U17 Day 2 Recap – 2011 Women’s National Championships

 

Women’s U17 National Championship – Day 2

Game 1 – Saskatchewan 85 PEI 49

PEI dug themselves in a whole in the first half of this game, coming into the 3^rd quarter down 46-16. A huge reason for this deficit was the size disadvantage that PEI’s bigs faced having to guard Quinn Dornstauder; who was extremely active on boards. Dornstauder was able to clean up well around the basket for an easy two on many occasions; sometimes even getting to the line on a made basket. Saskatchewan played a very controlled game and distributed the ball which allowed for 5 players to score in double digits.

Having no inside presence was perhaps the biggest factor in this loss for PEI. Defensive rebounding was an area which the girls struggled as a result of not having size. Saskatchewan racked up 38 points from inside whereas PEI only had six. Near the end of the 3^rd quarter and at the beginning of the 4^th PEI begin to attack more and get Saskatchewan’s forwards and centre in foul trouble but this was too late in the game for a comeback. Ultimately PEI was crushed 85-49, however, this was not the only blowout of day two so they shouldn’t feel too bad, rather take it in as a learning experience to box out better for their next game.

Game 2 – Ontario 86  Alberta 41

It’s a no brainer that Alberta would’ve had to play the game of their lives to come out with a win over this 

stacked Team Ontario squad. Both teams came out relentless and on the attack with a back and forth scoring frenzy between Dakota Whyte of Ontario and Renee Byrne of Alberta, for 7 points a piece.  This wouldn’t last for long as team Ontario would begin to dominate on the glass for second and third chances to score while creating tough shots for Alberta on the opposite end.

Alberta would regroup during a timeout and come back in the game playing a tight woman to woman defense which created tougher shots for Ontario. Rather than settling for jumpers all Albertans were driving the lane where they forced Ontario to foul and converted into points. The only shooter on the floor at this time for Alberta was Maddie Rogers. Alberta was within seven coming into the 3^rd but was only able to put up 8 points leaving them behind Ontario 60-33.

Alberta’s Head Coach, Erin McAleenan comments after the game on how rebounding played a part in this loss, “we were doing a good job finding a body and making contact, but what we weren’t doing is pushing back against their contact. There’s big trouble when a 5’10, 5’11 forward for us is trying to box out against a 6’3 or 6’4 girl. If you don’t push back their hands are above ours”.  

Game 3 – Quebec 79 Nova Scotia 40

Quebec is arguably the most stacked team in this year’s Championships. It doesn’t play in the favour of other teams that their roster includes 3 players who suited up for the 2011 Cadette Women’s National Team. Those players are Sophie Beaudry and the Caron-Goudreau sisters, Audrey and Khaleann who all play the centre position. Hold on it gets better; the sisters both have smooth handles that allows them to take the ball out to the perimeter to stretch out the defense.

Allison Keough played hard until the last minutes as she pitched in for 10 points and 13 rebounds. Even with the help of Menderia Smith late in the game this was not enough to get them out of a slump; as there were no other major contributions in terms of scoring. Quebec had so many weapons sitting on the bench that it didn’t matter who came on the court, they were going to get the job done.

Game 4 – British Columbia 76 New Brunswick 35

Let’s just say that the trees got in the way for New Brunswick. All three BC centres; Ruth Hamblin, Kolbie Orum and Emma Wolfram combined for 43 points. NB forwards did everything they could to keep BC’s bigs from camping inside, however size and weight played a huge factor in gaining the best rebounding position.

Either NB had no fuel left in the tank or just not enough options on offense for scoring. The highest scorer for the losing team was Laura Kaye who had a quite 8 points, while the team shot 16% from the field. This did not in any way discourage the girls from the east as they kept battling until the last seconds; they showed class and determination all the way through.