Womens Nationals U15 Day 5 Recap: Semi Finals
FOLLOW ARMAAN AHLUWALIA @THEREALBRINDIAN AND NPH @NORTHPOLEHOOPS
Day 5 on the U15 side was the semi finals for those still in contention for a medal. In the first game it was Quebec vs. Alberta, followed by Ontario vs. British Columbia. Quebec had looked strong in round robin play and continued with another dominating victory advancing to the gold medal game. Ontario looked to retain their #1 seeding as they moved forward defeating a good British Columbia team by wearing them down slowly.
Game 1: Quebec vs. Alberta:
Alberta was looking to advance to the gold medal game but Quebec had other plans for them as they slowly grinded them down with a strong 3rd quarter. They managed to go on to defeat Alberta by a score of 70-55.
In the first half, Alberta was hanging right with Quebec matching basket for basket. The Alberta side took a two point lead going into half. The lead however was short lived as Quebec came out firing on all cylinders to start the 3rd quarter. A well rounded attack in the 3rd quarter allowed Quebec to pull away from the Alberta side.
A strong 4th quarter by Alberta was however not enough as Quebec managed the ball well and held on for the victory.
Quebec was led by Eliane Potvin who finished with 14 points and played strong defence on Alberta’s point guard. Metcheline Gabelus finished with a quiet 11 points taking her chances when she could. On the rebounding side Quebec was led by Nadege Pwviose who grabbed 11 rebounds and scored 10 points earning her another double-double.
On the Alberta side Kacie Bosch led the way both offensively and from a point guard point of view she was extremely solid. She scored 16 points (game high) and grabbed 5 rebounds. Chiso Ufondu has been solid on the boards for a point guard grabbing 9 (team high) and scoring 7 points. Another solid performer for Alberta was Elisabeth Vinnell who again played well scoring 10 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
Quebec will not move on to play for Gold against Ontario and Alberta will face British Columbia for Bronze.
Game 2: Ontario vs. British Columbia:
Ontario let British Columbia hang around in this game for one quarter before they decided to turn it up another level. BC played well and gave Ontario a good fight but in the end Ontario prevailed 65-53.
The first quarter consisted of back and forth mini scoring runs. Neither team was able to totally break the other teams defence. However Ontario found a way too in the 2nd quarter with Kia Nurse getting solid possessions, Ontario was able to produce a lead and maintain it.
Another good 3rd quarter all but put the game out of reach for BC, as they fell behind by 14 going into the final quarter. Ontario was solid offensively scoring most of their points in the paint. In the end Ontario was too much for British Columbia to handle; BC wouldn’t go down easily and kept fighting till the very end.
Ontario was led by another solid performance from Kia Nurse who continues to put up big numbers and help her team every game. She finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. Mikalah Mulrain had another good game leading all Ontario scorers with 13 points and 9 rebounds (7 Offensive).
British Columbia’s attack was more spread out. Jessie Brown led all scorers with 14 points. She also made three 3 pointers, where she didn’t hesitate and made the contested shot. Lauren Yearwood did what she could down low against a strong defensive Ontario team. She finished with 12 points, and 4 rebounds. Michelle Bos had 6 points and five rebounds and did a little bit of everything for BC. Morgan Roskelley was also strong again as BC’s top point guard.
Ontario will move on to play Quebec for gold and British Columbia will face Alberta for bronze.
