Knights Take Hespeler Junior Tourney

The Bluevale Knights established themselves as a clear contender for the WCSSAA Junior Girls' basketball crown this past weekend, as they knocked off another top WCSSAA team, the Jacob Hespeler Hawks, on their homecourt in a hard-fought 36-30 game to capture the title at the Jacob Hespeler Invitiational tournament.

The Knights (2008 WCSSAA champions, 2009 CWOSSA qualifier) have quietly established themselves as a legitimate junior girls program in a short period of time.  Hannah Fishbein, whose sister Grace plays CIS basketball for Memorial University, had a game-high 16 points in the championship final. 

The Hawks, meanwhile, are no slouches themselves.  They returned a ton of talent from last year's 11-1 club, including star scorer Brooklynn Wright.  JHSS, in fact, is looking for their first ever basketball championship (boys or girls) and seem to be one of the early contenders again this season.

Here's a complete rundown of tournament scores:

First Round
Jacob Hespeler 46, Preston 30
JHSS:  Brooklynn Wright 14, Taylor Dennis 12
PHS:  Ashley White 10, Aubrey Formica 9

Southwood 38, Glenview Park 18
SSS:  Cali Doran 12, Kayleigh Hutt Taylor 6
GPSS:  Maggie Tucker 8

Elmira 22, Galt 16
EDSS:  Krista Weins 5, Tessa Charnuski 4
GCI:  Courtney Davis 8

Bluevale 56, Kincardine 12
BCI:  Natalie Bishop 16, Sarah Hamm 10
KDSS:  Vanessa Hodgins 3, Jean-Ann Keelan 3.

Second Round
Consolation Semifinal #1:  Preston 28, Glenview Park 22

Consolation Semifinal #2:  Kincardine 30, Galt 16

Championship Semifinal #1:  Jacob Hespeler 48, Southwood 24
JHSS:  Taylor Dennis 16

Championship Semifinal #2:  Bluevale 48, Elmira 37
BCI:  Natalie Bishop 20
EDSS:  Tessa Charnuski 16

Final Round
Seventh Place:  Glenview Park 41, Galt 12
GPSS:  Maggie Tucker 15

Consolation Final:  Preston 47, Kincardine 20
PHS:  Ashley White 24

Third Place:  Southwood 33, Elmira 20
SSS:  Abby Todd 16

Championship:  Bluevale 36, Jacob Hespeler 30
BCI:  Hannah Fishbein 16

CWOSSA Top 10: Weekly Power Ranking

Here is our first (weekly on Fridays) installment of the CWOSSA top ten.  I've ranked teams according to their divisions ---- AAAA and AAA (apologies to the AA & A schools, perhaps we can add those rankings in later once more leagues with those teams get under way!).

At any rate, here it is.  League records are included.

SENIOR AAAA

1.  St. John's College Green Eagles (Brantford/D5, 1-0)

2.  Waterloo Collegiate Vikings (Waterloo/WCSSAA, 1-0)

3.  John F. Ross Royals (Guelph/D10, 2-0).

4.  St. Mary's HS Eagles (Kitchener/D8, 1-0).

5.  Eastwood Collegiate Rebels (Kitchener/WCSSAA, 1-0).

6.  Guelph CVI Gaels (Guelph/D10, 1-1).

7.  Assumption CS Lions (Brantford/D5, 0-1).

8.  Bluevale Collegiate Knights (Waterloo/WCSSAA, 1-0).

9.  Cameron Heights Collegiate Golden Gaels (Waterloo/WCSSAA, 1-0).

10.  Resurrection CSS Phoenix (Kitchener/D8, 1-0).

JUNIOR AAAA

1.  St. John's College Green Eagles (Brantford/D5, 1-0)

2.  Assumption College Lions (Brantford/D5, 1-0).

3.  Waterloo Collegiate Vikings (Waterloo/WCSSAA, 0-1).

4.  Bluevale Collegiate Knights (Waterloo/WCSSAA, 1-0).

5.  Grand River Collegiate Renegades (Kitchener/WCSSAA, 1-0).

6.  St. Benedict CSS Saints (Cambridge/D8, 1-0).

7.  Resurrection CSS Phoenix (Kitchener/D8, 1-0).

8.  Centennial CVI Spartans (Guelph/D10, 1-1).

9.  Guelph CVI Gaels (Guelph/D10, 1-1).

10.  Cameron Heights Collegiate Golden Gaels (Kitchener/WCSSAA, 1-0).

SENIOR AAA

1.  North Park CVS Trojans (Brantford/D5, 1-0).

2.  KCI Raiders (Kitchener/WCSSAA, 1-0).

3.  Brantford Collegiate Mustangs (Brantford/D5, 1-0).

4.  St. David CSS Celtics (Waterloo/D8, 2-0).

5.  Galt CI Ghosts (Cambridge/WCSSAA, 1-0).

6.  Preston PHS Panthers (Cambridge/WCSSAA, 1-0).

7.  Elmira DSS Lancers (Elmira/WCSSAA, 0-0).

8.  Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders (Baden/WCSSAA, 0-1).

T9.  Simcoe CS Sabres (Simcoe/NSSAA, 0-0).

T9.  Westside SS Thunder (Orangeville/D4, 0-0).

T9.  Southwood SS Sabres (Cambridge/WCSSAA, 0-1).

T9.  St. James CHS Lions (Guelph/D10, 0-2).

JUNIOR AAA
1.  St. James CHS Lions (Guelph/D10, 2-0).
2.  Jacob Hespeler SS Hawks (Cambridge/WCSSAA, 1-0).
3.  North Park CVS Trojans (Brantford/D5, 0-1).
4.  Preston PHS Panthers (Cambridge/WCSSAA, 1-0).
5.  Brantford CI Mustangs (Brantford/D5, 0-0).
6.  KCI Raiders (Kitchener/WCSSAA, 1-0).
7.  Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders (Baden/WCSSAA, 1-0).
8.  Westside SS Thunder (Orangeville/D4, 0-0).
9.  Southwood SS Sabres (Cambridge/WCSSAA, 0-1).
10.  Glenview Park Panthers (Cambridge/WCSSAA, 0-1).

Simcoe Reformer: NSSAA Preview

Here's a great preview by Jacob Robinson of the Simcoe Reformer about the NSSAA (D9) league. 

The original article can be seen at:  http://www.simcoereformer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2771986

If there's one common theme around the entire NSSAA basketball league this season, it's that a lack of size has led to a focus on speed. Many girls that dominated in the paint and on the boards from seasons past are now graduated, giving way to a group focused more on high-tempo play and shooting from the outside.


The direct beneficiaries of this change will be the fans. Get ready for not only some high-scoring affairs, but an exciting back-and-fourth brand of basketball as all six teams battle for the right to be called NSSAA Champions.

Simcoe Sabres
Last year's finish: Won NSSAA title.
Last year's record: 9-1
Coach: Bill Macovik

Weapons: Sammy Pepper, Angela Gilmour, Amanda Reaney

Leaders: Kendall Warboys, Stephanie Potts, Alyssa Becque, Olivia Richards, Jordan Vanderhaegen

Strengths: Last year's champs have plenty of speed up front, good depth and plenty of returning starters. Macovik's Sabres will look to push the pace of games and score lots of transition baskets, but can also slow it down and shoot as well. Potts is as good as any point guard in the league, and much of the Sabres attack will run through her.

Things to watch for: There aren't a lot of holes in the Sabres roster, and with several moving up from the junior ranks, the tough thing will be for everyone to get floor time.

In order to play for this stacked club, players may need to switch positions in order to play more.


Holy Trinity Titans
Last year's finish: Lost in NSSAA Final
Last year's record: 9-1
Coach: Bill Pargenter

Key Losses: Lindsay Ensminger, Allie Decker, Meghan Bruyn, Aly Vogelzang

Leaders: Sam Mitchell, Annessa Casier, Tina Zelem

Strengths: Though several top end players have moved on from the Titans, the team still possesses a lot of speed. An early season exhibition game showed the coaching staff the Titans have a competitive group of players up from the junior ranks with plenty of potential.

Things to watch for: With a youth movement going on at Holy Trinity, the team's seniors aren't guaranteed a spot. Pargenter has experimented with his lineup, and it should be interesting to see what he goes with during tight games.


Valley Heights Bears
Last year's finish: Lost in semifinals.
Last year's record: 6-4
Coach: Jason Mayo

Key Losses: Lisa Wall, Savannah Dewdney, Ashley Millen

Weapons: Savannah Shea, Allison Earls

Strengths: Traditionally one of the taller teams in the county, the Bears return with a smaller and quicker lineup than in past years. Throughout training camp, girls up and down the roster have displayed an accurate shooting touch, especially from the perimeter.

Things to watch for: Losing three of the tallest players in the league could hurt the Bears in the paint. The club has struggled in recent seasons with their fouls, so playing a much cleaner game is a must.



Delhi Raiders
Last year's finish: Lost in semifinals.
Last year's record: 4-6
Coaches: Ruth Barr and Brad Sergeant

Key Losses: Alia McIntosh, Cassie Clause, Markie Perrier

Leaders: Mandy Mahler, Becca Larochelle, Emily Brooks

Strengths: The Raiders had just seven full time players last year. But with 150-plus students from Norwich coming to the school, DDSS had 18 try out for the team this fall. This is the first time in over a decade the blue and gold have had to make cuts, and all 12 on the roster have starting potential. In addition, Emily Brooks will bring the team a shooting and speed presence that will give opposing teams fits.

Things to watch for: It was all about having fun for Delhi last season. This time around, there are expectations to not only make the playoffs, but be competitive all season. Six players from Delhi and six formerly of Norwich will need to gel quickly if they hope to do so.


Waterford Wolves
Last year's finish: Missed the playoffs
Last year's record: 2-8
Coach: Dan Avey

Key Losses: Jodi Keene, Bekha Littlewood

Weapons: Gillian Bergsma, Stephanie Ionita

Strengths: Waterford may not have a lot of experience at the senior level, but they do have a team that can shoot and a lot of youthful exuberance.

Things to watch for: Waterford isn't just one of the youngest teams in the league, but in all of NSSAA senior sports. The team's roster has just one Grade 12, so it's a rebuilding year for the red and white no matter how you look at it. The good news is that the school's incoming juniors are strong, and will play together for at least another year after this.


Port Dover Lakers
Last year's finish: Missed the playoffs
Last year's record: 0-10
Coach: Pawnee Pepper

Key Losses: N/A

Weapons: Robin Beemer, Justine Shortt

Strengths: Both Beemer and Shortt will serve as catalysts for this year's Lakers. Beemer brings her strong point guard sense to the floor, and will be counted on for a big year. The same can be said for Shortt. As a centre, she'll be a presence down low for Port Dover.

Things to watch for: With another young team, the Lakers are working on improving as a whole and make good decisions such as when to shoot and when to pass.

D10: Thursday Results

Yesterday's D10 senior action was interesting in that all matchups featured teams matched up that had either won (BM/OLOL, GCVI/Ross) or lost (CCVI/STJ, ODSS/CW) their openers.  Here's how things shook down:

JF Ross 48, Guelph CVI 42
My Pick:  JFR
Another big win for the Royals, which makes it 2 key wins over their AAAA rivals this week (Centennial this past Tuesday).  Looks like their junior program's loss is the seniors' gain as grade 10 starter Sydney Resch pumped in 22 points in the victory, while Kayla Vandekemp (a grade 12 who, interestingly enough, also played up in grade 10) chipped in 7.  For GCVI, Alysha Warnholtz had 12 points and Sierra McLaren added 8.

Bishop Mac 54, Lourdes 47
My Pick:  BMAC
The Celtics did indeed stretch their D10 winning streak to 36 games, with a close victory at home over a rapidly improving Lourdes program.  Logan Lane contributed 15 and Andrea Priamo 12 for the winners, while Hannah Pearsall had a game-high 23 points for Lourdes.

Centennial 33, St. James 24
My Pick:  CCVI
The Spartans get a big win on the road, which was much needed with a difficult stretch of their schedule upcoming.  Lydia Campeau had 10 and Charlotte Clarke had 9 points in the win for CCVI, while Erica Zen put home 17 of the Lions' 24 points.

Centre Wellington 44, Orangeville 18
My Pick:  CWDHS
No trouble for CW as they improve to 1-1 on the year.  Their balanced attack saw 5 players with 5 or more points, led by Jaime Janssen with 10.  Rebecca Matheson and Brianne Plester had 4 each for ODSS.

Senior Standings:
T1.  Bishop Mac 2-0
T1.  JF Ross 2-0
T3.  Lourdes 1-1
T3.  Centre Wellington 1-1
T3.  Centennial 1-1
T3.  Guelph CVI 1-1
T7.  Orangeville 0-2
T7.  St. James 0-2

JUNIOR

Lourdes 39, Bishop Mac 33
The Crusaders improve to 2-0 on the year by picking up a win down in south Guelph.  Both teams had balanced scoring attacks, with no player scoring more than 7 (Cecilia Hudecki, Lourdes).  Bishop Mac had three girls with 6 points --- Rebecca Morris, Vicky Lin, and Anna deLange.

Orangeville 31, Centre Wellington 19
Congratulations to the Bears, who picked up their first junior girls basketball win since October 15th, 2008 ---- which also was a win over CW.  Claire Fenton (8) and Evelyn Burgess (7) led the way here.  Kristen Gora had a game-high 13 points for CW.

St. James 58, Centennial CVI 28
The Lions look to be one of the top couple of teams in "AAA" CWOSSA, as they continue to blow-out their opposition.  The Gazzolas --- Brittany (17) and Chelsey (11) led the way on Thursday afternoon for St. James, while CCVI was paced by 14 points from Hannah Newman.

Guelph CVI 36, JF Ross 19
Looks like it could be a difficult year for the Royals with Sydney Resch playing up in senior.  They fall to 0-2 and again had difficulty on the offensive end.  Katie Strongman led GCVI with 9, while Hanna Chadwick had 5.  Ross was led by 4 points from Stephanie Gordon

Junior Standings
T1.  St. James 2-0
T1.  Lourdes 2-0
T3.  Bishop Mac 1-1
T3.  Orangeville 1-1
T3.  Centennial 1-1
T3.  Guelph CVI 1-1
T7.  JF Ross 0-2
T7.  Centre Wellington 0-2

Brantford Expositor: Mustangs Show Bench Strength in Win Over Paris

Article By: Ed O'Leary

Retrieved From: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2771195

Ron Jamula, head coach of the Brantford Collegiate Institute Mustangs, knows his starting lineup is solid.

The Mustangs boast five fifthyear returning players but Jamula realizes that, if the Mustangs are going to reach their goal of winning the Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association's senior girls AAA basketball championship this season, they must develop their bench players.

"Everybody played and we were able to work on some things that we needed to work on," Jamula said after the Mustangs began the 2010 Brant County high school season Thursday with a 54-20 victory over the Paris District High School Panthers in Paris, "we worked on offensive sets and getting some kids some confidence."

Spencer Candy dominated the low post and finished with 19 points. Claudia Difrancesco scored 12 points.

Megan Melling came off the bench to score eight points. Point guard Jacqueline Jamula got seven points while Tory Candy and Adele Aslin each netted six points.

Speedy point guard Sam Ferretti, who was outstanding for the Panthers, finished with 12 points.

The Mustangs were never in trouble after opening a 21-7 lead in the first quarter and Jamula used the game to give plenty of floor time for his bench players.

"We have to find a way to play our bench so they improve, particularly Megan Melling, Emily Hazell and Jacquelyn Saracuse," Jamula said. "We need those kids to develop for us so that we will be able to play to our highest level.  It's hard to develop those kids when you're playing St. John's."

In other action, Assumption College Lions and North Park Collegiate Trojans split a doubleheader while the St. John's College Green Eagles swept a doubleheader from Pauline Johnson Collegiate.

At Assumption, the senior Trojans defeated the Lions 56-29 but the junior Lions beat North Park 43-34.

The senior Trojans used their size and depth to wear down Assumption.

North Park outscored the Lions 18-7 in the third quarter to take a 43-23 lead into the fourth quarter, which the Trojans cruised through for the victory.

Haley Welsh scored 14 points for North Park. Jenny Howell got nine points and Reo Roland netted eight.

Meghan Hanley scored 10 points for the Lions. Emily Gill got six points and Kate Waud added five.

Alexandra Van Dyk and Sara Harris dominated for the junior Lions.

Kirsten Sawa, Abbey Johnston and Kyanna Wray stood out for the junior Trojans.

In the twinbill at St. John's, the senior Eagles defeated the T-Birds 75-15 and the junior Eagles beat the Warriors 60-7.

Shawnie Hnatiuk topped the senior Eagles with 14 points. Miranda Consorti got 10 points and Caroline Rebry and Katie Polischuk each scored eight.

Sam Buck scored six points for the T-Birds. Katie Cunningham and Zoe Wickson netted three points apiece.

Sadie Rowe scored 10 points for the junior Eagles. Rebecca Daboer and Jessica Dignon each got eight.

Natasha Irwin scored four points for the Warriors and Kaitlyn Andrews got three.

WCSSAA Senior: Thursday Rundown

Here are the scores from WCSSAA action on Thursday from the senior division:

Bluevale 33, Southwood 23

My Pick:  BCI

The Knights got 10 points from Elissa Dent, 7 from Amy Shinkar and 6 from Shannon Curran en route to the win.  Alex Palvetzian was tops for the Sabres with 8.

WCI 58, Jacob Hespeler 13

My Pick:  WCI

No troubles for the Vikes in their opener.  Lindsay Taylor had 14 & Julia Pavlik contributed 11 for the winners.  Sarah Couchman and Sarah Guttin had 4 each for Hespeler.

Eastwood 38, Preston 33

My Pick:  ECI

Michelle Hudyn and Caitlyn Schlegel were a big one-two punch on this night, with 15 and 14 respectively.  Preston received double digit performances from Alex Aguiar and Nikea Worrell (10 each).

SJAM 45, WODSS 40

My Pick:  SJAM

The 'Landers squeak past the Crusaders to get off to a winning start in 2010.  Emily Temple had 11 points for SJAM, while Brittany Bell was tops for W-O with a game-high 13.

Cameron Heights 42, Glenview Park 27

My Pick:  CHCI

Erin Robbins scored 14 and Anny Phan added 11 as the Gaels pick up the home win to start the year.  Alyssa Goodridge led GPSS with 8 points.

KCI 56, Forest Heights 25

My Pick:  KCI

Kate McTavish (12) was one of three Raiders in double-figures in this one.  Trojan star Blair McNaughton also had 12, but they didn't have enough other firepower to keep this one close.

Galt 47, Grand River 37

My Pick:  GRCI

The Ghosts pull the win on the road (and prevent a 7-0 picks day from me in the process).  Congrats to them for getting off to the great start.  Milica Claxton (15) and Liz Phillips (14) had the big performances in this one for GCI, while Kailey Deboer had 16 in a losing effort for GRCI.

WCSSAA Junior: Thursday Rundown

Here's the rundown of the WCSSAA junior scores from Thursday afternoon:

Bluevale 39, Southwood 23

The Knights pick up virtually where they left off last year and get off to the 1-0 start.  Natalie Bishop (13) and Sarah Hamm (11) contributed double figure efforts for Bluevale.  The Sabres were led by 8 each from Cali Doran and Courtney Harley.

Jacob Hespeler 40, WCI 27

The Hawks, who returned several key components from last year's 11-1 club, withstood a 19 point effort from WCI's Sarah Coghlin and picked up a key road win over the defending champs.  Brooklyn Wright had 11 points to lead the way for JHSS, while Emma Sleeper and Taylor Dennis chipped in 6 each.

Preston 51, Eastwood 20

Ashley White poured in 19 points as the Panthers cruised past Eastwood on the road.  Aubrey Formica added 8 for the winners, while ECI received 4 points each from Emily Fehderau and Kristina Acimovic.

WODSS 44, SJAM 33

The Crusaders pick up a "road win" against SJAM.  Of course, the game was played at WODSS due to the gym issues that the Highlanders are facing.  Maddison Horst's 22 points for WO were the most of any WCSSAA junior player on the day, while teammate Aleisha Glendinning added a double digit performance as well (11). 

Cameron Heights 25, Glenview Park 20

In a low-scoring affair, the Gaels were able to prevail at home.  Cathy Bekhyt scored 11 for Cameron, while Ashanti Lewis added in 8.  GPSS received 6 each from Jocelyn Kivell and Maggie Tucker.

KCI 38, Forest Heights 19

Grand River 40, Galt 15

Leticia Skeete was able to outscore the Ghosts in this one, putting in 16 points for the winners.  Carissa Grove led Galt with 6.

New Polls & Follow @CWOSSABball on Twitter!

Feel free to participate in our new polls on the right hand side of the page ---- asking you who you think will be victorious in the WCSSAA, D8, and D10 leagues.

Also, while you're over on that side of the page, feel free to scroll down and join us on Facebook or Twitter.  This year, we'll be posting same-day news & score updates to the CWOSSA Basketball Twitter account.

Enjoy!

Around The Horn: Thursday, September 23rd WCSSAA & D10 Picks

WCSSAA

WCSSAA's junior & senior girls' regular season action gets underway today with a 7 game slate in each division.

Here's a quick look at the senior side of things, along with my picks.  I've included last year's records as well for fun.  Note that these are all 3:30pm starts.

Glenview Park (1-11) at Cameron Heights (6-6)
Pick:  CHCI

Led by Erin Robbins, the Cameron Heights Gaels seem to be an improved club over last year and I look for them to finish the season among the top-six clubs.  That said, let's take one step at a time and it starts with a win at home over the GPSS Panthers.

Jacob Hespeler (3-9) at Waterloo CI (12-0)
Pick:  WCI

The Hespeler Hawks will be improved this year, thanks in part to some talent coming up from an 11-1 junior squad last year, but they're still a year or two away from some serious success at the senior level.  WCI, on the other hand, will contend with some key losses (including Shelby Kurt) ---- but the Vikings don't rebuild, they reload.  Grade 11's Lindsay Taylor and Lindsay Lessard (who played huge roles last year in grade 10) will be called upon even more this season, while the championship junior squad will also provide the senior Vikes with additional talent.

WODSS (4-8) at SJAM (11-1) --- game at Waterloo-Oxford
Pick:  SJAM

The Highlanders lose a ton of their offense, including stars Krista Van Slingerland and Jordan Tomas, to graduation.  They will likely struggle to get back to the CWOSSA championships this year, but they should at least start their season off with a victory at home, er, I mean the road (as noted in a previous post, all SJAM "home games" will be played on the road due to issues with their gym floor).

Southwood (4-8) at Bluevale (8-4)
Pick:  BCI

Elissa Dent will be key for the Knights this season, as Bluevale loses a lot of their veteran leadership from last year's semifinalist club.  Bluevale can't take Southwood lightly, as the Sabres will be improved from a year ago --- not quite enough to knock off the Knights on the road, though, in my opinion.

Galt (6-6) at Grand River (6-6)
Pick:  GRCI

I look for Grand River to get this season off to a good start at home with a win over Galt.  Like Cameron Heights, the Rens are a team that should compete for one of those "upper tier" spots come playoff time.

Preston (2-10) at Eastwood (9-3)
Pick:  ECI

With 3 returning starters, including Michelle Hudyn, look for the Rebels to again be quite competitive and possibly challenge for a CWOSSA berth.  Though the Panthers have some solid juniors moving up from an 8-4 club, it likely won't be enough to take out the talented Rebels here.

KCI (12-0) at Forest Heights (4-8)
Pick:  KCI

The Raiders have some big shoes to fill ---- most notably, last year's WCSSAA MVP Rachael Urosevic (Queens University).  That said, Coach Nick White still has some pieces to the OFSAA 4th place puzzle remaining, and he always gets the most out of his players.  Look for the Raiders to extend their WCSSAA league and playoff win streak to 16 games with a victory today.

**Note:  Junior Girls action sees the above matchups with games at 5:00pm.

District 10 

GCVI (1-0) at Ross (1-0), 4:00pm  **Game of the Day**
Pick:  JFR

In what should be a tight battle over in east Guelph, I will give the slight edge to the homecourt Royals.  Both squads appear to be the early frontrunners for the 2 D10 "AAAA" CWOSSA berths, so it will be interesting to see what happens in this one.

Lourdes (1-0) at Bishop Mac (1-0), 5:15pm
Pick:  BMAC

Though the Crusaders are improved, look for the Celtics to win their 36th consecutive D10 game (league and playoff) this afternoon at home.

Orangeville (0-1) at Centre Wellington (0-1), 5:30pm
Pick:  CW

The Falcons came oh-so-close to knocking off Lourdes the other day.  They'll have a bit easier time at home against the Bears, and improve to 1-1.  Look for a big game from Jamie Janssen here.

Centennial (0-1) at St. James (0-1), 5:30pm
Pick:  CCVI

I'll go back with the team that burned me when I picked them on Tuesday, and hope that they can fare better on the road.  With GCVI, Lourdes, and Bishop Mac on the horizon, this is almost a "must-win" game for the Spartans.

YTD Picks Record:  3-1 (.750)

D8 Junior: Mustangs Grind out Win Against Eagles

You usually don't win too many basketball games when your team scores 15 points.

That percentage probably drops even more drastically when you score 15 points AND your opponent is last year's CWOSSA "AAAA" silver medalist.

Of course, in junior basketball, what a difference a year can make.

The Monsignor Doyle Mustangs were able to grind their way to a 15-12 victory over St. Mary's today down in Cambridge to pick up their first win of the season.

The 'Stangs have had trouble on the offensive end so far on the season (now 25 points combined over 2 games), but have fared well on the defensive side of the floor, holding a good Resurrection squad in the 30s in their opener before only giving up the aforementioned dozen today.

Jade Loehle and Emily Field contributed 4 each for MDCSS, while Laura Kay led the Eagles and all scorers with 5.  Linda Huynh chipped in 4 for St. Mary's.

In other action, also down in Cambridge, the St. Benedict Saints established themselves as an early contender for the D8 crown by torching the St. David Celtics 43-13, to start their season off 1-0.

Dana Melany had 18 big points for the Saints, while teammate Jessica Fish added 12.  Shannon Pringle and Nicole Jamieson had 4 each for the Celtics.

Junior Girls' Standings

T1.  St. Benedict 1-0

T1.  Resurrection 1-0

T3.  St. David 1-1

T3.  Monsignor Doyle 1-1

T5.  St. Mary's 0-1

T5.  Rockway 0-1

D8 Senior: Eagles Win, Celtics Stay Unbeaten

The St. Mary's Eagles and St. David Celtics may yet again be on a collision course for the D8 finals.

A year removed from a season that saw the Celtics squeak past the Eagles in the championship final, both squads posted victories today to remain as two of the three undefeated squads in the D8 circuit (Resurrection is also 1-0).

St. David 57, St. Benedict 22

St. David had the easier time today, cruising past St. Benedict in Cambridge by a 57-22 final.  The Celtics got a 20-point effort from Tabitha Ziegfried, while Andrea Zipansa chipped in 15 for the Saints.

St. Mary's 41, Monsignor Doyle 26

Surprising not to see Kaitlyn Schenck among the top scorers after scoring 20+ PPG over the weekend. At any rate, Laura Boterman chipped in 9 points for Mary's while Doyle's balanced attack was led by Sam Edwards with 8.

Senior Girls' Standings

1. St. David 2-0

T2.  St. Mary's 1-0

T2.  Resurrection 1-0

T4.  Rockway 0-1

T4.  St. Benedict 0-1

6.  Monsignor Doyle 0-2

D8: Wednesday Games and Picks

D8 regular season action continues on Wednesday, with both the St. Benedict Saints and St. Mary's Eagles seeing their first action of the campaign.

Here's a look at the 2 games on the schedule today.  Note that junior games featuring the same clubs will play the late (5:00pm) games today:

St. Mary's (0-0) at Monsignor Doyle (0-1), 3:30pm.
Pick:  SMHS

I expect Kaitlyn Schenck to get another 15+ performance here and for the Eagles to handle the Mustangs with ease on the road.

St. David (1-0) at St. Benedict (0-0), 3:30pm
Pick:  SDCSS

The Celtics should improve to 2-0 at the expense of the Saints, though I do expect SBCSS to be in a playoff position come November.

YTD Picks Record:  2-0.

Brantford Expositor D5 Preview: New Look For Champion Eagles

Article By:  Ed O'Leary

Retrieved From:  http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2767226

Last spring, it seemed doubtful Rachel Cleary would be playing basketball this season.


The St. John's College student broke her wrist and bones in both feet in a car accident.

But Cleary, who helped the Green Eagles to a 45-0 record and the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association's Quad-A girls basketball championship last year, was ready to go when head coach Steve Van Leeuwen opened training camp earlier this month.

"She stepped off the court in the middle of one of the drills the first day but she hasn't stepped off since," Van Leeuwen said.

"She has worked very hard. I think she's as good as any post player in the city."

Cleary is one of the integral pieces that form the Eagles' puzzle this season.

In fact, if Van Leeuwen decided to start Caroline Rebry and Cleary on his front line along with shooting guards Arielle Mendoza and Emma Dudley and point guard Deidre McDermid, the Eagles would be the envy of most teams in Ontario.

However, if Van Leeuwen did that, he would be leaving on the bench his three stars --point guard Kelly Van Leeuwen, shooting guard Kayla Santilli and small forward Katie Polischuk.

Van Leeuwen (daughter of the coach), Santilli and Polischuk played for the Ontario Under- 17's this past summer. All three were on the floor against British Columbia in double overtime in the championship game.

B.C. managed to eke out a victory but Ontario defeated B. C. in two previous encounters.

The Eagles are basically being conceded the Brant County championship this season by the other coaches in the league, even though some of the other teams wouldn't be considered pushovers in a normal year.

Coach Van Leeuwen's biggest problem this year might be convincing everyone that he has a "new team."

"We have a whole new identity, a new group of kids out there but I think we'll be competitive with anyone in the province," he said.

"These kids aren't 45-0. They're starting 0-0 but it's difficult to explain that to everyone."

North Park Collegiate Trojans, Brantford Collegiate Institute Mustangs and Assumption College Lions seem to be starting the season on equal footing.

Paris District High School Panthers and Pauline Johnson Collegiate Thunderbirds are inexperienced but athletic. And both squads will be looking to score upsets.

The Trojans, coached by Andrea (Gump) Hawkins, should improve as the season goes along.

"We're deep," said Hawkins. "We have a little bit of everything. Honestly, I think we have a shot at winning 3-A CWOSSA.

"I don't have a superstar, just 11 kids who can play. I'll just run them in and out."

Holly Ryerse, a guard and a fifth-year player, has been named the captain of the Trojans.  The starting five is completed by guards Reo Roland and Laura Chapple, power forward Jenny Howell and six-foot-one centre Cathy Fletcher, a first-year senior.

The Trojans also have plenty of height coming off the bench with forwards Haley Welsh, Allison Ballantyne and Kaitlyn Lumax.  Guard Brinley Ferguson is currently sidelined but hopes to be back in action soon. Other reserve guards are Jessica Grant and Allyson DeLorenzi.

Hawkins believes playing against St. John's will help the Trojans prepare for their CWOSSA tournament.

"It's only going to make you better," said Hawkins, adding the Trojans will face tough competition against the Mustangs and the Lions.

"BCI will be decent. They've got five fifth-year players coming back and Assumption should be decent as they've pulled up three Grade-10s."

Rick Heron has taken on the head coaching duties of the Lions.

"I've got five seniors returning and five girls who are moving up," noted Heron. "The juniors won CWOSSA (Quad-A) last year so they're highly skilled. I'm expecting them to step right in there and help out."

Two of the Grade 10s, guard Jerika Baldin and centre Emily Gill, will start along with three Grade-12s --guard Stephanie Van Dyk and forwards Megan Hanley and Katie Waud.

Heron's daughter, Abby, another Grade 10 and a forward, will see plenty of action coming off the bench.

Heron will be counting on other reserve players, including centre Ann Hawthorn, forwards Melissa Spence and Jacklyn Skrzypek and guard Rebekah Couperus.

"We're not very tall so we're going to have to get the running game going," he said.

Heron agreed that the Green Eagles are the class of the league. "They'll be tough to even stay close to but everything goes in curves so, maybe, our time will come in a year or two."

The Mustangs will be handled by veteran coach Ron Jamula.

"Our goal is to win CWOSSA (AAA) and I'm sure that's North Park's goal as well," Jamula said.

"We have more experience at the senior level that they have but they probably have a deeper team than we do.  We've got a decent team. We'll play to our strengths, stay out of foul trouble and we have to be in shape."

There's no doubt that the Mustangs have a strong starting five.

The Candy sisters, five-foot-ten Spencer and five-foot-nine Victoria, are accomplished forwards who can score inside, rebound at both ends of the court and handle the ball.  Claudia DiFrancesco is an aggressive five-foot-nine power forward, who will be needed more for her defence and rebounding than her offence.

Jacqueline Jamula, daughter of the coach, and Mia Vamos-Yuhasz will handle the guard positions. Jamula will play the point guard and Vamos-Yuhasz will be the No. 2 guard.

Although the starting five will get most of the playing time in key situations, they will get help from guard Adele Aslin and small forwards Emily Hazell and Megan Melling, who is likely the best all-round athlete on the team.

Jamula says that the Green Eagles are at the top of the class in Brant County.

"They might even be better (than last year)," he said.

The Panthers and the Thunderbirds both figure to be improved but, unfortunately, they're inexperienced.

Panthers' coach Dani Hawkins had to hold tryouts this year rather than just taking the handful of students who came out for the team.  The Panthers will depend on players such as returning guards Olivia Arrowsmith and Brittany Gillmor, both Grade 12 students.

"Olivia was probably our most improved player last year," Hawkins said.

Other Grade 12 students with the Panthers are guard Sam Ferretti and forward Chelsea Loube.  The Grade 11 students who will see plenty of action are guard Emma Perry and five-foot- eleven forwards Dani Hennink and Emma Pierce.

The Grade 11 students coming off the bench are guard Mel Mitchell and forwards Julia Hmiel, Deven Knill and Hayley Parker.

"We are going to be athletic and quick but inexperienced," said Hawkins.

"We're looking to play tough defence. We want to try to create offence from defence.  We certainly feel we have more potential this year."

T-Birds' coach Neal Stamer has named Grade 12 students Krista Riimand and Katie Cunningham, both forwards, as the captains of the PJC squad.  The T-Birds will feature six Grade 11s, forwards Colleen Thibert and Holly Gordon along with guards Zoe Wickson, Erica Hewson, Brianna Rowe and Briane Lavallee.

"We have more strong athletes than we had last year but we've lost Logan White and Anna Jacobs and they're certainly two strong players," Stamer said.

"With us, there will be lots of pressing and lots of three-point shooting. We have high intensity, multi-sport athletes so we'll play high energy, high tempo. We're going to be running in shifts of five."

The Brant County high school girls season tips off Thursday with three doubleheaders:


North Park at Assumption, junior, 5:30 p.m.; senior, 7 p.m.
BCI at PDHS, senior, 4 p.m.; junior, 5:30 p.m.
PJC at St. John's, junior, 5:30 p.m.; senior, 7 p.m.

Junior Girls: St. James Tournament Results

Here are the main results from the St. James' junior girls basketball tournament this past weekend in Guelph.  As a quick FYI, St. James also put a "B" team into the tournament, but their scores are not reflected here (though the B team did finish 2-2).

The "A" Lions finished 4-0, outscoring their opposition in those 4 games 235-40 (that's an average score of 59-10).

Judging by the results, looks like the Elmira Lancers were the 2nd best squad, followed by the Centre Wellington Falcons, Forest Heights Trojans and Pauline Johnson Thunderbirds.

The scores (and high scorers) were:

St. James 62, Forest Heights 8
STJ:  Camilla Diamante 17

St. James 53, Centre Wellington 15
STJ:  Brittany Gazzola 14

St. James 58, Pauline Johnson 5
STJ:  Ashley Benham 22

St. James 62, Elmira 12
STJ:  Brittany Gazzola 21

Centre Wellington 30, Forest Heights 10
CW:  Chloe Trapp 16

Elmira 48, Pauline Johnson 11
EDSS:  Jacey Lubert 12

Centre Wellington 33, Pauline Johnson 5
CW:  Chloe Trapp 12

Elmira 47, Forest Heights 14
EDSS:  Krista Weins 10, Jacey Lubert 10.

D10: Tuesday Results

I'll update this post periodically as the results come in.....

Senior Girls

Bishop Mac 58, Orangeville 16
My Pick:  BMAC
This game was indeed similar to the 60-21 playoff game from a year ago, as the Celtics push their D10 regular season and playoff win streak to 33 games.  Alison Morris led Bishop Mac with 14 points, while Tori Quinn had 6 points to lead the Bears.

Guelph CVI 43, St. James 31
My Pick:  GCVI
The Gaels get by an improved Lions club on the road.  Their star trio combined for 33 points (Alysha Warnholtz 14, Sierra McLaren 11, Lindsay Thompson 9).  Jade McGarr had 12 for St. James in her senior debut.

Lourdes 46, Centre Wellington 45
My Pick:  OLOL
Definitely looks like it was a hard fought classic at Lourdes on Tuesday --- with the Crusaders sneaking out a 1 point victory.  As an FYI, the scorekeepers for this contest were in training so unfortunately no player totals were recorded. 

JF Ross 43, Centennial 21
My Pick:  CCVI

The Royals prevent me from going 4-0 on the day, by handling the Spartans on the road with ease.  Grade 11 rookie Kelly Dunk led JF Ross with 14 points, while Vanessa Martini chipped in 7.  Meanwhile, Charlotte Clarke led CCVI with 9 points.

Senior Standings:
T1.  Bishop Mac (1-0)
T1.  JF Ross (1-0)
T1.  Guelph CVI (1-0)
T1.  Lourdes (1-0)
T5.  Centre Wellington (0-1)
T5.  St. James (0-1)
T5.  Centennial (0-1)
T5.  Orangeville (0-1)
 

Junior Girls

Bishop Mac 53, Orangeville 26

St. James 65, Guelph CVI 33
STJ:  Brittany Gazzola 20, Ashley Benham 17, Chelsey Gazzola 10.
GCVI:  Jamie Young 14, Katie Strongman 11.

Centennial 38, JF Ross 24
CCVI:  Hannah Newman 10, Hannah Ferguson 8.
JFR:  Alanna Vosper 6, Ciara Fragomeno 3.   

Lourdes 60, Centre Wellington 3
OLOL:  Victoria Brombal 12, Monica Trimble 8.
CW:  Madison Fennell 3. 

Junior Standings 
T1.  Lourdes (1-0)
T1.  St. James (1-0)
T1.  Centennial (1-0)
T1.  Bishop Mac (1-0)
T5.  JF Ross (0-1)
T5.  Centre Wellington (0-1)
T5.  Orangeville (0-1)
T5.  Guelph CVI (0-1)