Twelve teams, including all four finalists from last year’s tournament, were on the court Wednesday when the third NC Girls Hoops Classic tipped off with qualifying-round action.
Games were played at Notre Dame and Welland Centennial in Welland, E.L. Crossley in Fonthill and at Ridley College in St. Catharines, where the host Tigers dropped a 49-22 decision to the A.N. Myer Marauders and were bounced to the consolation side of the bracket.
Myer, the defending champions, will play the Crossley Cyclone, who defeated the Saint Francis Phoenix 53-41 in a championship quarter-final at Saint Francis, also in St. Catharines. The Tigers will host the Phoenix in second-round action on their home court.
In other Day 1 action, the Eden Flyers defeated the Centennial Cougars 59-29, the Lakeshore Catholic Gators downed the Governor Simcoe Redcoats 58-22, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish topped the Thorold Golden Eagles 52-30, and the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs scored a 60-6 victory over the Saint-Jean-de-Brebeuf Lynx.
Like Ridley, Lakeshore Catholic in Port Colborne and Saint Francis each will also host a championship and consolation quarter-final on Day 2 of the four-day competition for girls high school teams.
On Friday, the action will shift to Niagara College’s main campus in Welland, for both championship semifinals, and to Crossley, for the consolation semifinals.
The successor to the former Tribune Girls Basketball Tournament wraps up Saturday night with a championship doubleheader at the college. The B final gets underway at 6 with the gold medal game two hours later.
In 2022, when the tournament returned after two years of pandemic restrictions, Myer beat the Eden Flyers 43-36 for the overall title, and Saint Francis defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 51-39 in the B final.
At the inaugural Niagara College Girls Hoops Classic, also at Niagara College, Crossley defeated Notre Dame 58-51 for the championship, with the Governor Simcoe Redcoats topping the Welland Centennial Cougars 35-21 in the consolation final.
In 2019, the region’s community college signed a three-year contract to become the title sponsor of a tournament that replaced the former Tribune Girls Basketball Tournament in the competition schedule for high school teams in Niagara.
The college is likely to remain the title sponsor.
“While we haven’t had any formal conversation to extend the agreement, it is our intent to so do. We love being part of this tournament,” athletics and student engagement director Michele O’Keefe said. “Strategically, hosting these games on our campus is a great opportunity to show off Niagara College and our Athletic Centre.
“We know NC is a world-class college and we love to take the opportunity to show it off.”
She said Chris Rao, the women’s basketball head coach at the college, “leverages the tournament to get caught up with all of the local basketball players.”
“If they aren’t considering the Knights prior to the tournament, they will know that we put on an excellent show and will definitely give us a look,” O’Keefe said.
In all 15, Tribune Girls Basketball Tournaments were played before the rebranding, including in 2005 when the inaugural event featured seven teams and was held at Welland Arena to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Tribune Boys Basketball Tournament.
Only seven teams took the court at the first-ever Tribune Girls Basketball Tournament. Played in January 2005, the inaugural tournament also marked the only time a consolation champion wasn’t crowned.
This year’s tournament honours the memory of Pat Laing, who spent more than four decades as a basketball referee and in 2016 was inducted into the Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame. She died in August 2022 at the age of 91.
O’Keefe, a Welland native, recalled Laing officiating her games when she played high school basketball at Centennial.
“Pat Laing was an exceptional female basketball official, on and off the court. Her longevity alone was staggering and she was most definitely a role model,” O’Keefe said. “She was a trailblazer for all of us who found a way to stay involved with basketball.
“And as I was able to carve a career for myself in basketball and sport administration, Pat absolutely had an impact on me and my choices.”
O’Keefe was president of chief executive officer of Canada Basketball and was attending a Toronto Raptors game at Scotiabank Centre when Laing was inducted into the hall of fame.
“Watching the ceremony filled me with such pride,” she said. “We can all only inspire to be recognized in such a fashion.”
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