picks

Preston at Forest Heights
Pick:  FHCI
Interesting game off the bat for these clubs, who have both graduated a key player from last year's roster (Ashley White, PHS & Blair McNaughton, FHCI).  I'll go with the home Trojans by single digits.

Galt at WCI
Pick:  WCI
Even with many youthful faces in their lineup, the WCI Vikings should handle the Galt Ghosts with ease at home.

Jacob Hespeler at SJAM
Pick:  JHSS
Look for the Hespeler Hawks to start their season 1-0 at the expense of the SJAM Highlanders.

Waterloo-Oxford at Eastwood
Pick:  WODSS
The rebuilding Rebels should be no match for the powerful offense of the Crusaders in this one.

Elmira at Bluevale
Pick:  BCI
With only 8 players, depth may be an issue at times for the Lancers.  At any rate, the Knights are far too talented in this one.

Co-Games of the Day
The final two games involve the teams that I have pegged in the 5-8 spots above.  As such, I'll be curious to see how these pan out:

Southwood at Grand River (note:  3:30pm)
Pick:  GRCI
I'll go with the homecourt Renegades in this one, provided they aren't looking ahead to Thursday's showdown with the Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders.

KCI at Cameron Heights
Pick:  KCI
Coin-flip here, and although I have the Gaels ranked higher above, I'll go with a flyer on the KCI Raiders in what should be the most competitive game of the day.

D8 Senior Monday: No Surprises as Preseason Favourites Post Wins

The two teams that met in last year's D8 final, the Resurrection Phoenix and St. Mary's Eagles, are again expected to be at the top of this year's standings (and fighting for D8's CWOSSA "AAAA" berth).

Although we'll have to wait until next Wednesday to see those two squads match-up, the Phoenix and the Eagles both got off to strong starts on Monday, winning their respective opening contests.

Rez travelled to Cambridge and got past the St. Benedict Saints by a 48-30 final.  Scoring details weren't made available by source.

Meanwhile, the Eagles topped Woodland Christian at home by a 47-19 count. Beth Zebib notched 18 points for St. Mary's, while Sydney Greulich had 10 and Maggie Srouji chipped in with 6.  Emma Roorda had 7 and Kirsten Hofstee 4 for Woodland. 

The other D8 senior tilt saw St. David demolish Rockway 42-9.  Maria Valencia (8) and Jaime Simmons (7) paced a balanced Celtic attack, while Sam Shu had 4 for the Flames.

D8 Junior Monday: Phoenix, Stangs In Midseason Offensive Form

The District 8 junior girls' basketball season tipped off on Monday afternoon, with a full slate of games (4 games among the 8 teams). 

On the junior side, last year's defending champions, the Resurrection Phoenix, were in mid-season form offensively as they pumped home 60 points in a 60-36 victory over the Monsignor Doyle Mustangs.

Individual scoring details weren't available; however, the combined offensive output of 96 points topped any combined output from a D8 regular season game during the last two seasons (2011 & 2012).

The team that Resurrection defeated in last year's final, the St. David Celtics, also got off to a 1-0 start with a 36-19 win at Rockway.  Megan Goar (11) and Ciara Dunne (8) led the way for St. David, while Katarina Klassen (10) and Jamie Torrence-Perks (5) were the top Rockway scorers.

The largest school in CWOSSA, St. Mary's CHS, survived a scare from one of the smallest, Woodland District, in a 23-21 nailbiter.  Iman Ahmed (SMHS) and Becca Sanchez (WCHS) both had 6 points each in the contest.

The other junior game saw St. Benedict and returning star Afifa Salaad knock off PRDG 54-14.  Salaad had 17 points for the Saints, while Julia Mascarenhas notched 13.  Megan Boucher had 5 for the Chevaliers.

D8: Tip-Off Picks

Well, that was fast.

The District 8 Athletic Association schedule has snuck up on us and tips off today, with an interesting formatting change to the schedule.

For starters, the fact that there are 6 senior teams and 8 junior teams means that junior and senior teams (at times) will not always be playing the same school on the same day.  This is evidenced today by Resurrection heading to Cambridge, where the juniors will play Monsignor Doyle and the seniors will battle St. Benedict.  The St. Benedict juniors, meanwhile, will host PRDG.

PRDG and Monsignor Doyle are the two teams that are not fielding senior teams this coming season.

In junior, the league is going to a partially tiered schedule, to hopefully avoid some of the imbalance and blowouts that happened last year during the usual schedule (teams play each other once at home, and once away).

This year, the 8 teams will play a round-robin format (7 games), and then the top 4 teams at that point will form the "A" division, with the bottom 4 teams forming the "B" division.

The teams will then play 3 additional games against the other teams in their division, for a 10-game total schedule.  There will also be an extra playoff round, with teams "B2" playing "A3" and "B1" playing "A4".  The winners of those games will advance to the semifinals against A1 & A2, who will have opening round playoff byes.

Anyways, I'll do a more detailed preview post in time, but here's a quick look at today's picks, starting in senior:

Senior - 5pm tip-offs (except RMC, 5:30pm)

Resurrection at St. Benedict
My Pick:  RCSS by 15
Two of D8's top scorers will face-off in this one, with Kayla Leusink (who put home 32 points in one game over the weekend) taking on perennial 20+ PPG threat Sarah Schulz and the Phoenix.

I'll go with Rez in this one, although I'm a bit concerned about possible injuries (they were unable to field a team for the final at the WODSS tournament this weekend due to injuries & other commitments).  Keep an eye on this one.

Woodland Christian at St. Mary's
My Pick:  SMHS by 25
Fresh off of a couple nice wins over the weekend at the ECI tournament, the Eagles should open their 2013 season with a win over the visiting Cavaliers.

St. David at Rockway
My Pick:  SDCSS by 9
The league's two bottom teams from a season ago will get the opportunity to get a win right out of the gate.  Advantage St. David, who also have some talent moving up from last year's D8 finalist junior team.

Junior - 3:30pm tip-offs (except RMC, 4:00pm)
St. Mary's over Woodland
Resurrection over Mons. Doyle
St. Benedict over PRDG
St. David over Rockway

Senior: All 6 CWOSSA Teams Post a Win at ECI Tournament

The Eastwood Rebels hosted their annual early season tournament this past weekend in Kitchener, which featured 6 CWOSSA teams in the 8-team tournament field.

Interestingly enough, all 6 CWOSSA area teams were able to post at least one win as the lone winless club was St. Theresa (Midland).  Meanwhile, there were certainly some impressive scoring performances that were registered, most notably Kayla Leusink (St. Benedict) pumping home 32 points in the Saints' 40-30 opening round win over Kitchener Huron Heights.

Here's your results recap:

First Round
Southwood (Cambridge) 49, Eastwood 26
SSS:  Taylor White, 23

St. Mary's (Kitchener) 39, SJAM (Waterloo) 11

St. Benedict (Cambridge 40, Huron Hts. (Kit.) 30
SBCSS:  Kayla Leusink 32

Ancaster 48, St. Theresa (Midland) 29

Second Round - Consolation
SJAM 41, Eastwood 40
SJAM:  Taylor Trush 15
ECI:  Sam Legue 15

Huron Heights 42, St. Theresa 35
HHSS:  Aly Jacobs 19

Second Round - Championship
St. Mary's 57, Southwood 24

Ancaster 60, St. Benedict 41

7th Place
Eastwood 44, St. Theresa 42
ECI:  Sam Legue 15

Consolation Final
Huron Heights 46, SJAM 31
HHSS:  Jenna Gangl 19, Aly Jacobs 17
SJAM:  Sam Shantz 18

3rd Place
Southwood 51, St. Benedict 45 (OT)
SSS:  Taylor White, 29

Championship Final
Ancaster 59, St. Mary's 43
SMHS:  Sydney Greulich 21

Senior: WODSS Crusaders Take Home Tournament

Photo from @WOFemaleBallers

The CWOSSA #3-ranked Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders started their season in fine fashion, posting three convincing wins to take home the championship title at their home tournament in Baden this past weekend.

The Crusaders defeated Guelph Centennial (57-37), Stratford Central (48-23) and Centre Wellington (41-14) to take the tournament crown.

Centre Wellington actually lost their semifinal to Kitchener Resurrection (43-24); however, injuries and a depleted Rez roster (5 players) due to other commitments forced them to withdraw from the championship final.

On the consolation side, Huron Park of Woodstock defeated Guelph Centennial 43-33 to take that side of the bracket.

Here's a recap:

First Round
Waterloo-Oxford 57, Guelph Centennial 37
Stratford Central 41, Woodland Christian 27
Centre Wellington 43, Preston 16
Resurrection 46, Huron Park 43

Second Round - Consolation
Centennial 45, Woodland 22
Huron Park 50, Preston 17

Second Round - Championship
Waterloo-Oxford 48, Stratford Central 23
Resurrection 43, Centre Wellington 24

Consolation Final
Huron Park 43, Centennial 33

Championship Final
Waterloo-Oxford 43, Centre Wellington 14

Senior Girls: Preseason CWOSSA Top 10

Well, here we are.

With the temperatures cooling down, that can only mean one thing --- fall is here, and with it, another year of girls' high school hoops.

And just like the leaves on the trees changing colours, there are some significant changes to CWOSSA girls' basketball this year.

For starters, there are the divisional changes.  The "AAA" CWOSSA division projects to be arguably the strongest in CWOSSA this year with the addition of perennial powerhouse Brantford St. John's, and a very strong Waterloo-Oxford team. 

Cambridge Southwood has now dropped to the "AA" division from "AAA", due to a decline in enrollment.

There will also be some format changes to the CWOSSA championships this coming year, with the "AAAA" division now only a four-team tournament (1 D8, 2 WCSSAA + D5/D10 play-in winner).

As for the teams themselves?  Well, this could arguably be one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory, with parity seeming to be the name of the game.

After winning 10 of the last 11 WCSSAA titles (if my math is correct), the WCI Vikings do not appear to be the consensus favourite to "five-peat" as WCSSAA champions.  In fact, the Vikings face the arduous task of replacing the majority of their scoring offense, with three graduates (Alex Klein, Lindsay Taylor, Julia Pavlik) having moved on to post-secondary basketball.

All-star Kaylee Anagnostopoulos is WCI's lone returning starter, but a good one at that.  A couple returnees (notably Courtney Banham) mixed with an influx of junior talent should still have the Vikes in the running for one of the top spots in the league.

My preseason WCSSAA favourites would include Bluevale Collegiate and Waterloo-Oxford.  The Knights, in fact, return almost all of their scoring offense from last season with 4 starters back (Natalie Bishop, Julia Curran, Sarah Hamm & Kailee Sawyer).  The same can be said for the Crusaders, who now have a year of senior basketball under their belt.  WO's Maddy Horst is the lone returning 1st-team all-star in the WCSSAA league, while F Alisha Glendinning and G Becca Payne (their other 2 top scorers from a season ago) are also 4th year students.

Jacob Hespeler is not to be discounted in the conversation of top teams, despite losing some key talent from a season ago (Brooklyn Wright, Naomi Adams, Taylor Dennis) as they still return two Wright sisters (Courtney & Candace).  Guard play will be key in determining the Hawks' success.

Over in Brantford, the St. John's Eagles should again find themselves at the top of the league standings with arguably the best one-two punch in CWOSSA with PG Kendra Van Leeuwen & F Megan Thompson.  With 3 returning starters, and a host of talent coming up from junior, I have the Eagles currently ranked #1 in CWOSSA.  

Both the North Park Trojans & Assumption Lions have talent left from a season ago, but will have to overcome some key losses to graduation (as detailed in my CWOSSA commitment list below). 

The D8 league should be a three-team race, with Resurrection, St. Mary's and St. Benedict being the most competitive.  Edge goes to Resurrection at this point, with Sarah Schulz and junior grad Celia McGlynn as big-time offensive threats.

Last year's D10 champions, Bishop Mac, are facing some rebuilding challenges as their AA rivals, the Lourdes Crusaders look to be the (on paper) favourites entering the season.  St. James, JF Ross and Centennial are also teams to watch out in Guelph.

We'll have league-by-league breakdowns next week.

In the meantime, here's a look at my preseason top 10 CWOSSA teams.  These are based upon returning players, key players lost to graduation, as well as incoming talent (transfers/junior grads):

1.  St. John's College (Brantford) - AAA

2.  Bluevale Collegiate (Waterloo) - AAAA

3.  Waterloo-Oxford (Baden) - AAA

4.  Waterloo Collegiate (Waterloo) - AAAA

5.  Our Lady of Lourdes (Guelph) - AA

6.  Jacob Hespeler SS (Cambridge) - AAA

7.  Resurrection CSS (Kitchener) - AAAA

8.  North Park CVS (Brantford) - AAA

9.  Assumption CS (Brantford) - AAAA

10 (tie).  Bishop Macdonell CHS (Guelph) - AA

10 (tie).  St. James CHS (Guelph) - AAA

Teams Tip-Off With Tournament Play This Weekend

A couple of WCSSAA schools are hosting tournaments this weekend, as Senior Girls' play quickly ramps up in advance of regular-season schedules starting next week.

Over at Eastwood in Kitchener, the Rebels will be hosting their annual early season tournament, with many familiar teams in attendance.

The first round this Friday (September 13th) features:

2:30pm - Southwood (Cambridge) vs. Eastwood

4:00pm - SJAM (Waterloo) vs. St. Mary's (Kitchener)

5:30pm - Huron Heights (Kit.) vs. St. Benedict (Cambridge)

7:00pm - Ancaster vs. St. Teresa (Midland)

Play continues on Saturday, with the championship final scheduled for 7:00pm.

Meanwhile, the Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders, who I project will be among the top teams in CWOSSA, are also hosting a home tournament that also features a strong CWOSSA contingent.

Also starting on Friday, the draw is as follows:

3:00pm - Waterloo-Oxford vs. Centennial (Guelph)

4:30pm - Stratford Central vs. Woodland Christian

6:00pm - Centre Wellington (Fergus) vs. Preston (Cambridge)

7:30pm - Resurrection Catholic vs. Huron Park (Woodstock)

News & Notes: Barnard Cracks Queen's Roster; Elgadi Signs; Van Leeuwen #4 Ranked in Canada

Barnard Cracks Roster At Queen's
Nicole Barnard, a 2013 graduate of Southwood SS (Cambridge), has made the Queen's University women's basketball roster this coming season via tryout.

Barnard is a well-rounded player who was one of the top CIS prospects from the WCSSAA Senior Girls' circuit last season (see link here for one of her more memorable exploits).  Her shooting ability for a 6'+ forward makes her an attractive fit for a university program such as Queen's, who already have a handful of other CWOSSA alumni on their roster.

Congratulations, Nicole!

Elgadi Heads To Brock
Dani Elgadi is our most recent commitment to report as he inked with Brock University in late August. 

The 6'7" WCI product had several CIS courters (particuarly out East & West), but chose to stay closer to home with the Badgers.  He joins 6'1" PG, and Waterloo Wildhawk teammate Josh Johnson (Holy Trinity/Simcoe) as Brock's two CWOSSA recruits of the 2013 class.

Van Leeuewen Ranked #4 in Canada
The Crown Girls' Basketball website has ranked Brantford St. John's PG Kendra Van Leeuwen as the #4 overall player in Canada for the girls' high school class of 2016.

Van Leeuwen had a great summer, leading Team Ontario to a Gold Medal at the Ontario Summer Games.  She's heading into grade 10 where she'll be playing her second season for the SJC Senior Green Eagles.

Van Leeuwen's older sister, Kelly, is heading into her junior season at NCAA D-1 Niagara University (her older Brother, Tyler, is a freshman at Niagara on the Cross Country team).