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15U National Championship - Day 1 Recap

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Jul 25, 2017

15U Girls National Championship - Day 1

Nova Scotia 47 - Newfoundland 71

In the first game of the tournament, Nova Scotia took on Newfoundland in the battle of the Atlantic.  Nova Scotia came out strong putting lots of pressure on Newfoundland and starting the game on a 9-1 run.  Newfoundland quickly came back with a small run of their own to close out the 1st quarter.  The lead flip flopped back and forth a few times throughout the 2nd quarter.  But the feisty Newfoundland team closed out the half strong led by their team leading scorer Laura Quigley (15 points) who scored her teams final seven points before the half. Newfoundland continued their tough-nosed defense in the second half, forcing Nova Scotia to shoot just 37% from the field and out matching them in steals 15-5.  Newfoundland, who shot 47% from the field and 46% from the 3-point line, eventually pulled out a victory in Day 1 of competition defeating Nova Scotia 71-47.  Nova Scotia was lead by Hannah Smith (13 points, 8 rebounds).

Quebec 82 - Manitoba 30

Game 2 saw a very tough Quebec squad taking on Team Manitoba.  Quebec took full control of the game from the tip-off, outscoring Manitoba 22-8 in the 1st quarter.  With a very even scoring attack from the entire team, led by game high scorer Lisa Tesson (15 points), Quebec was having their way scoring inside the paint and beyond the arc with a very impressive 56% shooting percentage, while limiting their opponent to only 27%.  The bigger and stronger Quebec team also controlled the boards, out-rebounding Manitoba by a margin of 41-14.  Quebec went on to a convincing victory with a final score of 82-30 over Manitoba.

British Columbia 39 - Ontario 79

In the third game of the day, British Columbia took on Team Ontario.  Similar to the previous game, Ontario jumped out to a quick start leading 26-5 at the end of 1st quarter and never looked back.  The longer and more athletic Ontario team applied great defensive pressure throughout the game forcing BC to turnover the ball 32 times and capitalized by scoring 26 points from turnovers.  Top scorers Merissah Russell (14 points) and Aaliyah Edwards (13 points), both contributed to Ontario's suffocating defense with seven steals between the two of them.  BC was lead by team high scorer Rylee Semeniuk, who contributed with 12 points.  In the end, British Columbia was no match for Ontario as they went on to win by a score of 79-39.

Saskatchewan 67 - Alberta 64

Playing in front of a capacity crowd, the hometown team Saskatchewan took on rival Alberta in a very tight contest.  The two teams were even matched with both teams exchanging leads throughout the first half.  Saskatchewan utilizing their strong interior attack, scoring 50% of their points inside the paint, and went on a run midway through the third quarter to take a 14 point lead.  With a strong fan base of their own, the neighbour province did not get rattled and continued to fight and chip away at the lead to bring the game to within five points with less than four minutes to play.  However, Saskatchewan stayed poised, led by game high scorer Jade Belmore (15 points) and some late game clutch free throws from Alexandra Mann (9 points, 12 rebounds) to close out the game by a score of 67-64.  Alberta was lead by team high scorer Tea Demong with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks in a losing cause.

New Brunswick 64 - Nova Scotia 69

In the final game of Day 1, Nova Scotia took on New Brunswick.  In a tight contest between the two Eastern rivals, the game featured eight different lead changes and was tied five different times.  The see-saw battle saw New Brunswick playing some hard noise defence and closed the first half with a 22-19 lead.  Nova Scotia, lead by Samantha Russell, who scored 8 of her 16 points in the third quarter, brought the game closer going into the final frame.  Game high scorer Hannah Smith (19 points), closed out the game with some timely free throw shooting to iced the win for Nova Scotia by a score of 69-64 over New Brunswick.  New Brunswick was lead by Allie McCarthy with 15 points.

15U Boys National Championship - Day 1

Alberta 75 - New Brunswick 76

The first game of the tournament on the boys side went down to the wire between Alberta and New Brunswick.  With six different lead changes and five times tied throughout the contest, the stage was set for an exciting finish.  New Brunswick lead most of first half playing great defence, while playing smart basketball shooting 68% from the field with zero turnovers and took a 44-36 lead into halftime.  Alberta came out in the second half with a bit more urgency, continuing to chip away their deficit.  Led by team high scorer Owen Weaver (21 points), and Nyasha Mubayiwa (12 points), Alberta took the lead midway through the 4th and looked to close it out with that momentum but the scrappy New Brunswick boys did not want to go down without a fight.  Lead by their two key scorers Luke Stewart (24 points) and Norman Burry (20 points), New Brunswick edged out Alberta by a score of 79-75.

Newfoundland 52 - Manitoba 84

Next up it was Newfoundland taking on Manitoba.  Manitoba came out strong taking a 24-13 lead at the end of 1st quarter.  Utilizing their athletic ability, Manitoba was able to score 44 of their points from inside the paint.   With six players scoring in double digits, Manitoba was able to handle Newfoundland convincingly by a final score of 84-52.  Manitoba was lead by Samuel Jensen and Dorien Peiluck, both with 12 points.

Quebec 67 - Ontario 94

In the most anticipated matchup of the day, the two perennial powerhouse, Quebec and Ontario matched up in Day 1 of round robin play.  While both teams looked evenly matched on paper in size and talent, Ontario took full control of the match with a 16-1 run to start the game and never looked back.  The aggressive Ontario team dominated on defense, forcing Quebec to make 24 turnovers, while capitalizing by scoring 30 points off of those turnovers.   Ontario also scored 72 of their total 94 points from inside the paint, putting lots of pressure on Quebec's interior defense.  Lead by game high scorer Jonathan Avgousti (19 points), Ontario defeated Quebec by a score of 94-67.  Quebec was lead by Amaud Konan and Chris-Evrard Malongu, both with 11 points a piece.  

Nova Scotia 94 - Saskatchewan 81

Playing at home, Saskatchewan opened the tournament playing host to defending 15U National Champions, Nova Scotia.  Saskatchewan came out tough as they looked to upset the defending champ in front of a packed home crowd.  Taking advantage of a run early in the 2nd quarter to take a lead, Saskatchewan closed out the first half leading by a score of 38-33.  The tough Nova Scotia team came out of the second half with renewed energy, putting on great pressure and chipping away the lead.  Led by top scorers Jonah Mosher (25 points) and Euan Brydie (16 points), Nova Scotia continued to pour on their attack in the second half, silencing the home crowd and coming away with a 94-81 victory over Saskatchewan.  Saskatchewan was lead by Joshua Soifer (17 points) and Joshua Lapira (12 points).

British Columbia 57 - Alberta 81

In the final game of Day 1, British Columbia squared off in a Western battle with Alberta.  After starting the game on a 13-0 run, Alberta never trailed the rest of the way and cruised to a 81-57 victory.  Holding their opponents to just 31% shooting throughout the game, Alberta was in full control throughout the contest.  Led by Nathan Barton (20 points) and Nyasha Mubayiwa (19 points), Alberta was able to finish strong on Day 1 despite a tough lost to New Brunswick earlier in the day.  British Columbia was lead by Christopher Moon, who chipped in 15 points in a losing cause.

All games will be played at the University of Regina Center for Kinesiology Health and Sport (CKHS). This newly renovated facility has 3 FIBA regulation sized basketball courts with a seating capacity of 2,000 people.

Catch all the action from the 2017 15U Boy's and Girl's National Championships streaming here.

Tournament at a Glance