Day Six Round-Up

15U Girls

Alberta 67 – Manitoba 31

• Alberta dug deep to redeem an up-and-down tournament with a big 67 – 31 win over Manitoba to claim seventh place in the tournament. Jessica Zarowny had a great finish to her tournament, leading the charge for the home-team with a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. Manitoba shot a slight 16% from the field, dooming their chances to rebound after trailing by only six points after one quarter of play. Manitoba, led by 11 points from Nyah Becker, finishes in eighth place.

Nova Scotia 73 – New Brunswick 65

• New Brunswick went into the final quarter of play with a one-point lead over their Maritime rivals, but Nova Scotia propelled itself to a 73 – 65 victory on the merit of huge final frame. Ariel Provo, Maia Timmons and Kaisen MacKinnon each scored 12 points for the well-rounded Nova Scotia offense, while Reese Baxendale totalled 17 points for New Brunswick. Nova Scotia finished their tournament in fifth place while New Brunswick would have to settle for a respectable sixth-place finish.

Saskatchewan 52 – Ontario 48

• The first championship game of the tournament’s final day also proved to be one of the biggest upsets as a physical, upstart team from Saskatchewan unseated the reigning 15U Girl’s champions from Ontario, beating the incumbents 52 – 48 for the gold medal. Ontario’s Sarah Donovan led the game with 18 points and eight rebounds, but her team only shot a collective 33% from the field while the eventual victors shot a cool 40%. Macaela Crone led Saskatchewan with only 11 points, but the team’s efficiency across the roster gave the gold medalists just enough leeway to take first place with a nail-biting finish. Ontario finishes in second place as this year’s silver medalists.

Quebec 69 – British Columbia 62

• The bronze medal game marked the conclusion of the 15U Girl’s tournament at the 2014 Nationals with Team Quebec reaching the final spot on the podium with a 69 – 62 finish over British Columbia. Sophie De Goede scored a game-high 23 points with a jaw-dropping 18 rebounds for Team B.C., but her team’s overall 27% shooting accuracy from the field prevented the girls from maintaining their slim lead heading into the fourth quarter. Cleary-Sorelle-Ketia Ineza led her team to victory with 18 points.

15U Boys

Saskatchewan 63 – New Brunswick 62

• Team Saskatchewan barely held on to their seventh-place finish, nearly fading down the stretch against New Brunswick before taking the game 63 – 62 in the dying minutes. Ja’shon Henry had a stand-out performance in the victory, totaling 24 points (including 12-for-17 from the line), four rebounds and six steals for Saskatchewan. New Brunswick’s well-rounded attack saw Aram Currie, Brett Curtis and Carlo Theriault each finish with a team-best 12 points as New Brunswick finished in eighth place in the tournament.

Alberta 73 – British Columbia 61

• Alberta jumped out to a nine-point halftime lead over their neighbours from British Columbia and never looked back, finishing the game with a 73 – 61 margin. Winning the both the turnover and rebounding battles gave Alberta just enough room to take the fifth-place finish. Relying on the balanced attack of three players in double-digit scoring figures, Team Alberta was led by 14 points and nine rebounds from Adong Makuoi, while Team B.C. saw Jason Tantengco and Jaden Gregg each finish with 13 points. British Columbia fell to a sixth-place finish in the 15U Boy’s category.

Nova Scotia 91 – Manitoba 86

• Nova Scotia emerged as this year’s bronze medalists in the 15U Boy’s category after a high-octane 91 – 86 victory over Team Manitoba. Wyatt Tait scored a game-high 30 points for Team Manitoba while teammate Daniel Sackey nearly recorded a rare triple-double, totalling 21 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for the fourth-place finishers, but Nova Scotia’s Alex Muise and N’Taylen Willis proved unstoppable with 26 and 23 points respectively. Both teams featured a number of very strong players who will continue to strengthen some very strong programs at the 17U level in the years to come.

Ontario 93 – Quebec 53

• There was no confusion who the gold medalists were after Team Ontario blazed to a 93 – 53 lead over runner-up Team Quebec. Though the two teams were tied at the half with 30 points apiece, Ontario found its stroke in the second half on the back of a hyperbole-defying 37-point, seven-rebound outing from the incredibly-talented RJ Barrett. Kentebe Farquhar Junior had a solid 21-point, seven-rebound outing for Quebec, but with little answer for one of the tournament’s most dynamic athletes in Barrett, Quebec would have to settle for a hard-earned silver medal in the 15U Boy’s bracket.

17U Girls

Nova Scotia 66 – Prince Edward Island 63

• After 40 minutes of play weren’t enough for a winner to emerge, Nova Scotia just barely eked out a win over Team P.E.I. in overtime, taking the win 66 – 33. Jade Yeo had a very strong scoring game for the Islanders, totalling a game-high 22 points on eight-for-15 shooting, but the outburst was not enough to give her team the win. While P.E.I. won the turnover battle, only coughing the ball up eight times in the game, Nova Scotia found their advantage on the boards, out-rebounding their Maritime neighbours 30 to 21 on route to a seventh-place finish. Alyson Fulton led Nova Scotia with 13 points.

Ontario 76 – British Columbia 71

• After falling from medal-contention on day five, Ontario came back to claim fifth place, beating British Columbia by a score of 76 – 71. British Columbia trailed for much of the game, coming as close as one point within the lead at the end of the third quarter, but was ultimately unable to pull off the win. Kendra VanLeeuwen had a stand-out game, tallying 26 points, six rebounds and three steals for Team Ontario, while Jessica Hanson of B.C. ended her tournament on a high-note, scoring 22 points on nine-for-16 shooting. British Columbia finished in sixth place.

Alberta 62 – Saskatchewan 44

• Host province Alberta picked up its lone podium finish at the 2014 National Championships with a 62 – 44 win over Saskatchewan in the bronze medal game. Megan Ahlstrom and Brielle Wise led the game with 11 points each in what was a defensive-first outing for Team Alberta. Saskatchewan was held to only 24% shooting from the field, led in scoring by 10 points from Michaela Kleisinger. Saskatchewan finished in fourth place in the tournament, giving both their 15U and 17U Girl’s teams top-four finishes.

Manitoba 61 – Quebec 50

• Manitoba captured the gold medal in the 17U Girl’s National Championship game, beating a strong entrant from Quebec 61 – 50. Juliette Gauthier from la belle province totalled a game-high 17 points with eight rebounds, but the singular scoring-focus was now match for Team Manitoba: Keylyn Filewich, Kyia Giles and Raizel Guinto each scored 14 points on a combined 15-for-31 shots from the field. Over the course of the game, the two teams were matched-up very closely on the glass with neither team getting a decisive advantage – though Manitoba was able to take better control of their possessions, giving up seven less turnovers than their Quebecois opponents. Team Quebec finishes the tournament in second place.

 

17U Boys

Newfoundland 81 – Saskatchewan 56

• Newfoundland captured seventh place with a decisive 81 – 56 victory over Saskatchewan in the first game on the final day of the 2014 National Championships. Lucas Downey did a lot of the heavy lifting on the offensive-end, scoring 23 points on nine-for-15 shooting, including five-for-eight from behind the arc; Newfoundland teammate Cole Long finished strong with a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double in the win. Joshua Exner scored 19 points for the eight-place Team Saskatchewan.

Quebec 84 – British Columbia 76

• Quebec captured a fifth-place finish on the final day of the National Championships, beating British Columbia 84 – 76. Led by 16 points and eight rebounds from Kevin Barreau, Quebec jumped out to an early 12-point first-quarter lead and never looked back. British Columbia, finishing in sixth place in the tournament, was led by 12 points and nine rebounds from Quincey Johnson. The two teams matched up evenly in many respects, however a 24 to 13 foul-shot advantage for Quebec gave the victors just enough opportunities to carve out their lead.

Nova Scotia 83 – New Brunswick 67

• Nova Scotia dispelled any doubt by winning the bronze medal with a strong victory over a tough Team New Brunswick, 83 – 67. Alex Carson had a great night for the Nova Scotians, recording a 26-point, 13-rebound double-double, while teammate Johneil Johnson added a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double for good measure. Trailing by 11 points after one quarter of player, New Brunswick would cut the deficit to only two points at the half, then staying within three points after three quarters of play; New Brunswick’s comeback attempt finally ended in the fourth quarter as Nova Scotia pulled away to secure their podium finish.

Manitoba 79 – Ontario 61

• In one of the great triumphs of the tournament, Manitoba handily beat Team Ontario 79 – 61 in the final game of the 2014 National Championships to complete Manitoba-sweep of the 17U Boy’s and Girl’s gold medals. Muhammed Kabeya led all scorers with 21 points for Ontario, but it was the all-around efficiency from Team Manitoba that propelled the team to victory. William Kohler finished his strong tournament with a team-high 20 points with seven rebounds, three steals and a block, and had plenty of help in the win from his teammates, including a 15-point, 10-assist, 12-rebound triple-double for Torrez McKoy and double-doubles for Roger Milne and Keiran Zziwa. As a team, Manitoba nearly doubled Ontario on the boards, out-rebounding their opponents 50 to 27, leading to many second-chance opportunities that in turn elevated the team to 47% field-goal accuracy from the floor.