SHERBROOKE, Quebec (August 5, 2022) -- The 17U Women’s Semifinals saw Ontario defeat Alberta 92-41, and British Columbia hang on for a 70-64 win against Quebec to advance to Saturday’s semifinals.

A 17-point, 15-rebound double-double from Ryenn Schutz led British Columbia, while Jade Huynh and Lakresha Edwards added 12 points apiece. Celia Stracks led Quebec in the loss with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

British Columbia shot 38 percent in the game while holding Quebec to just 26 percent shooting. After using a 13-0 run to take a 15-3 lead in the opening quarter, British Columbia led by eight, 22-14 after the first 10 minutes of action. Back-to-back jumpers from Isabella Graves extended British Columbia’s lead to 13, 34-21 with 4:36 remaining in the half. After a three-pointer from Stracks and then a layup from Alexia Bujold with six seconds remaining, Quebec had trimmed the lead to eight at the half.

The third was a back-and-forth affair with the teams trading baskets and free throws. As a result, Quebec wasn’t able to cut into British Columbia’s lead and went into the fourth trailing by 10, 57-47.

Quebec opened the fourth on a tear, scoring the first eight points of the quarter as a three-pointer from Stracks capped the run and got Quebec within two points until Lauren Rust finally got British Columbia on the board in the quarter with 5:22 remaining. A three-pointer from Quebec’s Camille Gaudreau tied the game at 60 points with 3:24 remaining and then a three-pointer from Stracks put Quebec in front by three, 63-60 with 1:55 on the clock. From there, British Columbia closed the game on a 10-1 run and took care of business by making free throws down the stretch to protect the win.

In a blowout victory for Ontario over Alberta, Ella Rees had 21 points to lead all scorers while Hannah Mills-Watson added 12 points. Alberta was led by a 12-point effort from Brigitte Olson in the loss.

Alberta had a disastrous start to the game, struggling to score throughout the first quarter as Ontario built a 20-point lead after one. Ontario didn’t look back after that opening quarter, steadily adding to their lead to go into the halftime break ahead by 29. After outsourcing Alberta 22-8 in the third, Ontario led 71-28 heading into the final quarter. They easily claimed victory from there.

It was a tough game for Alberta across the board as Ontario shot 44 percent to Alberta’s 25 percent and were outrebounded 60-35. Ontario also recorded 19 assists to seven for Alberta and finished with 10 fewer turnovers.

In 15U Women’s action, Ontario defeated Alberta 63-37 behind 13 points from Cearah Parchment and 10 points from Mikaela James. Ontario shot just 31 percent in the game, but dominated on the boards and held a 27-6 edge on the offensive glass as they battled to earn extra possessions and make up for their poor shooting. Though Ontario didn’t shoot well in the win, their defensive effort helped force Alberta into 37 turnovers, also creating extra possessions.

Ontario led by 13 after one quarter and 12 at the half. In a slow third quarter both both teams, Ontario outscored Alberta 14-9 to take a 45-28 lead into the fourth. The lead stretched to 22 after Ontario scored the first five points of the final quarter, and Alberta wouldn’t get any closer than 17 the rest of the way.

In a 71-64 victory for Nova Scotia over Quebec, Ally McLean led the way with a game-high 19 points. Gabriela Morash added 15 points, six assists and seven steals. Jahda Denis led Quebec in the loss with 17 points.

After a close first quarter, Quebec held a narrow 18-16 lead and maintained their advantage throughout the first half, going into the break ahead by five, 33-28. In the third, a jumper from Olivia Logan tied the game at 37 with 6:31 remaining in the quarter. Things remained tight from there, with Nova Scotia building a five-point lead heading into the final quarter.

Nova Scotia opened the fourth on a 6-0 run to go ahead by nine, before Denis scored on a layup to get Quebec on the board. A three-pointer from McLean gave Nova Scotia a 10-point advantage with 7:45 remaining. After another layup and then a second three-pointer in the quarter from McLean, Nova Scotia’s lead was 11.

Quebec’s Alice Michaud responded with a three of her own to trim the deficit to eight points, but Nova Scotia responded after each Quebec bucket with a bucket of their own to maintain the distance until a layup from Alexia Lauzon and then a three-pointer from Michaud to get Quebec within three, 67-64 with 1:32 remaining. Unfortunately for Quebec they wouldn’t score again, while Nova Scotia sealed their victory at the free throw line, calmly making free throws down the stretch.