Day One Round-Up

15U Boys

Prince Edward Island vs Nova Scotia

• Team Nova Scotia got things started on day one with a commanding 106 – 49 victory over their Maritime rivals, Team Prince Edward Island. Eli Kraushar paced Nova Scotia with 16 points. P.E.I. would face off against Team Saskatchewan for the final game of day one, while Nova Scotia looks for win number two against Saskatchewan at 1:30 P.M. Mountain Time on day two.

New Brunswick vs British Columbia

• New Brunswick missed a chance to really bolster their chances of advancing towards the medal podium, losing 67 – 58 to Team British Columbia after leading for most of the game – and only trailing by three points heading into the decisive fourth quarter. B.C. kept chipping away at New Brunswick’s lead by the merit of their 41 to 26 team rebounding advantage and a pair of 15-point scorers in Grant Shephard and Jaden Gregg. While New Brunswick fielded four scorers with over eight points, Minwoo Park led his team with 10 points, the Maritimers lacking the firepower to get it done in their day one debut. Both teams will conclude Pool B action with match-ups against Team Newfoundland on day two.

Quebec vs Manitoba

• Team Quebec opened their tournament with a 79 – 63 victory over Team Manitoba. Luguentz Dort scored a game-high 20 points on eight-for-14 shooting while also adding five rebounds and four assists. Manitoba was led by 13 points by Daniel Sackey and nine rebounds from Emmanuel Akot. Quebec will play Team Ontario Saturday morning at 11:15 MT while Manitoba is set to take on Team Alberta at 3:45 p.m. Mountain Time.

Ontario vs Alberta

• Team Ontario downed Team Alberta 83 – 55, edging out the host team in every major category. RJ Barrett led the game with 18 points in only 16 minutes while Adong Makuol led Alberta with 11. Despite a solid effort, Alberta found itself listening to the referee’s whistle far too often, sending Ontario to the foul line 34 times; Ontario would complete 25 of those attempts, a significant factor to the game’s outcome. Ontario will face Quebec while Alberta will look to right the ship against Manitoba on day two.

Saskatchewan vs Prince Edward Island

• In day one’s final 15U Boys match-up, Team Saskatchewan wrapped up the evening with a 71 – 42 win against Prince Edward Island. Jashon Henry led the way for the victors with 16 points, though he had plenty of help with five of his teammates scoring at least eight points each. Cameron Paynter has 15 points for P.E.I. Saskatchewan will conclude Pool B play Saturday with a match-up against Nova Scotia.

15U Girls

Manitoba vs Newfoundland

• Team Newfoundland rode a balanced scoring-attack to withstand Team Manitoba, 71 – 65, on the first round of games on day one. Manitoba fielded the game’s highest-scoring player with Taylor Reynolds scoring 20 points on 50% shooting accuracy, but Newfoundland boasted Sarah Hiscock and Gabrielle Roche, two well-rounded players who finished the game with an identical 17 points and eight rebounds each. Manitoba will take on British Columbia Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Mountain Time on the competition court at the Saville; Newfoundland’s second game of the tournament would conclude day one for the 15U Girl’s bracket, as detailed below.

Ontario vs Saskatchewan

• Team Ontario got off on the right foot in mounting their title-defense as reigning 15U Champions, defeating Team Saskatchewan 78 – 58. Led by 18 points apiece from Sarah Donovan and Aiden Ranford, Ontario found itself on the winning-side of many of the game’s smaller battles: rebounding, assists and shooting-percentage. To their credit, Saskatchewan played aggressively on defense, tallying 12 steals and forcing 25 turnovers against a strong Ontario team. Lauyrn  Prokop and Ella Johnson each scored 12 points for Saskatchewan. Ontario will face Quebecat 3:45 p.m. local time on Saturday, while Saskatchewan will look to bounce back against Nova Scotia AT 11:15 a.m.

New Brunswick vs. Prince Edward Island

• Team New Brunswick flexed its muscles early and often, out-rebounding Team Prince Edward Island 55 to 32 on route to a 87 – 52 victory. Canada’s smallest province had trouble getting their offense going, being held to 27% shooting from the field as a team in the game while their Maritime rivals from the mainland shot 42. %New Brunswick was led by 21 points from Reese Baxendale and a strong 16-point, 11 rebound double-double from Sandy Saunders in just over 18 minutes of play. PEI was led by 10 points from Alexis MacInnis. PEI and New Brunswick will each play Team Alberta on Saturday, with the former taking the court at 9:00 a.m. Mountain Time and the latter set to play at 6:00 p.m.

Quebec vs Nova Scotia

• Team Quebec used its size-advantage to take away easy shot opportunities from Nova Scotia, holding their opponents to 28% shooting-accuracy and tallying 52 rebounds on route to a 72 – 46 victory. Marciszewski led the game with 20 points, including seven-of-nine from the foul line. Ariel Provo led Nova Scotia woth 14 points. Quebec will look to take that momentum into their day two match-up versus Team Ontario, while Nova Scotia will look to get back on track against Saskatchewan.

Newfoundland vs British Columbia

• Team British Columbia finished off day one for the 15U Girl’s bracket with an 88 – 39 win against Newfoundland. While Newfoundland did struggle to find their offense, it should be noted that this was the second game for the team after their tournament-opening victory earlier on day one. B.C. was led by 19 points from Ashlyn Day as Canada’s furthest provinces came together for a rare game. Newfoundland will await their seeding on day two as British Columbia is set to take on Manitoba to conclude Pool B play.

17U Boys

Prince Edward Island vs Alberta

• The competition court at the Saville Centre provided one of the most suspenseful moments of day one, with host Alberta trailing an upstart Team Prince Edward Island late in the game. A three-point make and ensuing P.E.I. turnover in the game’s dying seconds would allow Team Alberta to escape with the 76 – 74 victory. P.E.I. boasted a 21-point outing for guard Kenan Wilkie; Alberta was led by 32 points from Awak Piom, who also sealed the victory with his late-game heroics.

Manitoba vs Quebec

• Team Manitoba minimized turnovers and cleaned up on the offensive boards to steal a 70 – 68 win over Team Quebec. Both teams shot efficiently from the field, with Quebec shooting a cool 53%. Manitoba caught fire from deep and wound up shooting an electric 14-for-30 from three-point territory to give themselves the chance to turn heads on day one. William Kohler led the way with 17 points for the victors while Kevin Barreau tallied 18 points for Team Quebec. In a surprising turn of events, Manitoba and New Brunswick will meet on day two at 1:30 p.m. while neighbours Ontario and Quebec will meet at 11:15 a.m. having lost their first matches in pool play.

Saskatchewan vs Newfoundland

• Newfoundland downed Saskatchewan, 77 – 64 on day one of nationals. With nearly identical stats across the board, Canada’s Eastern-most province edged out the win by making 72% of their shots at the foul line and edging out their opponents 44% to 36% shooting-accuracy from the field. Cole Long played all but a minute for the victors, scoring a fantastic 33 points in leading his team to the win. Both teams will face Team British Columbia tomorrow, Newfoundland at 9:00 a.m. and Saskatchewan at 6:00 p.m.

Ontario vs New Brunswick

• In possibly day one’s biggest upset, Team New Brunswick proved itself to be a force in the tournament, taking down Team Ontario 81 – 71. Edging out Ontario in several statistical categories allowed all the small battles to culminate in a thrilling victory the Maritime province. With a balanced offense, New Brunswick did their part by playing efficiently and doing all the gritty work, cancelling out a combined 37 points by Ignas Skyka and Samuel Ivey. New Brunswick will now face Manitoba on day two to prove who will stand alone atop the rankings of Pool A; Ontario will need a strong outing against Quebec on day two to remain in contention for podium advancement in the tournament.

Alberta vs Nova Scotia

• Team Alberta conceded an insurmountable halftime lead, allowing Nova Scotia to earn a solid 80 – 69 over the hosts. Controlling the ball and executing on offense gave many players for Nova Scotia to contribute on offense, led by a 22-point, 11-rebound night by Johnson and 17 points from McVeigh. Piom led Alberta with 19 points.

17U Girls

Prince Edward Island vs Quebec

• Team Quebec beat Team Prince Edward Island 82 – 54 to open the action in the 17U Girl’s bracket. A decisive 25 to 9 point advantage in the third quarter would seal the game for Quebec. Pivot Lea Dominique scored 21 points in the victory.

Saskatchewan vs New Brunswick

• After dominating the boards in the 15U Girl’s bracket, New Brunswick’s 17U girls found themselves on the wrong end of the rebounding battle with Saskatchewan taking a 79 – 53 victory. Saskatchewan tallied 48 rebounds to New Brunswick’s 33 on the day, led by a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double by Nicole Konleczny with four of her teammates finishing in double-digit scoring themselves. Eva Tumwine led New Brunswick with a 12-point, 10-rebound effort herself. New Brunswick will play Newfoundland at 9:00 a.m. on day two while Saskatchewan will take on Newfoundland as well at 6:00 p.m. to complete Pool C round robin play.

Ontario vs Alberta

• Team Ontario took down the Team Alberta 67 – 54, capitalizing on forced turnovers and offensive rebounds to leap out to a 59 to 37 shot-advantage for the game. Mikaela Brewer led Ontario with 24 points, including five-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc; Mackenzie Cook led Alberta with 14 points and nine rebounds. The two teams wouldn’t need to wait long for their day two match-ups to be determined, as detailed below in the game directing following Ontario versus Alberta.

British Columbia vs. Manitoba

• Manitoba took a commanding 64 - 46 victory over Team British Columbia on day one. Jordan Tully led Team Manitoba with 16 points while adding nine rebounds; Sophie Swant led B.C. with 13 points. British Columbia struggled to find its rhythm, connecting on only 16% of their attempts from the field as a team. Manitoba will face their Ontarian neighboursat 3:45 local time and B.C. will look to regroup versus Team Alberta at 11:15 a.m.

PEI vs Nova Scotia

• Led by 13 points apiece by Jayda Velnot and Kelsey Rice, Nova Scotia beat their Team Prince Edward Island neighbours 68 – 50 to close out day one for the 17U Girls. P.E.I. attempted 31 three-point attempts in the game while only connecting on five; the inefficiency on such a large number of shots proved to be fatal for P.E.I, led by 12 points apiece from Jenna Mae Ellsworth and Jada Yeo.