Team Ontario Dominant In U17 Canadian Nationals Finals

On July 30, 2016, Team Ontario U17s completed their undefeated Canadian Nationals tournament run with a 76-53 win over Team Quebec and earned the gold medal in Regina, SK.

The combination of Team Ontario’s big, Laeticia Amihere and Christina Morra, were a dominant reason for the win, leading their team in the win.

The game saw a see-saw battle in the first half. Team Quebec lead by as much as 7 in the first quarter, and again by eight in the second quarter, all before Ontario appeared to right their wrongs and closed out the half on a 9-1 run to lead 32-31 heading into the locker room.

In the second half, Ontario continued to pour it on, starting the quarter off with a 21-9 run. The fourth quarter was no different as the eventual champs wore down their Quebec rivals, outscoring them 23-8 to close the game out.

Underaged Laeticia Amihere, scored 23 points in the game, on 9-12 shooting from the field, and also had 8 rebounds. Christina Morra , scored 17 points of her own and gathered 7 rebounds.

Using the size and skill of these two players among others, Team Ontario did most of their damage inside, outscoring their opponents 52-22 in the paint.

Quebec’s starters, Forward Taisha Exanor and Point Guard Sarah Te-Biasu, eached scored twelve in the loss. Their output in the Championship final was down slightly from event averages of 14.25 and 12.25 points per game respectively.

In the Bronze medal game, the hosts Team Saskatchewan, avenged their semi-final loss to Team Quebec. In their 78-54 win over Team Manitoba, Kayla Shand and Emma Johnson scored 14 points and Emily Dewey scored 11. Team Manitoba Raziel Guinto responded with 22 points.

Although relatively quiet for Ontario in the Finals with only 9 points, Shaina Pellington was name tournament MVP in part due to her 17.25points per game average over the five games her and her team played.

The complete list of the 2016 U17 Canadian Nationals award winners are as follows:

Tournament MVP:
Shaina Pellington – ON

1st Team All-Stars:
Laeticia Amihere – ON
Emily Dewey – SK
Taisha Exanor – QC
Raizel Guinto – MB
Sage Stobbart – BC

2nd Team All-Stars:
Robyn Boulanger – MB
Ella Johnson – SK
Roxane Makolo – QC
Christina Morra – ON
Sarah Te-Biasu – QC