Guelph Mercury: Centennial And Bishop Mac Claim Titles

Article By:  Rob Massey

GUELPH — New champions were crowned as both defending champs fell in the District 10 high school girls' basketball finals Saturday night at the Mitchell Athletics Centre. 

The Centennial Spartans defeated the Bishop Macdonell Celtics 47-35 in the senior final after Bishop Mac had upended the Lourdes Crusaders 49-31 in the junior final. 

In the senior final, the Centennial girls had never been in a D10 basketball final before, but that didn't show.

They showed little in the way of jitters as they shut down the defending two-time champion Celtics in the second half to claim the school's first D10 senior title since 1998. 

"I was so nervous," Centennial's Emma Cain said. "A lot of us were so nervous ahead of time because we'd never won D10 or even gotten to (the D10 final before). It was really big for us. We did feel a lot of pressure, but we were able to push through it." 

The teams were tied 8-8 at the end of the first quarter and Bishop Mac was ahead 17-15 at halftime. Centennial held the Celtics to four points in the third quarter as the Spartans surged ahead 29-21 by the end of the quarter. 

"We knew what their defence was coming in and how we could exploit it and we did a really good job of doing that," Cain said. She led all scorers with 13 points. 

"We had a game plan and we executed pretty well," Centennial coach Toffer Trieguts said. "First half not as well, but the second half the girls listened to what we needed to do and they stepped up. They really brought some energy and they played a really good second half. That was important." 

"Their offensive and defensive schemes were tailored to our weakest points as a basketball team," Bishop Mac coach Karen Bremner said. "That's how we lost our first league game. They've figured it out and now we have to deal with it. We got out-coached, out-played, out-everything today." 

The Spartans made an adjustment for the second half that stymied the Celtics. 

"We were aggressive and we ran a set that worked well for us," Treiguts said. "We did make an adjustment.

"It was mostly offence, the defence stayed the same. We didn't bring in anything different. We were confident in our girls and their athletic ability to stop them." 

Emma Korol had nine points for the Spartans while Carter Godman and Hannah Newman had eight apiece, Halle Milne seven and Erin Mackey two. 

Dianne Priamo's 12 points led Bishop Mac while Ellie Young had nine, Christine Sullivan six, Marcela Gadzinska four and Rachel DiGravio and Tianna Sullivan two each. 

Both teams advance to CWOSSA championship tournaments. Centennial moves on to the AAAA tournament at Waterloo Nov. 14 and 15. Top two teams in that tournament will gain berths in the OFSAA AAAA provincial championship tournament that's to be held in Guelph Nov. 20 to 22. 

Bishop Mac goes on to the CWOSSA AA tournament at Owen Sound Nov. 12 and 13. It's an eight-team tournament this year, up two teams from last year. 

Junior

Bishop Mac won its first D10 junior crown since 2006 with the triumph over the Lourdes Crusaders, the defending champions and winners of three of the previous four championship games. 

"It was a tight game and I fully expected that," Bishop Mac coach Brittany Green said. "Throughout the regular season we won both of the games in overtime so we're very evenly matched." 

With extra time being required to decide a winner in both of the regular-season matches between the teams, this one could be considered a runaway. The Celtics had a slim 9-8 lead at the end of the first quarter before extending their advantage to 26-20 at halftime. The lead grew to 39-28 by the end of the third quarter. 

"Tonight's game was just a reflection of the whole season," Green said. "We've got a really deep bench. I can bring in anyone and sub anyone in. The girls just played as if it was going to be our last game and thankfully it's not going to be. We didn't do anything different. We're a really skilled team and I can pull on anyone." 

For both teams, the crowd — the Mitchell Athletics Centre was half full — will have been the largest they played in front of this season. That brought nerves into play. 

"With junior girls it's definitely tough having these crowds," Green said. "We don't get a lot of fans out in the regular season. Even in the semifinals, they adjusted well to having a bigger crowd. I think they did a great job of blocking it out, all that excess background noise. They didn't take anything personally, they just went out and played their game which is really fantastic." 

Grace Drewry had nine points to top Bishop Mac's scoring list. Sophia Nash added eight while Rachael Guanzon, Julia Boyle and Tian Wood each netted six. Leah Parisotto and Ainsley Andres had five each and Julia Mlodzik collected two. 

Jada Codrington had a game-high 11 points for Lourdes while Jessica Mathieu followed with six. Maddie McIntosh contributed four while Hannah McIntosh, Robyn Hudecki and Catherine Edwins had two apiece and Olivia Roberts had one. 

The title win by Bishop Mac also gave the Celtics a berth in the CWOSSA AA tournament at Owen Sound Nov. 12 and 13. 

Retrieved From:  http://www.guelphmercury.com/sports-story/4978617-centennial-and-bishop-mac-claim-titles/

D8 Senior Final Preview: (1) St. Benedict vs. (2) Resurrection

(1) St. Benedict Saints (11-1) vs. (2) Resurrection Phoenix (9-3)
Location:  SBCSS, Tonight @ 8pm

The top two seeds in the D8 Senior circuit will battle tonight at St. Benedict for not only the D8 title, but also a potential trip to the CWOSSA "AAAA" tournament next week (the D8 champ will play Brantford CI for one of the four CWOSSA berths).

With these teams having played a couple of close contests during the regular season, most are anticipating a hard-fought battle tonight as well.

Resurrection will be seeking their third straight D8 title, although prior to those back-to-back championships, they had a sixteen year drought since their previous title (1995).

St. Benedict has only one senior title in their school's history, which was twelve years ago, back in 2002.

Previous D8 Senior Titles:
Resurrection (5):  2013, 2012, 1995, 1994, 1993

St. Benedict (1):  2002.

Regular Season Series
St. Benedict won two of the three games that the teams played during the regular season.

Interestingly enough, each team won a game on the other's home floor.  Resurrection took a 48-45 victory at St. Benedict on October 20th, while the Saints secured home-court advantage with a 32-28 win at Resurrection on October 27th.

Back in September, St. Benedict defeated Resurrection by a 40-29 score.

How They Got Here
Both teams earned first-round byes in the tiered D8 Senior league, and then posted semifinal victories.

Rez snuck past #3 St. David, 34-32, backed by a late basket by CC McGlynn.  St. Benedict, meanwhile, outlasted a pesky #5 St. Mary's squad by a 34-24 final score.

Key Players
St. Benedict:  Afifa Salaad, Kayla Leusink, Julia Mascarenhas

Resurrection:  CC McGlynn, Kelsey Caza (Q-Ankle), Patricia Enrique

Preview
One team has made a habit of being here over the past few seasons.

For the other, it'll be somewhat of a new experience.

The Resurrection Phoenix are making it seem like an annual appearance when it comes to participating in the D8 Senior Girls' basketball final; Rez has won the last two titles but has been a part of the last four title games.

St. Benedict doesn't have any Senior Girls' championship experience on their roster, though the key grade elevens on the squad were members of a strong SBCSS squad that lost to Resurrection in last year's Junior D8 final.

Neutralizing Rez's added experience might be the fact that the Saints are playing this game on their home floor, by virtue of being the #1 playoff seed.

"It's a great advantage that we get to play such an important game on our home floor," said SBCSS' Kayla Leusink, who led the Saints in semifinal scoring with ten points, "it's a bonus that we should have many fans which will definitely strengthen our mentality and resolve during the game."

Leusink and the Saints know that slowing down one of D8's top players, Rez's CC McGlynn, will be huge for their chances.

"(McGlynn) is our biggest challenge," Leusink said, "(trying to) shut her down will go a long way towards taking the title."

The proof is in the pudding with that comment, as the Saints held McGlynn to 11 points in each of SBCSS' two victories over Rez this season.  In the Rez win over St. Benedict, she scored 20.

Leusink, and several of her other Saints' teammates, have never played in the D8 finals, and they're relishing the possible opportunity of winning a title on their home floor.

"I've never even played in the D8 finals, so this would mean so much to me," she said, "We've accomplished so much as a team and progressed throughout the season --- a victory would make us and (SBCSS) athletics so proud."

McGlynn, meanwhile, knows that a potentially big home crowd for the Saints won't make things easy for the Phoenix.

"Mainly for the younger girls on the team, it's about not letting the crowd get into your head, especially since the crowd won't likely be on our side," McGlynn noted.

"On the flip side, having experience in the atmosphere and knowing what to expect heading into this game can be an advantage," she added, referencing Rez's recent trips to the finals.

When asked what might be a key to success tonight, McGlynn noted that the Phoenix "can't afford to play a (slow-down) defensive game", which would probably favour St. Benedict.

In fact, 35 seems to be the magic number for Rez as they haven't lost a game yet in league play when they hit that point total.  Of course, getting there will be easier said than done against a stingy Saint defense that gave up only 27.3 PPG during league games.

As for my thoughts, I agree with both Leusink and McGlynn that the crowd can play a key factor in this one.  For the Saints, getting off to a hot start and giving their fans something to cheer about early could provide an (intimidating) boost.  With Rez, it's the opposite.  Controlling the pace early and not letting the crowd into it will surely spark the Phoenix's confidence tonight.

Picking this one isn't easy, as I could certainly see either team lifting the championship plaque tonight.

I just have a feeling that home court will be big for the Saints, so I'll go with them as my pick in this one.

My Pick:  St. Benedict 40, Resurrection 34

D8 Junior Final Preview: (1) Resurrection vs. (3) St. Benedict

(1) Resurrection Phoenix (11-0) vs. (3) St. Benedict (6-5)
Location:  SBCSS, Tonight @ 6pm

It's a "David versus Goliath" battle in tonight's D8 Junior Championship final.

The St. Benedict Saints will be looking to make it two upsets in a row as they host the top-seeded Resurrection Phoenix in tonight's D8 Junior Championship final to be played at St. Benedict CSS in Cambridge (tip time 6pm).

Resurrection, meanwhile, will be seeking to close out their perfect season and win their fourth consecutive D8 junior title.  Only Monsignor Doyle (1997 through 2000) has won four straight titles in D8's history.

Previous D8 Junior Titles
Resurrection (8):  2013, 2012, 2011, 2007, 2003, 1992, 1991, 1990.

St. Benedict (2):  2010, 1996. 

Regular Season Series
Resurrection won both games during the regular season, defeating St. Benedict 57-18 on the road and 47-15 at home.

How They Got Here
The Phoenix have been the class of the league to this point, winning all 11 league and playoff games to this point while scoring 554 points and giving up 165.  For those keeping score at home, that's an average margin of victory of over 35 PPG.

In their semifinal, the top-seeded Phoenix had no trouble dispatching the #4 St. David Celtics, 50-7.

St. Benedict, who entered the playoffs as the #3 seed, took advantage of an injury to the top scorer in the D8 league (Summer Pahl - broken finger in the first quarter) and went on to clip the Eagles 41-36 in overtime on the road.

Key Players
Resurrection:  Jama Bin-Edward, Krissia Vasquez, Meghan Sharp, Buse Bin-Edward.

St. Benedict:  Maya Danis, Tereza Borges, Nana-Afia Agyeipah.

Game Preview
The Saints are going to have to use the fact that they're on their homecourt (and should likely have a crowd advantage) to their benefit early on.  If they can keep things close in the early going, the pressure would then shift to the highly-favoured Phoenix.

Along with that, the Saints can't get into an "up and down" transition type game, where Rez excels.  Patience will be a virtue for the Saints on offense, and the mantra of "controlling the tempo to limit possessions" is often the blueprint for a possible upset.

For Resurrection, it comes down to establishing themselves early.  Their pressure defense has given D8 teams fits this season (as well as creating easy scoring opportunities for the Phoenix).  A few easy buckets off of turnovers would quickly calm any championship nerves, and put them well on their way.

Pick
Not to discount the season the Saints have had, and getting to the finals is a tremendous accomplishment.  And, yes, there's a reason they play these games and crazier things have happened.

On paper, the junior Phoenix have too much firepower and I expect them to win this one going away.

My Pick:  Resurrection 54, St. Benedict 21

WCSSAA Junior: Top Two Squads Book Finals Berth

It will be #1 and #2 in Wednesday's Junior Girls' Basketball Final.

The top-seeded SJAM Highlanders and second-seeded WODSS Crusaders booked their finals tickets with impressive semifinal performances on Thursday afternoon.

SJAM, who has been victorious in all of their league and playoff games to this point by double-digits, added another impressive win to their resumé by knocking off the #4 seed, Galt Ghosts, by a 56-16 final score.

Grade nine F Kate Moran led the way with a 23 point effort for the Highlanders, while Joanna Bamberger added 8.

Beth Fleming had 5 and Erin Woeller 3 for the Ghosts.

Over in Baden, the Crusaders opened up a 19-8 halftime margin on the #3 seed, the Jacob Hespeler Hawks, and maintained that margin during the second half as it finished as a 36-25 final score.

Rachael Beitz had an impressive 20 point performance for WODSS, with Emily Glendinning adding 8.  Kayla Gallant and Charlotte Clifford both had 10 points for the Hawks.

The junior girls' final is slated for 6:30pm next Wednesday at Preston HS in Cambridge.

All four semifinalists will move on to participate at their respective level of CWOSSA.  SJAM (along with quarterfinalist Huron Heights) are the AAAA CWOSSA reps for WCSSAA in Waterloo, while WODSS, Jacob Hespeler, and Galt will all play at AAA CWOSSA in Brantford.

The Record: Hawks and Renegades Reach Senior Basketball Final

Article By:  Mark Bryson

CAMBRIDGE — Jasmine Ramcharan and the Jacob Hespeler Hawks are looking ahead as they prepare for their second straight appearance in the championship final of the Waterloo County senior girls basketball league. 

The Hawks booked their spot in Tuesday's final against the Grand River Renegades with a 43-30 win over the visiting KCI Raiders on Thursday afternoon. Grand River defeated the Waterloo Vikings 51-42 in Thursday's other semifinal. 

The Hawks fell to Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders in last year's final, and Ramcharan is hopeful of a different result this time around. 

"It should be a good game but this year we want to win. It was pretty disappointing last year but you have to forget about the past and just get the win," she said. 

Candice Wright led the Jacob Hespeler attack against KCI with 18 points, and Kendra Dennis had 13.

The Hawks led 24-16 at the half and were never in danger of relinquishing that lead in the second half.

Alia Hazineh and Michaela Schlumberger led the Raiders with eight and five points respectively. 

The six-foot-two Wright was dominant throughout and will no doubt receive plenty of attention from Grand River defenders. 

"We're always pushing the ball, looking for Can inside, and if it's there we'll take it. If it's not, we look for something else and try to create open shots for other teammates," said Ramcharan. 

The Raiders advanced to the semifinals with a 49-46 upset victory over the Cameron Heights Golden Gaels on Tuesday. They earned a spot in next week's Central Western Ontario triple-A tournament with the win. 

The win over Cameron Heights was a costly one as team leader Frances Campbell went down with a knee injury. KCI's student council co-premier was on the bench for Thursday's loss but was clearly missed. 

Still, Raiders head coach Nick White was satisfied with his team's performance. 

"From where we started to where we are now, you can't complain ... they worked hard, pulled off a big upset they'll remember, and we're moving on to CWOSSA, so it's a good season," he said. 

Nyamuoch Teny and Maya Day paced the Grand River attack with 15 and 14 points respectively, while Kaylee Anagnostopoulos had 16 and Danielle Sauve had 12 for WCI. 

Grand River (14-0) and Jacob Hespeler (13-1) did not meet during the regular season. The time and location for Tuesday's final is to be determined on Friday. 

Jacob Hespeler, KCI and Bluevale will compete at next week's CWOSSA triple-A championship, while WCI and Grand River will play at the quad-A tournament. 

Retrieved From:  http://www.therecord.com/sports-story/4965770-hawks-and-renegades-reach-basketball-final/

Brantford Expositor: Green Eagles Celebrate Another Senior Championship

Article By:  Vincent Ball

The St. John's College Green Eagles senior girls' basketball team used tenacious defence and a balanced scoring attack to capture the Brant County title for the ninth time.

The Green Eagles beat the Brantford Collegiate Mustangs 71-29 to win the best-of-three series in two games straight.

"It's a great feeling," said Kendra Van Leeuwen who scored 16 points for the Green Eagles. "It's nice to see how all of our hard work all season paid off."

But, she said, the competition will be tough next week as the team heads to CWOSSA.

For Megan Thompson, it was her fifth Brant County championship. The feeling of winning the title never gets old, she said.

"It's something that I get to share with the team and it feels great," she said.

"Next week, when we play at CWOSSA we have to keep up our intensity, keep working together as a team and keep up our energy."

The Green Eagles played with intensity throughout Game 1 Tuesday and kept it up in Game 2 on Thursday, Maddi Cohoon said.

The only negative about the game was that Erin Dubois got hurt when she went down hard to the floor after driving to the hoop.

The Green Eagles got outstanding performances from Van Leeuwen and Thompson, who each hit for 16 points. Dubois got nine.

The Green Eagles were hungry for another Brant County championship and came out firing on all cyclinders right from the opening tip. With their full court pressure forcing a lot of turnovers, the Green Eagles took an early 16-2 lead.

They got a nice baseline three-pointer by Van Leeuwen in the second quarter but it was really their ball movement and hard work on defence that drove their offence all game.

The Green Eagles led 61-23 after three and 46-17 at the half.

Still, while St. John's dominated the game, the Mustangs fought hard and had some good moments, too. Katie Cummings, who played most of the game, went to the floor a couple of times to force turnovers.

Summer Sakaluk worked exceptionally hard handling the ball under tremendous pressure by the Green Eagles' guards. Coren Madensky pulled down a couple of rebounds for the Mustangs.

Lexi Lancaster scored a three-point buzzer beater at the end of the first quarter and had another three-pointer in the fourth quarter. Sakaluk also scored a three pointer in the fourth quarter.

Still, there was no denying the intensity of the Green Eagles.

They hustled all over the court all game and could score inside as well as outside with some long-range shots. Erin Dubois sunk a terrific three-pointer with just under three minutes left in the half and she was followed by Thompson who scored a layup following a turnover.

The Mustangs were led in scoring by Sakaluk with 13 and Lancaster with 8.

The members of the Green Eagles winning team include Alex Girardi, Jen Garner, Leah Coon, Lauren De Montmorency, Sam Dupont, Alaina McMillan and Ashley Derks. They are coached by Matt Lynch and Steve Van Leeuwen.

Retrieved From:  http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2014/11/06/girls-basketball-live-blog

Brantford Expositor: BCI Wins Junior Championship

Brantford Expositor Photo

Article By:  Vincent Ball

The Brantford Collegiate Institute junior girls basketball team won its first Brant County title in recent memory defeating St. John's College Green Eagles 52-47 on Thursday.

"It feels awesome," said Neyla Piovesan, BCI's point guard. "I don't know what to say. It just feels so great."
Piovesan scored 14 points, of which all but two came in the second half. She hit for eight in the third quarter and four from the foul line in the fourth quarter to lead a BCI second-half surge.

BCI fell behind 19-8 in the first quarter and, despite a second-quarter rally, trailed at the end of the first half.
"I think we worked really well as a team and our defence was really great," Piovesan said after the game. "I think it was just nerves in the first half."

Taylor Hill also scored some timely baskets for BCI, finishing the game with 14 points as well. BCI's Kennedy Peirce scored 10.

BCI also got a huge contribution from Maddie Sanderson who scored five points in the second quarter when the team's offence was sputtering.

St. John's played a tenacious defence all game and forced a lot of first half turnovers.

Kaitlyn Overeem led SJC scorers with 17 points, followed by Emily Dignan with 14. Mikayla Castagna scored eight for SJC.

Other members of the BCI team are Lauren McManus, Alex Klunder, Kaitlyn Thomson, Mackenzie Batt, Lacey Madia, Kyla Deboer and Anne McDougald. The coaching staff comprises Ross Enslev, Ron Jamula and Pat Woodburn.

None of the coaches could recall when the BCI junior girls had ever won a championship.

"Certainly this is the first one in the modern era," Enslev said.

Retrieved From:  http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2014/11/06/high-school-girls--basketball-bci-wins-junior-championship

Guelph Mercury: Celtics, Spartans To Clash in D10 Hoops Final

Article By:  Rob Massey

GUELPH — Saturday night's District 10 high school senior girls' basketball final will feature one team that's made a habit of being there lately and another that hasn't been in the championship spotlight for a while. 

The Bishop Macdonell Celtics and Centennial Spartans are to play in the final. 

The game is 8 p.m. Saturday at the University of Guelph's Mitchell Athletics Centre. Both won semifinals Thursday. The Celtics disposed of the Ross Royals 52-36 after the Spartans ousted the Lourdes Crusaders 63-40. 

The Celtics jumped ahead early, extended the lead in the second quarter and then held the Royals off the rest of the way. Bishop Mac was ahead 17-9 at the end of the first quarter, 30-18 at halftime and 42-28 after the third quarter. Ross brought the gap down to 11 midway through the fourth quarter, but couldn't get any closer. 

"It went the way we hoped, not the way we thought," Bishop Mac coach Karen Bremner said. "I have a ton of respect for (Ross coach) Jamie (Gusba) and the way he runs his team and the kids always buy into what he sells. That makes it very difficult from a game-planning perspective because you always have to be on your toes." 

Ellie Young led the Celtics with 10 points while Rachael DiGravio added nine and Dianne Priamo and Jess Burke had seven apiece.

Teddi Taran hit for 12 points for Ross while Maddy Darling followed with nine. 

The Celtics have won six District 10 championships in the last 10 years, including the last two. 

"The history of the Bishop Mac team, to get there again is really nice," Young said. "As a team, we have worked really hard and we feel like we've grown together so we're really proud that we've achieved this." 

While the Bishop Mac program has been successful, this year's team is a little different from its predecessors. 

"This is the first year that we haven't had a kid who can necessarily just fill it up," Bremner said. "It's been a lot of scoring by committee and bringing the ball up by committee." 

"There are no star players. It's a real team effort," Young said. "I think it's better that way because if one person is out of the game, you don't have to depend on them because the team is still able to work with everyone because we're all balanced and of equal strength." 

Centennial last won the D10 title in 1998 and they haven't been in it since dropping a 55-44 decision to Bishop Mac in 2008. 

At Centennial Thursday, the hosts came back from a 17-15 deficit at the end of the first quarter with a dominating second quarter to get control of the game. 

"Just based on how the first quarter went, we switched up our defence," Emma Cain of Centennial said. "We just kept pushing knowing what our goals were from the very beginning." 

"We just changed our defensive strategy a bit and mixed it up on them and it worked," Centennial coach Toffer Treiguts said. 

The Spartans led 33-23 at halftime and 53-32 after the third quarter. Centennial's possessions in the fourth quarter were geared more toward taking time off the clock than adding to its lead. 

"It's definitely tough to not try to keep pushing, but we knew what position we were in and that we had some strong guards who could hold on to the ball," Cain said. 

"We move the ball well," Treiguts said. "When you're up at that stage, you've got to play smart basketball. That's why I always tell the girls that you've got to know the situation, you've got to know the score and what's going on on the court, and that's what we did."

Carter Godman struck for 24 points for Centennial while Cain had 13, Hannah Newman 12 and Emma Korol seven. 

Aida Raab, Rainey Psenicka and Erin Gerstenkorn each had eight points for Lourdes and Natasha Martinez netted seven. 

"We played our game and that's all we focused on as a team," Treiguts said. "We play what we need to do. We brought our systems and that's what we've got to do every single game that we play." 

The win for the Spartans combined with the loss by Ross means that Centennial will be the D10 representative in next week's four-team CWOSSA AAAA championship tournament at Waterloo. 

D10 Junior Semifinals
Bishop Mac 69, JF Ross 27

Bishop Mac led from the start as the Celtics were up 19-4 at the end of the first quarter, 29-17 at halftime and 61-21 after the third quarter. 

Grace Drewry led Bishop Mac with 20 points while Sophia Nash had 16, Lean Parisotto 11, Tian Wood eight and Julia Boyle seven.

Catie Terrey had 13 for Ross while Alessia Bolzon collected seven. 

Lourdes 34, Centennial 24

Hannah McIntosh led Lourdes with 17 points while Jada Codrington and Maddie McIntosh each had six. 

Lauren Zonneveld netted 13 for Centennial while Ashlan Best chipped in with four.

Lourdes and Bishop Mac are to start Saturday's championship doubleheader at 6 p.m. at the Mitchell Athletics Centre. 

Retrieved From:  http://www.guelphmercury.com/sports-story/4965838-celtics-spartans-to-clash-in-hoops-final/

 

 

News & Notes: NPH Ranks St. Mary's #1 In The Country; CHCI #10

The target is squarely on the back of the St. Mary's Eagles.

Last night, NorthPoleHoops.com released their preseason "top 25" high school teams in the country, and there was some solid CWOSSA representation --- especially right at the top, where St. Mary's was given the #1 preseason ranking.

Yes, as in "the top team in the country".

It's uncharted waters for not only the Eagles, but CWOSSA basketball as a whole, as the Cameron Heights Golden Gaels also cracked the top 10.   

St. Mary's wallowed in D8 mediocrity while a downtown school, but has gradually improved (and now flourished, winning the last 3 CWOSSA "AAAA" senior titles) in the 13 years since its campus was moved out to Block Line Road.

"Our program at St. Mary's has been lucky to have had talented basketball players in our network of feeder schools for the past 5 or 6 years," noted head coach Jason Hergott.

"We don't recruit, we start our season November 1st every year and we don't run our own tournament but what we do have are students who love to play ball and are committed to playing team ball," he added.

That last bit is certainly important, given that this year's version of the Eagles is an already stacked roster returning about 90% of their scoring offense from a season ago (Tesloth Simon, Tyrick Thompson, Nathan Riley, Jermaine Stephenson, and Jermaine Lyle) with some talented juniors moving up (Minas Abara, Adham Eleeda, etc.).

The Eagles are clearly looking forward to the challenge of living up to the billing.

"We'll play anyone, anytime," said Hergott.

The Eagles, who just have a few practices under their belt, will be thrown into the fire this weekend at the prestigious Father Henry Carr Nike Early Bird Tournament.  That tips off today, with St. Mary's facing two other top 25 teams --- Eastern Commerce and D'Youville --- in pool play.

Coach Hergott, though grateful for the recognition, understands that the preseason ranking means little in the grand scheme of things.

"Hopefully we will be able to get as close to that artificial number as possible at the end of the season when the number becomes real."

WCSSAA Thursday: Junior & Senior Semifinals

It's the top four as expected on the junior side, and a bit of a mish-mash on the senior side, with seeds #1, #3, #5, and #7 still in the running for the WCSSAA title.

We'll start on the senior side with the previews:

(5) WCI at (1) Grand River
Regular Season:  GRCI 56, WCI 54
My Pick:  Grand River 59, WCI 51

These teams met way back on September 23rd in what was then the season-opener for the Renegades.  Both teams looked quite strong in that game, so you had the feeling that we'd see both of these clubs (at least) in the WCSSAA semifinals.

That said, a lot has changed as the injury bug has hit both teams to an extent.  Of course, the key cogs on each team are still participating.  Kaylee Anagnostopoulos and Danielle Sauve (who combined for 41 of WCI's 55 points against Bluevale) and Grand River's sensational backcourt core of Nancy Michael, Maya Day, and Nyamuoch Teny will all be sure to be able to light the scoreboard up in this one.

It's my understanding that the WCSSAA Finals will be hosted by the highest remaining seed this year --- so Grand River has, quite literally, home court advantage in the finals on the line.  They'll need to get past the pesky Vikes first, which won't be easy, but I'll stick with the undefeated Rens here.

(7) KCI at (3) Jacob Hespeler
Regular Season:  JHSS 41, KCI 32
My Pick:  Jacob Hespeler 47, KCI 44

Hespeler won the regular-season matchup, although KCI did defeat JHSS on their home floor at the Hawks' home tourney back in September.

Both teams have gotten to this point with great team play, and scoring balance.  For KCI, Alia Hazineh led the way in the quarterfinal win over Cameron, but Frances Campbell, Olivia Mickie, and Thea Taylor are capable of double-digit efforts on any given night.  

Same thing goes for JHSS.  Candice Wright has been arguably the most dominant post presence in the Senior Girls' circuit this season, while forward Shianne Riggan and guards Kendra Dennis and Jasmine Ramcharan are all possible names that you could see at the top of the scoresheet.

You really have to throw the games that these teams played in September out the window, as both of them have come a long way.  I see another single-digit contest but home edge gets the Hawks my pick.

Junior
(4) Galt at (1) SJAM
Regular Season:  SJAM 54, GCI 29
My Pick:  SJAM 59, GCI 33

The SJAM Highlanders are staying the course.

With a team this talented, you occasionally have to wonder if overconfidence will set in, given that they're probably 20ish point favourites over any team in WCSSAA (for reference, they defeated #2 WODSS 38-16 in league play).

To their credit, they've continued winning their way, which is through strong defense and a very balanced offensive attack led by Kate Moran, Griffin Lack-Shane and Joanna Bamberger.

Galt also has seen good scoring balance from their core of key players --- Beth Fleming, Juley Dunlop, Erin Woeller, and Amy Newnham.  They'll need strong efforts from all to keep this one tight against the powerhouse 'Landers.

(3) Jacob Hespeler at (2) WODSS
Regular Season:  WODSS 26, JHSS 18
My Pick:  WODSS 49, JHSS 35

These two squads played a "first-team to 25" wins type of game back in September, with the Crusaders taking the victory in that low-scoring affair.

Personally, I think that's the type of game that Jacob Hespeler will need to try to play here again versus WODSS, as the Crusaders are much more comfortable in an uptempo, high-scoring game.  They've hit 48+ points six times during the regular season, and scoring 69 in their quarterfinal win over Huron Heights.

Any one of the Crusaders' key five can lead them in scoring:  Emily Glendinning, Rachael Beitz, Madeline & Rachel Woolvett and Madalyn Davidson.  Hespeler is a bit more reliant on a couple of their key players, most notably Charlotte Clifford, Amy Claydon, and Kayla Gallant.

I think the Crusaders will be a bit more comfortable on their home court and I like them to advance here.

D10 Thursday: Junior & Senior Semifinals

It was essentially the top 4 teams advancing through to the D10 finals on both the junior and senior sides (exception in junior, where JF Ross won the 4/5 game).  All of the higher seeds today won the season series 2-0, so we'll see if the lower seeds can turn things around today.  Here's a look:

Senior
(4) JF Ross at (1) Bishop Mac
Regular Season:  BMAC 2-0 (36-21, 53-39)
My Pick:  Bishop Mac 51, JF Ross 40

The first-place Bishop Mac Celtics rolled through the regular season, with just one slip-up at home against Lourdes.  Both matchups between these squads were decided by double figures, although it can certainly be argued that JF Ross has improved as the season has gone on.

The Royals are coming off an emotional, hard-fought home win (51-48) over #5 Guelph CVI.  It will be interesting to see if playing a tough game (whereas Bishop Mac had winless Orangeville in the quarters) well be a help, or a hindrance.  

Interestingly enough, the last #1 or #2 seed to lose in the D10 Senior Semifinals was Bishop Mac back in 2011 --- to JF Ross.  That said, have to pick the Celts here.

(3) Lourdes at (2) Centennial
Regular Season:  CCVI 2-0 (54-50, 51-42)
My Pick:  Centennial 49, Lourdes 47

A couple of single-digit games were all that separated these squads and the Crusaders have really come on down the stretch run --- particularly Rainey Psenicka, who is averaging 20 PPG over the past week.

I think we're headed for another barn-burner in this one, but I'll give the slight edge to Centennial with their home court, and their balanced scoring attack.  It will be interesting to see who steps up for them today.  

Junior

(5) JF Ross at (1) Bishop Mac
Regular Season:  BMAC 2-0 (36-14, 47-25)
My Pick:  Bishop Mac 45, JF Ross 24

The Bishop Mac Celtics are the class of the D10 junior league, and aside from a couple of close games against Lourdes during the regular season (4 & 9 points) and one other game against 3rd place Centennial (9 points), all of Bishop Mac's other 11 wins were by double digits.

Needless to say, JF Ross certainly has their work cut out for them here.  I think the balance of Bishop Mac's scoring attack will lead them to victory at home.

(3) Centennial at (2) Lourdes
Regular Season:  OLOL 2-0 (40-27, 40-28)
My Pick:  Lourdes 44, Centennial 30

Despite this being a 2/3 matchup, Lourdes took both games during the regular season by double digits.  They've been playing their best basketball down the stretch too, having won 7 D10 games (regular season + playoffs) in a row.

If the Spartans can grind this one out a bit, and keep it in the high 20s or low 30s, they certainly have a shot.  I don't know if they'll be able to do that, and that's why I'll take the Crusaders at home.

Norfolk News: Titans Roll On To Win Junior NSSAA Championship

Darryl Smart Photo

Article By:  Darryl Smart

When you have the Holy Trinity Titans’ depth, it’s no wonder coach Richard VandeWiele approaches every basketball game the same way. 

And it’s an approach that is a winning formula. 

Like he has all year, VandeWiele kept rolling out five players at a time as his team completed its perfect season in the county, capturing the Norfolk Secondary School Athletic Association junior girls championship, with a 40-20 win over the Simcoe Sabres. 

“It’s not what a lot of teams do, but it works,” VandeWiele said as he held the championship trophy. “I went with 13 players this season, and I wanted to make sure each one contributed.” 

That mission was accomplished, with 11 of them getting on the scoresheet in Wednesday’s game at Delhi District Secondary School. 

“It really is a great group of girls, and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” VandeWiele said. “These girls worked hard all year, and they really bought into what I was trying to teach.” 

It was a system that not only allowed every player to contribute, it allowed any one player to lead the way in any game. 

And in the final against the Sabres it was Kate Wilhelmus. 

“I’m just so excited,” Wilhelmus said. “It’s such a great feeling knowing that we’ve won this. We all worked so hard this year. I’m so happy.” 

Wilhelmus led all scorers with 10 points, and it was her four points midway through the first quarter that gave the Titans all of the momentum. 

With both teams jostling for position, Wilhelmus hit a pair of free throws. On the ensuing inbound, she intercepted the pass and laid it in for two more. 

After that swing, the Titans didn’t look back. 

“It’s one of those things we practiced,” Wilhelmus said. “We knew we might get a chance to do that in the game. It was just great to be able to do that.” 

For Wilhelmus, like many of the Titans, it was their first crack at competitive basketball. 

“This year was the first time I’ve played,” she said. “I’ve really liked it. It’s been fun.” 

Now the Titans will play an opponent from the Brant Secondary School Athletic Association in a Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association qualifier Monday. The winner advances to the AAA championships in Brantford.

 

Titans scorers: Kate Wilhelmus 10, Rachel Winger 5, Rowan Sallewsky 2, Breanne Boyd 2, Brooke Magalas 2, Alexis Paulmert 2, Ling Li Wong 4, Anna Mitchell 2, Justice Wilks 2, Taylor Ongena 4, Sydney Buis 4. 

Sabres scorers: Bianca Bowen 7, Kassie Courrier 5, Hayley Smith 2, Victoria Lewis 2, Julia Samborski 2, Erica Wilhelmus  1, Alexandra Dockx 1. 

Retrieved From:  http://www.norfolknews.ca/sports-story/4963217-titans-roll-on-to-win-junior-basketball-championship/