WCSSAA Senior: Tuesday Picks

YTD:  29-5 (.853)

A couple of big games today in the WCSSAA league as we hit the (approximate) mid-point of the regular season, so let's start with those:

Bluevale (4-1) at Southwood (4-1)
My Pick:  BCI by 13
The Sabres have been one of the pleasant surprises thus far in the WCSSAA league, but I think the Knights should be able to pull out a win on the road here today.

KCI (1-3) at Jacob Hespeler (4-0)
My Pick:  JHSS by 5
The Raiders defeated the Hawks on their home-court last month, in JHSS' tournament final.  I think the Hawks are ready for some revenge today, though I do anticipate another close battle. 

WCI (4-1) at Forest Heights (0-4)
My Pick:  WCI by 32
The WCI Vikings should be able to handle the FHCI Trojans with ease on the road.

Huron Heights (1-4) at Waterloo-Oxford (1-3)
My Pick:  WODSS by 9
The Crusaders are playing much better now than they were at the start of the season, and I like them to pick up their second win in a row here today.

Preston (0-4) at Galt (0-4)
My Pick:  GCI by 5
One of these teams will get their first league win today, and it's pretty much a coin-flip in my books.  I'll go with the Ghosts on the strength of being at home.

Grand River (4-0) at Eastwood (1-4)
My Pick:  GRCI by 37
Provided they aren't already looking ahead to Thursday's big game against Cameron Heights, the Rens should win easily at ECI today.


SJAM (3-2) at Cameron Hts. (5-0)
My Pick:  CHCI by 22
The Gaels should be the first WCSSAA team to hit 6 wins with a home victory today.

D8 Monday Picks

YTD:  15-1 (.938)

St. Benedict (5-0) at Monsignor Doyle (2-3)
My Pick:  SBCSS by 27
The Saints should be able to keep their perfect D8 record intact after this all-Cambridge affair.

St. David (4-1) at Resurrection (4-1)
My Pick:  SDCSS by 4
Both teams have losses to SBCSS on their resumés to this point; have a feeling this one could go either way but I'll take the Celts in a coin-flip.  Winner here gets the inside track towards a home playoff game.

Rockway (0-5) at Woodland (2-3)
My Pick:  WCHS by 23
The Cavs should go to .500 at the mid-point of the D8 season after a home win over the Flames.

Senior Girls: Green Eagles Impressive Again in Tournament Play

Another high-calibre tournament, another high-calibre result for the St. John's Green Eagles Senior Girls' basketball team.

This past weekend, the Green Eagles traveled to Hamilton to participate in St. Thomas More's "More Hoops" Invitational Tournament.

The event was a 16-team pool event, and the Green Eagles were victorious in their pool before bowing out of the tournament on a heartbreaking buzzer-beater three pointer.

St. John's wrapped up their pool with wins over St. Joseph's (41-37; Megan Thompson 15 points); St. Thomas More (53-48; Kendra Van Leeuwen 17 points); and Ancaster (47-38; Megan Thompson 26 points).

The Green Eagles lost to Oakville Loyola 46-44 on the aforementioned buzzer beater, but did get a nice performance from Kendra Van Leeuwen (22 points).  She was named to the tournament's all-star team.

The WCI Vikings were the other CWOSSA team in attendance at the tournament; they went 0-3 in pool play with losses to St. Mary's of Hamilton (67-28), Oakville Holy Trinity (43-36) and St. Anne's (37-33).

WCSSAA Junior: Thursday Results

Here's a look at the scores from the WCSSAA league yesterday:

Galt 26, Bluevale 13
Scary incident in this game, which was delayed 45 minutes for an injury and an ambulance.  The second half was actually played as a 16-minute "straight time" period, which partially explains the low-scoring nature of this one.  Beth Fleming and Amy Newham had 8 each for GCI, while Jasmine Lambert notched 6 for the Knights.

Huron Heights 22, Cameron Heights 18
Low-scoring affair but the Huskies pick up another big win in league play.  Jamila Beckford had 9 for the Huskies, while Tamara Grahovac notched a game-high 10 for the Gaels.

WCI 32, Eastwood 26
Victoria Giguere finished off a solid week with 18 points (backing up her 20-point effort on Tuesday).  Katie Kroeze added 4 for the Vikes, while Kezia Bernard and Emma Miller had 7 each for ECI.

Elmira 39, KCI 16
Natalie Mayer outscored the Raiders single-handedly with a 17-point effort as the Lancers won on the road.  Maddie MacLean added 6 for Elmira, while Cassia Gohl led KCI with 6.

Grand River 47, Forest Hts. 11
Angelica Lloyd netted 11 and Jenna Crawford added 10 to help the Rens end a 3-game league losing streak.  Morgan Berg had 9 for the Trojans.

SJAM 38, WODSS 16
Another big league win for the SJAM Highlanders, who remain undefeated in taking out a very tough WODSS team.  Griffin Lack-Shane (SJAM, 13) and Rachel Woolvett (WODSS, 6) were the leading scorers for each team.

Jacob Hespeler 39, Glenview Park 18
The Hawks are still perfect (4-0) after a win over Glenview.  Kayla Gallant and Charlotte Clifford paced the Hawk attack, with 8 points each.  

WCSSAA Junior Standings
1.  SJAM 5-0
T2.  Jacob Hespeler 4-0
T2.  Galt 4-0
4.  Huron Heights 4-1
5.  WODSS 2-1
T6.  Elmira 3-2
T6.  WCI 3-2
8.  Preston 2-2
T9.  Cameron Hts. 2-3
T9.  Grand River 2-3
T11.  Bluevale 1-4
T11.  Eastwood 1-4
T11.  Glenview Park 1-4
T14.  KCI 0-4
T14.  Forest Hts. 0-4

WCSSAA Senior Thursday: Double-Digit Affairs

All of the WCSSAA games on Thursday were decided by at least 11 points, but that didn't mean that I got all my picks correct.

In fact, the rapidly-improving Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders went on the road and picked up their first win, defeating SJAM by a 45-34 final score.  Tess Pettigrew led the way for the Cruaders with 14 points while Milica Koprivica had 15 for the 'Landers.

In other action:

Cameron Heights 52, Huron Heights 21
My Pick:  CHCI by 27
Hunter Johns poured in 18 points and Alexandra Smith added 10 more for the Gaels, who toppled Huron Heights.  Kiana Chin again had a fine effort in defeat for the Huskies, with 11.

WCI 43, Eastwood 18
My Pick:  WCI by 39
The Vikes handled Eastwood with ease, backed by 15 points from Danielle Sauve and 10 more from Jess Roes.  Mel Samuel put home 10 points for the Rebels.

KCI 42, Elmira 27
My Pick:  KCI by 8
The Raiders clamped down defensively to earn their first WCSSAA win of the season.  Alia Hazineh and Olivia Mickie chipped in 8 points each for the Raiders, while Nicole Cressman led all scorers for Elmira with 11.

Grand River 65, Forest Heights 15
My Pick:  GRCI by 35
The Rens continued their winning ways in WCSSAA at home against the Trojans.  Nyamuoch Teny put home 16 for Grand River while Tijana Abadzic scored 13.  Linna Liou scored 9 for Forest Heights.

Bluevale 38, Galt 22
My Pick:  BCI by 24
The Ghosts held Julia Curran in relative check with 10 points, but Megan Reid added 8 more and the Knights bounced back from their Tuesday loss with a win against Galt.  Emma Buck had a game-high 11 points for GCI.

Southwood 31, Preston 20
My Pick:  SSS by 11
11 was the lucky number for the Sabres on Thursday, who won the game by 11 with Taylor White and Brianne Jewell each scoring 11 points.  Keristen May had 4 for the Panthers.

WCSSAA Senior Standings
1.  Cameron Heights 5-0
T2.  Grand River 4-0
T2.  Jacob Hespeler 4-0
T4.  Southwood 4-1
T4.  Bluevale 4-1
T4.  WCI 4-1
7.  SJAM 3-2
8.  Elmira 2-3
T9.  WODSS 1-3
T9.  KCI 1-3
T11.  Huron Heights 1-4
T11.  Eastwood 1-4
T13.  Galt 0-4
T13.  Preston 0-4
T13.  Forest Hts. 0-4

D10: Thursday Picks

YTD:  14-2 (.875)

St. James (2-3) at Bishop Mac (6-0)
My Pick:  BMAC by 27
The Celtics should continue their winning ways here today at the expense of the St. James Lions.

JF Ross (2-2) at CWDHS (1-4)
My Pick:  JFR by 25
The Royals should be able to help their position in the standings by getting past the Falcons today in Fergus.

Centennial (4-1) at Guelph CVI (2-2)
My Pick:  CCVI by 12
The Gaels are usually tough at home in their gym, and I have a feeling that they could make this one interesting.  That said, I like the Spartans to be ahead at the end.

WCSSAA: Thursday Picks

YTD:  23-4 (.851)

There isn't a particular match-up today in the WCSSAA league that immediately jumps off the page, but I'd have to say the "game of the day" would be at KCI between the Raiders (0-3) and Elmira Lancers (2-2).

The Lancers have proven themselves to be competitive to this point, even against the "upper echelon" of the league, while the Raiders have played very well outside of league (including a win over JHSS to claim that tourney title) but are 0-3 in WCSSAA play to start the year.

Will the Raiders get on track here today?  I think so....but they've been a thorn in my picks side to this point in the season.  Regardless, KCI by 8.

Other games today:

Forest Heights (0-3) at Grand River (3-0)
My Pick:  GRCI by 35
The Rens shouldn't have much trouble today continuing their WCSSAA winning streak.

Cameron Heights (4-0) at Huron Heights (1-3)
My Pick:  CHCI by 27
The Gaels will put a quick end to any thought of a Huron Heights win streak, by winning their 5th straight league game here.

Galt (0-3) at Bluevale (3-1)
My Pick:  BCI by 24
The Knights should prove too much for the Ghosts to scare away, especially in their home gym.  

Eastwood (1-3) at WCI (3-1)
My Pick:  WCI by 39
The perennial power Vikes have too much depth and offensive talent for the Rebels to handle here.

Southwood (3-1) at Preston (0-3)
My Pick:  SSS by 11
As Mark Bryson mentioned in his blog yesterday, the small-school Sabres have impressed in most WCSSAA sports this season, and they are certainly the "feel good story" of the league to this point.  Provided they aren't still celebrating their big win over KCI, I'll take them to win here.

WODSS (0-3) at SJAM (3-1)
My Pick:  SJAM by 14
Big game for the Highlanders here, as they have some tough opponents coming up (CHCI, BCI, WCI).  I think they'll pick up the win and put themselves in a good spot heading into that stretch.

D8 Wednesday: Saint Seniors, Phoenix Juniors Stay Undefeated

Senior
Woodland 36, Mons. Doyle 34
My Pick:  WCHS by 8
The Cavs took this game that I mentioned could be important down the road as far as playoff scenarios are concerned.  Scoring details were not immediately available from source.

Resurrection 47, Rockway 21
My Pick:  RCSS by 34
The Phoenix got back on track offensively in this affair, having a balanced attack that was paced by 8 points from forward Kelsey Caza.  Kat Klassen was Rockway's high scorer, with 5.

St. Benedict 34, St. Mary's 19
My Pick:  SBCSS by 27
The Saints stayed undefeated in a low-scoring affair in Kitchener.  Afifa Salaad had 9 for the Saints, while Kayla Leusink and Julia Mascarenhas added 6 each.  Brittany Gulic topped St. Mary's (and all scorers) with 13.

D8 Senior Standings
1.  St. Benedict 5-0
T2.  St. David 4-1
T2.  Resurrection 4-1
T4.  Woodland 2-3
T4.  Mons. Doyle 2-3
6.  St. Mary's 1-5
7.  Rockway 0-6

Junior
Neither game was particularly close on Wednesday in D8 Junior, and that's putting things nicely, as the top two teams in the league won their games by a combined score of 105-19.

Resurrection took out Rockway 59-4, backed by 8 points from Krissia Vasquez.  Dani Morrison had 3 for the Flames.

St. Mary's, meanwhile, dumped St. Benedict 46-15, with Iman Ahmed and Julia Kulcynska netting 8 points each.  Saint scoring details were not available.

D8 Junior Standings
1.  Resurrection 4-0
2.  St. Mary's 4-1
3.  St. Benedict 3-2
4.  St. David 2-2
T5.  Rockway 0-4
T5.  Woodland 0-4

News and Notes: Film Has Local Basketball Links

Former CWOSSA player (and current High School and Wildhawk Basketball Coach) Aaron Tomlin plays one of the main characters of a recently produced local feature film that is premiering this month.

Extraction Day, according to the press release, is "the story of Jacob Bradley, a man who wakes up in a warehouse in the midst of a tactical raid --- with no memory or any idea who he is.  The future of mankind rests in his hands, as he makes it his personal mission to track down the truth.  It is an action thriller about purpose, identity and how the choices we make never affect just us."

Along with Tomlin, fellow Waterloo teacher/coach Scott Reynolds and current Brock Badger Dani Elgadi (WCI '13) are other local hoops connections making brief appearances in the film.

The film will be released internationally, having been purchased in China, South Korea, and Japan.

Beginning October 20th, there will be four exclusive "pre-release" showings at Landmark Cinemas in Waterloo.  For tickets or more information, you can visit www.extractionday.com.

Senior Girls "CWOSSA Top 10": Week Two

Like the junior rankings, the senior rankings stayed relatively consistent at the top, though there was some jockeying of position in the 6-10 spots.

Here's this week's ranking, with last week's ranking in brackets:

1.  St. John's Green Eagles / Brantford (1)

2.  Grand River Renegades / Kitchener (2)

3.  Waterloo CI Vikings / Waterloo (3)

4.  Bishop Macdonell Celtics / Guelph (4)

5.  Cameron Heights Golden Gaels / Kitchener (5)

6.  North Park Trojans / Brantford (7)

7.  Jacob Hespeler Hawks / Cambridge (9)

8.  Centennial Spartans / Guelph (6)

9.  Bluevale Knights / Waterloo (NR)

10.  Brantford CI Mustangs / Brantford (T10)

Dropped Out:  #8 KCI, #T10 St. Benedict

Junior Girls "CWOSSA Top 10": Week Two

There wasn't much movement at the top this week, but there certainly was as far as the rest of the "top 10" was concerned after a few teams posted impressive wins while others went down to defeat.

Parity certainly seems to be the name of the game in CWOSSA Junior Girls' basketball this year, so I wouldn't be surprised to see consistent movement on a weekly basis in the rankings.

As for how I see it right now, here goes (last week in brackets):

1.  Resurrection Phoenix / Kitchener (1)

2.  SJAM Highlanders / Waterloo (2)

3.  St. John's Green Eagles / Brantford (3)

4.  Brantford CI Colts / Brantford (5)

5.  Bishop Macdonell Celtics / Guelph (4)

6.  North Park Trojans / Brantford (8)

7.  St. Mary's Eagles / Kitchener (9)

8.  Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders / Baden (NR)

9.  Lourdes Crusaders / Guelph (NR)

10.  Centennial Spartans / Guelph (6)

Dropped Out:  #7 Preston, #10 WCI

D8: Wednesday Picks

YTD:  12-1 (.923)

Three games on the slate today:

Woodland (1-3) at Mons. Doyle (2-2)
My Pick:  WCHS by 8
These two teams will likely be battling for the 4th and final D8 playoff spot; both have had their ups and downs to this point but the Cavs have been a bit more consistent so I'll take them here.

St. Benedict (4-0) at St. Mary's (1-4)
My Pick:  SBCSS by 27
Look for the Saints to roll to their 5th consecutive victory here.

Resurrection (3-1) at Rockway (0-4)
My Pick:  RCSS by 34
The Phoenix should continue their winning ways at the expense of the Rockway Flames.

WCSSAA Senior: Hawks Stay Unbeaten With Big Win

Almost had it.

The Jacob Hespeler Hawks, who I picked to defeat the Bluevale Knights by 4 points, pulled off a 44-41 three-point squeaker in WCSSAA Senior Girls' play yesterday.  Both teams entered the game with unblemished 3-0 records, but now the Hawks will remain as one of the three last undefeated teams (GRCI & Cameron the others).

Jasmine Ramcharan had a nice 16-point effort for the Hawks in that affair, while Candice Wright chipped in 11.  Julia Curran (15) and Maddy Weber (9) were the top Bluevale scorers.

Here's a look at the other action yesterday:

Huron Heights 48, Forest Hts. 43
My Pick:  HHSS by 8
The Huskies hung on for their first win of the WCSSAA season, with Kiana Chin pouring in a huge 27-point effort.  Aly Jacobs added 8 more for Huron, while Linna Liou (14) and Tyra Wilson (12) were both in double-figures for Forest Heights.

Grand River 63, Elmira 34
My Pick:  GRCI by 19
No trouble for the Rens at home as they handled Elmira.  Nyamuouch Teny (23) and Nancy Michael (20) both had 20+ efforts on the scoresheet for Grand River; Karley Sider led the way for Elmira with 14.

Cameron Hts. 56, Preston 42
My Pick:  CHCI by 33
Cameron stayed unbeaten at home against Preston, and received a strong outing from Hunter Johns, who led the way with 23 points.  Andjela Stankovic added 12 more for the Gaels, while Claire Gagne topped the Preston scoresheet with 22.

SJAM 31, Eastwood 15
My Pick:  SJAM by 14
Taylor Trush (16) and Milica Koprivica (11) accounted for the majority of the Highlander offense in their win over ECI.  Mel Samuel was tops for the Rebels with 6.

WCI 42, WODSS 27
My Pick:  WCI by 41
After dropping their first two league games by 24+, the Crusaders battled hard against the Vikes.  Danielle Sauve (14) and Kaylee Anagnostopoulos (13) led the Vikings, while Hannah Appleton (11) and Payton Hofstetter (10) were double-figure scorers for WODSS.

Southwood 41, KCI 34
My Pick:  KCI by 8
Lone incorrect pick of the day was thanks to the Southwood Sabres, who kept the KCI Raiders winless in league play (the Raiders did beat Jacob Hespeler in the JHSS tournament final).  Taylor White's 20-point effort was tops for the Sabres, while Megan Cole added 10.  Alia Hazineh was the top KCI scorer, with 10.

WCSSAA Senior Standings
T1.  Cameron Heights 4-0
T1.  Jacob Hespeler 4-0
3.  Grand River 3-0
T4.  Bluevale 3-1
T4.  WCI 3-1
T4.  Southwood 3-1
T4.  SJAM 3-1
8.  Elmira 2-2
T9.  Eastwood 1-3
T9.  Huron Heights 1-3
T11.  KCI 0-3
T11.  WODSS 0-3
T11.  Forest Heights 0-3
T11.  Preston 0-3
T11.  Galt 0-3

WCSSAA Junior: Tuesday Results

The SJAM Highlanders have established themselves as the team to beat in the WCSSAA junior league.

After that, it's certainly anyone's guess.

A couple of interesting news, notes and observations from Tuesday's action:

• There were three 20-point scorers on Tuesday, including Huron's Jamila Beckford (24 vs. FHCI), Cameron's Tamara Grahovac (20 vs. PHS) and WCI's Victoria Giguere (20 vs. WODSS).
• Bluevale was held without a field goal by the Jacob Hespeler Hawks during a 39-3 defeat.  Bluevale's three points were all accounted for (by different players) from the free-throw line.
• The WODSS Crusaders appear to be one of the teams now on the radar for the "upper tier" of the standings.  Though they've only played two games, they've beaten Cameron Heights and now WCI by double-digits.
• The front-running SJAM Highlanders have outscored their opposition 170-61 through their first four games of the season.

And now, the scores....

Huron Heights 56, Forest Heights 21
As mentioned, Jamila Beckford had a nice outing, pouring in 24-points in the win.  Teammate Tyra Boug chipped in with 8, while Natalie Walsh (9) and Morgan Berg (8) led the Trojans.

Galt 30, Glenview Park 23
Big win for the Ghosts in this Cambridge rivalry game; Beth Fleming had 12 and Amy Newnham 8 for the winners.  Chuchu Oyual (9) and Darcy Simmons (8) were the top Panthers.

Jacob Hespeler 39, Bluevale 3
The Knights were held without a field goal in this one, while Amy Claydon (14) and Charlotte Clifford (11) were the top Jacob Hespeler scorers.

Cameron Heights 32, Preston 13
The Gaels clamped down defensively against Preston, and were aided by a 20-point effort from Tamara Grahovac.  Hailey Evelyn was the top Panther with 4 points.

SJAM 43, Eastwood 8
No trouble for the Highlanders here, as they posted another big win.  Kate Moran and Madi Sherman were the top scorers this game, scoring 8 each; Emma Miller topped Eastwood with 4.

WODSS 41, WCI 28
The Crusaders moved to 2-0 (one bye, one game postponed) with a home win over the Vikes.  Emily Glendinning knocked home 11 points and Madalyn Davidson had 8 more for WO to help overcome Victoria Giguere's 20-point effort for WCI.

Elmira 29, Grand River 13
The Lancers evened up their record with a win on the road at GRCI.  Natalie Mayer (13) led the way for Elmira, while Jenna Crawford had 4 for the Rens.

WCSSAA Junior Standings
1.  SJAM 4-0
T2.  Jacob Hespeler 3-0
T2.  Galt 3-0
4.  WODSS 2-0
5.  Huron Heights 3-1
T6.  WCI 2-2
T6.  Preston 2-2
T6.  Cameron Hts. 2-2
T6.  Elmira 2-2
T10.  Grand River 1-3
T10.  Bluevale 1-3
T10.  Eastwood 1-3
T10.  Glenview Park 1-3
T14.  Forest Hts. 0-3
T14.  KCI 0-3

D10: Tuesday Results

Three games went down yesterday in D10 Senior & Junior play.

On the senior side, the big game was between the Bishop Mac Celtics and Centennial Spartans, who both entered the game undefeated (BMAC 5-0; CCVI 4-0).  In the end, it was the Celtics maintaining their league winning streak with a narrow 52-44 victory.

Both teams featured balanced scoring attacks.  For the Celts, Marcela Gadzinska netted 12 points, while Christine Sullivan and Rachael DiGravio had 9 each.  Emma Cain had a game-high 15 for the Spartans, with Carter Godman posting 13 and Hannah Newman netting 9.

The other two senior games were also single-digit affairs.

Lourdes snuck past St. James at home, 38-34.  Jackie Iezzi led Lourdes with 8, while Erin Gerstenkorn had 7.  Meghan Santi had a game-high 12 points for the Lions.

It was a low-scoring affair in Orangeville but Centre Wellington survived to pick up their first win, a 22-15 victory over the Bears.  Nikki Sinker had 9 for the Falcons, while Emily Spragge and Jodi Pratt had 4 each for ODSS.

D10 Senior Standings
1.  Bishop Mac 6-0
2.  Centennial 4-1
3.  Lourdes 3-2
T4.  GCVI 2-2
T4.  JF Ross 2-2
6.  St. James 2-3
7.  CWDHS 1-4
8.  Orangeville 0-6

Junior
In junior action on Tuesday, Bishop Mac stayed perfect atop the standings with a 29-20 road win over Centennial.  Grace Drewry had 10 while Sophia Nash scored 5 to pace the Celtics; Ashlan Best was the top CCVI scorer with 6.

The other two games did not have full scoring details reported.  Centre Wellington nipped Orangeville by a 32-29 final, while Lourdes toppled St. James by a 38-15 final.

D10 Junior Standings
1.  Bishop Mac 6-0
2.  Lourdes 4-1
3.  Centennial 3-2
T4.  GCVI 2-2
T4.  JF Ross 2-2
6.  St. James 2-3
7.  CWDHS 1-4
8.  Orangeville 0-6