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Women

RESPECT THE Q!!

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Hello Canadian girls basketball family,

This last week in Quebec was spent watching ballers from 14 to 20-years-old compete in practice and games. I had several conversations with coaches, athletes and administration about the sport, the challenges and the needs of the players. I learned a lot about the style of play and basketball culture in La Belle Province, and I firmly believe that Quebec has the athletes and tools to continue producing pros and to change lives through coaching and sport.

Circuit Basketball Quebec Championship
February 23-24

Benjamines Championnes: Pagé
Deborah Damoah runs point and is a Cookie Monster! Tough as nails and makes plays. Keana and Maya Foz are lengthy and agile, crafty off the bounce, and Maya knocks that triple down. Marie-Denise Ntambue gets to the rim, rebounds and defends.

NPH Showcase Alum Cassandre Prosper is improving very quickly; great on penetration, lengthy and agile, reads defenders and makes the right play for ND Laval. Competing with boys on her other team is greatly contributing to her progress.

Cadettes Championnes: Bluehounds

Point guard Jade Hunte is strong, shifty, gets to the rim & orchestrates offensively. Christine Geracdo is a tall combo guard who draws defenders, creates openings off the bounce, and drops dimes. Aviana Thompson is elite, versatile and a constant scoring threat! She rebounds, slashes, scores and plays with ease. Shooter Kyla Villenueva knocks down the triple as soon as there’s a shot.

Panthères de Rosemere guard duo Léa Riopel and Emmanuelle Laurent run the show! Riopel is aggressive and skilled; scores at the rim, in the midrange and beyond the arc. Athletic through defenders and finishes well both ways at the rim. Laurent is a 13-year-old floor general who shoots it and facilitates off the bounce. She looks to push it up the floor in transition and great decision maker.

Juvénile Championnes: Riverains

This team is hard to beat; Big three of 2022 Angelie Ricard, 2022 Clara Bergeron and 2023 Rosalie Mercille accompanied by skilled role players and good coaching!
Ricard is a powerful rebounding combo guard who scores at the rim but will knock down the spot up 3 if it’s there. Bergeron moves well off ball and gets in positions to score, make the right pass and rebound. Shoots the 3 ball and gets to the rim off the bounce, midrange jumper is solid. Mercille is a special player; she scores in volume and at will; 3 ball is NBA range with a quick trigger, athleticism and bounce at the rim gives her those finishes, and her handles have improved so double team hasn’t rushed her yet.

Page’s 2022 Daniella Mbengo has improved her offensive skillset; the defensive terror is finishing better at the rim and her shot is smoother and more confident. 2022 sniper Jayla Owen loves the corner triple but has also improved off the bounce and in her decision making. 2023 Shamique Cummings brings athleticism and size to the roster; alters shots defensively and rebounds both ends aggressively. Abelina Villegas scores at the rim and is aggressive and athletic scoring off rim penetration.

Canada Topflight Academy is the only out of province program in the league. CTA has length and athleticism in the guard positions and some very exciting young talent! 2020 G Aliyah Johnson has been instrumental in their success this season. 2019 PG Amanda Gaetano and Sydney Moore orchestrate offensively and are scoring threats beyond the arc and off the bounce. 2022 Achol Akot, Paige Ryan and Nyarac Kuony will be excellent down the road with more game experience.

RSEQ Cegep Championships
March 2-3

Coming into the championship weekend, the final four were competing for a provincial championship, but also a run at CCAA Championships hosted at Sainte-Foy March 14-16.

Standings
1. Sainte-Foy Dynamiques
2. Dawson Blues
3. Montmorency Nomades
4. Champlain Cavaliers
*Vanier and Trois-Rivières lost in the quarter finals

Semi-Final; Sainte-Foy vs. Champlain

Champlain came into this matchup as the underdogs, and Sainte-Foy ran the show throughout most of the first half.

Second half comeback was a collective effort and a lot of grit; four players finished in double figures, the Cavaliers out rebounded Les Dynamiques, got to the free throw line and Joy Taan Tobias got hot beyond the arc; one of her 6 makes in crunch time to take the 1 point lead with 9 seconds to go.

Semi-Final; Dawson vs. Montmorency

There wasn’t a doubt that this ongoing rivalry would be a great semifinal matchup. Dawson’s guard play is difficult to maintain, but Montmorency’s defense and versatile scoring isn’t far behind. The game was neck to neck going into halftime.

Dawson’s big four proved to be too much for Momo. Robert Morris Commit Dahomee Forgues, 2019 G Roxanne Makolo, 2020 F Taisha Exanor and Hofstra Commit PG Sorelle Inezza all finished in double figures, and the Blues won the rebounding battle 48-26.
Lengthy and athletic 2021 F Jenny Alexis finished with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 block and 1 assist for Nomades, while 2020 Donna Ntambue contributed 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. Montmorency forced 28 turnovers and got to the free throw line 24 times but unfortunately couldn’t maximize on their efforts.

Bronze Medal: Montmorency vs. Sainte-Foy

Nomades whole squad came out poised, focused and ready for a win. They threw the first punch from the start and maintained a steady lead to halftime.

Coming out of the half, Les Dynamiques were packing the paint to force triples defensively, and going inside to their bigs and scoring at the rim to collapse the defense and get kickout 3’s. They got some looks in the third but Momo’s defense didn’t budge.

Championship: Dawson vs. Champlain

Dawson had the advantage on perimeter play, but Champlain’s bigs inside would be hard to stop. Muteba Misenga took advantage of her inside presence and finished with 20 rebounds and 14 points for the Cavs. Combo guard 2021 Kenya Cote-Lysius handled her business; shifty with the ball, looks to penetrate but knocks down the triple.
Dawson’s guard play proved to be too much to handle; with Roxanne Makolo, Dahomee Forgues and Aman Ibrahim finishing in double figures, a team effort on the offensive board and forced turnovers, the Blues take home the championship.

Weekend recruiting…

Tournament All-Stars

More Quebec Basketball

Throughout the week I attended multiple games and practices. Check it out!

Monday:
Montmorency practice before quarter final vs. Trois-Rivières

Vanier practice before quarter final vs. Champlain

Tuesday:
Sports-études in St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu

Dawson practice before Cegep Championships

Wednesday:

St-Laurent Express B squad beats College Charles Lemoyne

Concordia Women beat McGill in RSEQ USport Semis

Friday


Cegep St-Jean practice

Cegep Vieux-Montreal beats Montmorency DII

 

Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff

Team NPH
NPH- Leaders In Canadian Basketball, providing coast-coast media coverage on ALL levels of Canadian Basketball: HS, NCAA, CIS, CCAA, National program + more! Voice your opinion: http://northpolehoops.com/discussions/

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