QUARTER-FINAL #4 CIS championship: No. 4 Capers, Everett edge Blues
Courtesy: University of Windsor sports information /
Photp credit Keenan Geer
WINDSOR, Ont. (CIS) – The fourth-seeded Cape Breton Capers
broke a 38-38 deadlock with an 11-0 run at the start of fourth
quarter and then held on for a 58-49 win over the No. 5 Toronto
Varsity Blues in the fourth quarter-final match of the CIS
women’s basketball Final 8, Friday night, at the University
of Windsor’s St. Denis Centre.
Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wbkb
Making their fifth appearance in program history at the CIS
championship, the Atlantic conference champion Capers will play in
their second national semifinal Saturday at 8 p.m. when they battle
top-ranked and tournament host Windsor. In 2006, Cape Breton beat
UNB 63-48 in the semis before dropping a 56-53 decision to UBC in
the title match.
The early semifinal at 6 p.m. will pit No. 2 Saskatchewan against
No. 6 St. Francis Xavier.
The OUA bronze medallist Blues, who booked their ticket to Windsor
by winning last weekend’s East Regional qualifying tournament
in Fredericton, will face No. 8 Laval at 3 p.m. on the consolation
side.
After qualifying four teams for the Final 8, the Ontario conference
went 1-for-4 on opening day with No. 3 Carleton and No. 7 Laurier
also relegated to the consolation round.
Fifth-year forward Kari Everett of Stilesville, N.B., earned
player-of-the-game honours thanks to a 20-point, 10-rebound
double-double for the winners.
Jahlica Kirnon, a fourth-year guard from Toronto, also finished
with a double-double scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 boards,
while 6-foot-3 forward Stephanie Toxopeus of Kanata, Ont.,
contributed 10 points.
The Capers outscored their OUA rivals 23-12 in the first quarter
and headed to the locker room at halftime with a 28-21 lead but the
Blues rebounded in the third frame to tie it at 38 all after 30
minutes, with second-team all-Canadian Nicki Schutz closing out the
third quarter with four straight points.
An 11-point run to open the final stanza ended up being the
difference as Cape Breton never trailed again on the night.
Toxopeus came up big during the decisive sequence with five
points.
Rebounding was another key factor in the affair as the AUS champs
ended the evening with a 54-32 advantage, including 36-21 at the
defensive end of the floor.
Schutz, a 6-foot-1 native of Toronto, was held to 23 minutes of
court time after picking up three fouls in the first two minutes
and 44 seconds of the contest. She still paced Toronto with 12
points and seven boards.
Four of her teammates scored eight points apiece.
In a very even matchup both teams fought for every inch of the
paint, while they both managed to put up 24 points each down low,
while Cape Breton’s bench made the difference in the game as
they chipped in 15 points compared to the five Toronto received
from their extras.
Despite committing 22 turnovers the Capers managed to capitalize on
their opportunities and play sound enough defence to limit
Toronto’s opportunities.
The first quarter saw Schutz get into foul trouble early as she was
limited to only three minutes of playing time. With Schutz
out the Capers took full advantage as they dominated the paint
scoring 10 points from the post en route to a 23-12 lead after the
first quarter.
Kirnon scored nine points and four rebounds to lead the Capers into
the second quarter.
After a high flying first quarter both teams increased the
defensive intensity as Toronto put up a quarter high nine
points while limiting the Capers to five points to close the gap to
28-21. Everett scored all five points for Cape Breton, while
Toronto received a balanced attack to get within seven.
A back and forth third frame saw the Capers pull away before the
Varsity Blues charged back to tie the game at 38-38 at the end of
the third. With just over three minutes left in the
quarter Joanna Medri hit a clutch three pointer to
bring Toronto within four points.
After that Schutz took over for the Varsity Blues putting up eight
points in her first full quarter. Toronto was able to
capitalize on Cape Breton’s seven turnovers in the quarter to
close draw the game to a tie headed to the final frame.
The fourth quarter saw the Capers come out on fire, knocking down
consecutive shots and racking up ten points in the first three
minutes of the quarter. Despite a late charge by Toronto led
by Schutz, the Blues were unable to overcome the late game
deficit.
The Capers’ Denisha Haywood dominated the paint, putting up
six points while grabbing an impressive 14 rebounds to help lead
her team to victory.
GAME NOTES: Toronto, which claimed its lone Bronze Baby Trophy in
1986, was the only team in this year’s Final 8 field to have
captured the CIS title in the past... The last time two AUS teams
were in the semifinals was in 2007 when Dalhousie and Memorial
ended up losing to Simon Fraser and Alberta, respectively...
STAT LEADERS
CBU 23-5-10-20: 58
TOR 12-9-17-11: 49
Cape Breton
Points: Kari Everett (20), Jahlica Kirnon (15), Stephanie Toxopeus
(10)
Rebounds: Denisha Haywood (14), Kari Everett (10), Jahlica Kirnon
(10)
Assists: Jahlica Kirnon (5)
Player of the game: Kari Everett
Toronto
Points: Nicki Schutz (12), Joanna Medri (8), Erin McNeely (8),
Alicia Van Kampen (8), Sherri Pierce (8)
Rebounds: Nicki Schutz (7), 3 players with 4
Assists: Jill Stratton (5)
CHAMPIONSHIP
SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Friday, March 18
Quarter-final #1: StFX 50, Carleton 44
Quarter-final #2: Saskatchewan 58, Wilfrid Laurier 51
Quarter-final #3: Windsor 80, Laval 50
Quarter-final #4: Cape Breton 58, Toronto 49
* Televised locally on TVCogeco.
Saturday, March 19
13:00 Consolation #1: No. 3 Carleton vs. No. 7 Wilfrid Laurier (SSN
Canada webcast)
15:00 Consolation #2: No. 8 Laval vs. No. 5 Toronto (SSN Canada
webcast)
18:00 Semifinal #1: No. 6 StFX vs. No. 2 Saskatchewan (SSN Canada
webcast) *
20:00 Semifinal #2: No. 1 Windsor vs. No. 4 Cape Breton (SSN Canada
webcast) *
* Televised locally on TVCogeco.
Sunday, March 20
11:00 5th place game (SSN Canada webcast)
13:00 Bronze medal game (SSN Canada webcast) *
16:30 Championship final (Live on TSN)
* Televised locally on TVCogeco.
-CIS-
