D8: Final Day Of Regular Season Sees Plenty At Stake

Although we know which teams will make the playoffs in the D8 senior league, there's a lot up for grabs in both senior games on the slate this afternoon (3:30pm starts).

For starters, the unbeaten Resurrection Phoenix (9-0) travel to play St. Mary's (8-1), with first place on the line.  Resurrection won the prior meeting, 30-26, so St. Mary's will need a 5+ point victory today to officially secure first place.

A Rez win or loss by 3 points or less, and Rez clinches first.  A four-point St. Mary's win would invoke a tiebreaking procedure.

I figure we'll have another low-scoring affair today.  I'll go with Rez by 3, but wouldn't be surprised to see the Eagles win either.

The other game will determine 3rd and 4th spot in the D8 standings.  A slip-up by St. David against Woodland last week has opened the door for St. Benedict to overtake them in the standings should they win today.

With both teams at 4-5, the winner gets 3rd place regardless of the outcome (previous meeting went to St. David, 41-34).  I'll take the Saints at home in another squeaker by 4.

Falcons Take Senior Walkerton DCS Invitational Tournament

The Owen Sound CVI Falcons came away victorious at the 9-team invitiational tournament hosted by Walkerton District & Community School this past weekend.

The tournament format was three pools of three teams each, with pool play on Friday and then the 1st place teams playing a round robin (Saturday) to determine the overall champion (2nd place teams & 3rd place teams would do likewise).

The final "round robin" was quite competitive, with the three games being decided by 4 points or less each:

Owen Sound 30, St. Mary's (Owen Sound) 28

Wellington Hts. (Mt. Forest) 46, St. Mary's (Owen Sound) 42

Owen Sound 35, Wellington Hts. 31

Pool play results were as follows:

Pool A
St. Mary's (OS) 40, Walkerton 26
Walkerton 53, Rockway 23
St. Mary's 49, Rockway 24

Pool B
Peninsula Shores 33, Orangeville 18
Wellington Hts. 44, Orangeville 33
Wellington Hts. 47, Peninsula Shores 33

Pool C
Kincardine 32, Goderich 17
Owen Sound 36, Goderich 20
Owen Sound 27, Kincardine 21

Celtics Take Crusaders Classic over Hosts

Consolation Champs - North Park

The (CWOSSA #7) Bishop Macdonell Celtics defeated the (CWOSSA #4) Lourdes Crusaders in an
all D10 championship final of the Crusaders Classic this past weekend.

Scoring details for the championship final weren't immediately available.

Brantford North Park (pictured) took the consolation side of the tournament with a nail-biting 37-36 win over Waterloo Bluevale.

Other scores from earlier in the tournament included:

St. David (Waterloo) 38, Waterloo CI 28

Lourdes 41, Jacob Hespeler 39

Bishop Macdonell 38, Jacob Hespeler 21

Bluevale 48, St. David 42

North Park 38, WCI 25

Jacob Hespeler 29, St. David 25

Lourdes 44, Bluevale 27

Weekly CWOSSA Power Ranking: Junior Girls

Finally, there's some change at the top.
 
After an impressive tournament run at the Hoopdome Classic last weekend, I'll give the nod to the Grand River Renegades over the KCI Raiders as the #2 team in this week's rankings behind the St. John's Green Eagles.

Of course, rankings can mean very little (just ask last year's Grand River squad, who was #1 for most of the year) and it's a shame we won't get to see those clubs battle during WCSSAA regular season play this year.

A bit of a shake-up in the middle of the standings too, so here's a look this week:

1.  St. John's - Brantford (1)

2.  Grand River - Kitchener (3)

3.  Kitchener CI - Kitchener (2)

4.  Our Lady of Lourdes - Guelph (4)

T5.  St. Benedict - Cambridge (4)

T5.  Resurrection - Kitchener (5)

7.  Bishop Macdonell - Guelph (7)

8.  Jacob Hespeler - Cambridge (8)

9.  SJAM - Waterloo (NR)

10.  John F. Ross - Guelph (9)

Weekly CWOSSA Power Ranking: Senior Girls

Go figure.

The KCI Raiders, who I have omitted as a "top 10" team to this point of the season, have slipped into the rankings despite losing both their games this week.

Of course, that's not to fault the Raiders who gave the WODSS Crusaders and the Jacob Hespeler Hawks (two top-4 teams) a run for their money in WCSSAA games.

Impressive weeks by the Bluevale Knights (wins over WCI & Cameron Heights) and St. James Lions (wins over Bishop Mac & JF Ross) have those teams moving back up the rankings list.

Here's this week's edition:

1.  St. John's - Brantford (1)

2.  Waterloo-Oxford - Baden (2)

3.  Bluevale - Waterloo (5)

4.  Jacob Hespeler - Cambridge (4)

5.  St. James - Guelph (6)

6.  Bishop Macdonell - Guelph (3)

7.  North Park - Brantford (8)

8.  Waterloo CI - Waterloo (7)

9.  Our Lady of Lourdes - Guelph (9)

10.  Kitchener CI - Kitchener (NR)

On the Radar:  Brantford CI, Assumption - Brantford, Resurrection - Kitchener, St. Mary's - Kitchener, Grand River CI - Kitchener.

WCSSAA Senior: Hawks Get Important Win

The Jacob Hespeler Hawks have given themselves the inside track to a CWOSSA "AAA" berth, but they aren't out of the woods just yet.

Jacob Hespeler (9-2) defeated KCI (9-2) in a low-scoring 29-23 affair last night, which technically moves the Hawks in front of KCI in the league standings due to the head-to-head tiebreak.

However, KCI will be heavily favoured in their final game (Eastwood) whereas Jacob Hespeler will be facing a top-6 team (Grand River).

Anyways, on Thursday it was Candice (17) and Courtney (8) Wright leading the way for the Hawks, while Frances Campbell put home 14 points for KCI.

In other games:

Bluevale 66, Cameron Hts. 53
My Pick:  BCI by 12
Natalie Bishop had a tremendous performance on Thursday, pouring in 35 points for Bluevale in the win.  Julia Curran added 10 more for the Knights, while Cameron Heights was led by Tyshaine Page (21) and Nina Farkic (17).

Preston 26, Galt 21
My Pick:  GCI by 5
It was the Panthers actually picking up the 5-point win on Thursday, with Breanna Johnson notching 10 and Shayla Martin adding 6.  Cassy Ramlal (6) and Molly Bradford (5) were the Galt high scorers.

Grand River 44, Eastwood 32
My Pick:  GRCI by 25
The Rens picked up a key win on Thursday to maintain the possibility of a top-5 playoff seed.  Caroline Lorkovic (13) and Jamie Noonan (9) led the way for GRCI, while Sam Legue had a game-high 16 points for the Rebels.

WODSS 59, Southwood 42
My Pick:  WODSS by 28
The Crusaders stayed unbeaten (11-0) on the road at Southwood.  Maddy Horst had another strong game, with 26 points, while Alisha Glendinning added 8.  Taylor White poured in 22 for SSS with Brianne Jewell adding 8.

WCI 44, Forest Hts. 30
My Pick:  WCI by 27
No trouble for the Vikes here as they appear to be locked-in to a top 4 seed.  Danielle Sauve (11) and Kaylee Anagnostopoulos (9) were the WCI high scorers, while Linna Liou had 9 for the Trojans.

WCSSAA Senior Standings
1.  WODSS 11-0**
2.  Bluevale 10-1**
T3.  Jacob Hespeler 9-2**
T3.  KCI 9-2**
T3.  WCI 9-2**
6.  Grand River 8-3**
7.  Cameron Hts. 7-4**
T8.  Southwood 5-6**
T8.  Huron Hts. 5-6**
10.  Elmira 4-7**
T11.  Forest Hts. 3-8
T11.  Eastwood 3-8
-----
T13.  SJAM 2-9
T13.  Preston 2-9
15.  Galt 1-10

WCSSAA Junior: Raiders Take Battle of Unbeatens in Cambridge

We're down to two.

The KCI Raiders knocked off the Jacob Hespeler Hawks by a 31-23 count yesterday afternoon in Cambridge, moving to 11-0 and giving the Hawks their first loss on the year (10-1).

KCI and Grand River are now the league's two remaining unbeaten teams.

Michaela Schlumberger and Thea Taylor each had 12 points for KCI in the win, while Shianne Riggan (10) and Kendra Dennis (6) led the way for Hespeler.

At the other end of the standings spectrum, the Forest Heights Trojans defeated the WCI Vikings in a battle of 2-8 teams to give themselves the inside track to the final playoff spot in the league. 

The Trojans scored 52 points, their first time scoring more than 40 this year in league play, in a 52-33 win over the Vikes.  Sam Spurling and Sona Khalifeh had 14 each for FHCI, while Victoria Giguere scored a game-high 15 for WCI with Ramla Abdalla adding 9.

The loss eliminated the Vikings from playoff contention (see below).

Here's the other action from yesterday:

Grand River 35, Eastwood 16
The Rens stayed perfect by easing past ECI.  Tijana Abadzic had 10 and Jessica Zmija 8 for GRCI, while Emma Miller and Danielle Gardiner each had 7 for Eastwood.

Galt 45, Preston 25
Beth Fleming (18) and Emma Buck (17) both had big games for the Ghosts in their win over Preston.  Claire Gagne had 7 and Avery Levert 6 for the Panthers, who have now dropped 2 of their last 3.

Bluevale 46, Cameron Hts. 21
Zoey Scanlins (9) and Jasmine Lambert (8) were the top scorers for Bluevale as they got past Cameron Heights.  Katrina Stickel led the Gaels with 8.

Elmira 26, Glenview Park 23
The Lancers locked up a playoff spot with a squeaker over Glenview.  Mikayla Weber and Jade Tanner had 6 each for the winners, while Emily Dunn (10) and Chuchu Oyual (6) were tops for the Panthers.

WODSS - Bye Win (SSS)

WCSSAA Junior Standings
T1.  Grand River 11-0**
T1.  KCI 11-0**
3.  Jacob Hespeler 10-1**
T4.  Preston 8-3**
T4.  Bluevale 8-3**
T4.  SJAM 8-3**
7.  Galt 7-4**
8.  Cameron Hts. 5-6**
T9.  WODSS 4-7**
T9.  Eastwood 4-7**
T9.  Elmira 4-7**
12.  Forest Heights 3-8
-----
T13.  Glenview Park 2-9
T13.  WCI 2-9
15.  Huron Hts. 1-10

Last Playoff Spot Notes
The winner of FHCI/Glenview Park will capture the last playoff berth.

WCI is eliminated even with a win over Huron Heights, as per rule 5.3.7 of the WCSSAA regulations (A-B-C) tiebreaker, which would come into play if all three teams (FHCI/GPSS/WCI) finish at 3-9:

"If Team (A) Glenview beats Team (B) FHCI, and (B) FHCI beats (C) WCI, and A & C have not played, the standings will be determined as A (1st), B (2nd), C (3rd).

D10 Thursday Results: Senior Falcons Down Spartans

The Centre Wellington Falcons picked up their third win of the season last night, defeating the slumping Centennial Spartans by a 40-38 final at home.

Kristen Gora (12) and Chloe Trapp (9) led the way for CWDHS, while Hannah Newman contributed a game-high 14 points for Centennial, with Emma Cain and Halle Milne adding 8 each.

Other games on Thursday went as expected results wise.  Here's a look at the scores:

Bishop Mac 42, Guelph CVI 37
My Pick:  BMAC by 9
The Gaels gave the Celtics a run for their money on Thursday, falling just short at home.  Scoring details were unavailable from source.

Lourdes 47, Orangeville 21
My Pick:  OLOL by 29
Charlotte Case and Monica Trimble netted 13 points each as the Crusaders rolled on Thursday.  Sam French led the way for the Bears with 10.

D10 Senior Standings
T1.  St. James 10-2
T1.  Bishop Mac 10-2
3.  Lourdes 9-3
4.  Guelph CVI 7-5
5.  Centennial 6-6
T6.  CWDHS 3-9
T6.  JF Ross 3-9
8.  Orangeville 0-12

Junior

Lourdes 38, Orangeville 10
OLOL:  Brin Krueger & Natasha Martinez 8
ODSS:  Madison Loder 4

Centennial 43, CWDHS 14
CCVI:  Megan Paddock 16, Carter Godman 9
CW:  Rebecca Bell 5

Bishop Mac 48, Guelph CVI 40
BMAC:  Johanna DeJong 11, Diane Priamo 8
GCVI:  Abbey MacIntyre 10, Jenna Falconer 9

D10 Junior Standings
T1.  Lourdes 11-1
T1.  Bishop Mac 11-1
3.  JF Ross 9-3
4.  Guelph CVI 7-5
5.  Centennial 5-7
6.  St. James 3-9
T7.  Orangeville 1-11
T7.  CWDHS 1-11

WCSSAA Thursday: Picks

YTD:  61-8 (.884)

Only six games on the schedule today, as SJAM & Huron Heights played the game that would have been scheduled today last Tuesday.

So, here's what we've got:

Eastwood (3-7) at Grand River (7-3)
My Pick:  GRCI by 25
The plucky Rebels have fought themselves into a playoff spot, but finish with the Rens and KCI Raiders, so they will need some help to stay there.  The Rens should grab the win today at home.

Forest Hts. (3-7) at WCI (8-2)
My Pick:  WCI by 27
The Vikes will get back in the win column today at the expense of the FHCI Trojans.

KCI (9-1) at Jacob Hespeler (8-2)
My Pick:  JHSS by 8
I'm expecting a big performance from Candice Wright against KCI here today, and for the Hawks to get the win at home.

Bluevale (9-1) at Cameron Hts. (7-3)
My Pick:  BCI by 12
Tough week of games for Bluevale, with WCI & CHCI on the schedule, but I look for them to go 2-for-2 with a win today.

WODSS (10-0) at Southwood (5-5)
My Pick:  WODSS by 28
The Crusaders are two games away from (I believe) the first perfect WCSSAA regular season in school history.  They'll take one of those two steps here today.

Preston (1-9) at Galt (1-9)
My Pick:  GCI by 5
Both of these teams have "bye wins" to their credit against GPSS.  One of these squads gets their first real win today, and will still have (an outside) chance at a playoff spot.  Gut instinct says the Ghosts at home.

D10 Wednesday Result & Thursday Picks

YTD:  32-10 (.762)

The St. James Lions took sole possesion of first place in the D10 standings last night after a 42-30 win at JF Ross.

Chelsey Gazzola (10) and Julia Toscan (8) led the way for the Lions, with Maddy Darling leading the Royals with a game-high 12.

That game was moved up a day from today, leaving us with three games on tap:

Bishop Mac (9-2) at Guelph CVI (7-4)
My Pick:  BMAC by 9
After a setback on Tuesday, look for the Celts to get back in the win column today, although it could be close against the upstart Gaels.

Centennial (6-5) at CWDHS (2-9)
My Pick:  CCVI by 21
The Spartans, who have locked up a top 5 spot in the standings, will keep their focus on getting a home playoff game after a win today.

Orangeville (0-11) at Lourdes (8-3)
My Pick:  OLOL by 29
The Crusaders will pick up a big win before finishing with a couple of tougher games (CCVI & BMAC).

Southwood SS Looking for 1-2 Teams (Senior Boys Tournament)

Southwood SS in Cambridge is looking for 1-2 teams to round out their 18th annual "Roundball Classic" to be held at the West Galt high school.

Details:
Dates:  Friday, December 6th & Saturday, December 7th
Format:  8-team draw (3 guaranteed games)
Cost:  $300

For further details, please contact SSS' Rob Baird (robert_baird @ wrdsb.on.ca)

News & Notes: Grand River Juniors Take Hoopdome Title

The Grand River CI Renegades defeated some impressive competition over the weekend in the GTA to take the title of the annual "Hoopdome" tournament.

The Rens knocked off Pickering HS 50-36 and Pope John Paul II (Toronto) 42-18 in pool play, which advanced GRCI to the semifinals.

In the semis, the Rens took out Bill Crothers SS (47-39) and wrapped things up by beating Notre Dame CSS (Pickering) 34-27 in the final.

Maya Day had 16 points in the final and was named as a tournament all-star, while Grand River's Nancy Michael took home MVP honours.

WCSSAA Senior: Horst Keeps Crusaders as Last Unbeaten

They say it can be lonely at the top, but I'm sure the Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders don't mind.

The Crusaders are the lone unbeaten team in the WCSSAA senior circuit after yesterday's 53-38 win over the KCI Raiders, who fall to 9-1.

The Raiders actually came out with a lot of energy and were making most of the hustle plays in the first half (diving for loose balls, grabbing offensive rebounds, etc.).  In fact, KCI took a 16-14 lead midway through the second quarter on a three-pointer by Alia Hazineh.

However, the Crusaders came right back after that make with Maddy Horst finding Tess Pettigrew for the fast break lay-up off of a made basket that started a 9-2 run to end the half for Waterloo-Oxford, with Horst accounting for the other 7 points.

The Crusaders were able to find a bit more of their offensive touch in the second half, putting home 30 points en route to the win.

Horst led the way with a 29 point effort for Waterloo-Oxford, while Kyla Burrough and Tess Pettigrew had 8 each.  Frances Campbell (9) and Amy Graves (8) led the Raider scoring.

In other Tuesday games:

Bluevale 49, WCI 40
My Pick:  BCI by 8
This game could have certainly made an argument for "game of the day" status, and the Knights pulled out an important home win here.  Julia Curran (16) and Rachael Hamm (14) led the way for BCI, while Danielle Sauve had 12 and Kaylee Anagnostopoulos 11 for the Vikes.

Cameron Hts. 52, Eastwood 29
My Pick:  CHCI by 26
Nina Farkic (18) and Tyshaine Page (17) had strong efforts for Cameron Heights in this one; Sam Legue put home 18 points for the Rebels with Mel Samuel adding 6.

Huron Hts. 52, Forest Hts. 28
My Pick:  HHSS by 7
The Huskies might be a dangerous team come playoff time if they can keep up their strong play as of late; Katrina Kostecki had 16 and Aly Jacobs 15 for Huron, while Tyra Wilson (8) and Linna Liou (7) led Forest Heights.

Grand River 55, SJAM 38
My Pick:  GRCI by 22
Hannah Gardiner led the way for a balanced GRCI attack with 10 points, while Taylor Trush had a game-high 20 for the Highlanders.

Elmira 46, Galt 13
My Pick:  EDSS by 14
The Lancers didn't have much difficulty in taking care of Galt on Tuesday; Nicole Cressman (14), Sydney Jones (10) and Karly Sider (10) were all in double figures for Elmira.  Molly Bradford and Sydney Schouten had 4 each for Galt.

Jacob Hespeler 57, Southwood 28
My Pick:  JHSS by 18
Jasmine Ramcharan poured in 20 and Candice Wright added 16 as the Hawks kept pace with the "top group" in the standings.  Megan Cole had 11 and Cali Doran 6 for the Sabres.

WCSSAA Senior Standings
1.  Waterloo-Oxford 10-0**
T2.  KCI 9-1**
T2.  Bluevale 9-1**
T4.  Jacob Hespeler 8-2**
T4.  WCI 8-2**
T6.  Grand River 7-3**
T6.  Cameron Hts. 7-3**
8.  Southwood 5-5**
9.  Huron Hts. 5-6**
T10.  Forest Hts. 3-7
T10.  Eastwood 3-7
T10.  Elmira 3-7
----
13.  SJAM 2-9
T14.  Galt 1-9
T14.  Preston 1-9

** - clinched playoff berth

WCSSAA Junior: Tuesday Results

No real surprises on Tuesday, and only one game decided by single digits.  Here are the recaps:

Galt 35, Elmira 18
The Ghosts stay in the top half of the standings with a road win at Elmira.  Emma Buck (13) and Beth Fleming (6) topped the Galt scoring, while Marlee Kernick netted 6 for the Lancers.

KCI 41, WODSS 26
No trouble for the unbeaten Raiders, who moved to 10-0 on Tuesday.  Michaela Schlumberger had 12 and Thea Taylor 10 for KCI, while Emily Glendinning notched 11 for the Crusaders.

Grand River 44, SJAM 35
The improving Highlanders pushed the Rens a bit in this one, with Grand River needing all 18 & 16 points they received from Maya Day and Nancy Michael respectively.  Griffin Lack-Shane had 13 and Milica Koprivica 8 for the 'Landers.

Cameron Hts. 24, Eastwood 13
The Gaels moved to .500 by taking out rival Cameron Heights on Tuesday.  Emma Atkinson (8), Katrina Stickel (6) and Jovana Zubic (6) were the key contributors for the Gaels, while Danielle Gardiner led ECI with 9.

Preston 44, Glenview Park 8
Claire Gagne scored 16 and Avery Levert added 8 as the Panthers beat the (other) Panthers.  Claire Rabara had 4 for Glenview.

Forest Hts. 40, Huron Hts. 20
Sona Khalifeh (13) paced a trio of Trojans in double-digits, which included Sam Spurling (12) and Nyakacge Paljola (10).  Sarah Bidinosti had 7 and Jamila Beckford 6 for Huron.

BCI over WCI (scoring details unavailable)

JHSS over SSS (bye win)

WCSSAA Junior Standings
T1.  Jacob Hespeler 10-0**
T1.  Grand River 10-0**
T1.  KCI 10-0**
4.  Preston 8-2**
5.  SJAM 8-3**
6.  Bluevale 7-3**
7.  Galt 6-4**
8.  Cameron Hts. 5-5**
9.  Eastwood 4-6
T10.  Elmira 3-7
T10.  WODSS 3-7
T12.  Glenview Park 2-8
T12.  Forest Hts. 2-8
T12.  WCI 2-8
15.  Huron Hts. 1-10

** - clinched playoff berth

D10: Tuesday Results Were A Picker's Nightmare

Not my greatest day in D10 picks yesterday, going 2-2 with the St. James Lions regaining their form (49-39 over Bishop Mac) and Guelph CVI impressing with a 47-36 win at Centennial to provide my incorrect selections on the day.

Here's a recap of the scores:

St. James 49, Bishop Mac 39
My Pick:  BMAC by 5
The Lions got back on track at home and regained top spot in the league in the process (with H2H tiebreak over BMAC).  Nastassja Herriot (17) and Ashley Benham (10) topped the St. James scoresheet, while Jess Morris had 15 for the Celtics.

Guelph CVI 47, Centennial 36
My Pick:  CCVI by 6
Cally (13) and Katie Strongman (10) were both in double figures for GCVI as the Gaels picked up an important win on Tuesday.  Hannah Newman had 13 and Emma Cain 12 for the Spartans.

Lourdes 56, JF Ross 45
My Pick:  OLOL by 13
The Crusaders moved to 8-3 with a home win against JF Ross.  Monica Trimble (14), Charlotte Case (12) and Alana Toms (11) all had double-digit efforts for Lourdes, while JF Ross was led by Maddy Darling (14) and Steph Gordon (11).

CWDHS 34, Orangeville 28
My Pick:  CWDHS by 6
Chloe Trapp had 14 points to give the Falcons their second win of the season; Taylor Gibson netted 10 for the Bears.

D10 Senior Standings
T1.  St. James 9-2
T1.  Bishop Mac 9-2
3.  Lourdes 8-3
4.  Guelph CVI 7-4
5.  Centennial 6-5
6.  JF Ross 3-8
7.  CWDHS 2-9
8.  Orangeville 0-11