2012 University of Windsor Tournament Standout Recap

On September 22, 2012, the Saint Anne Saints of Belle River, Ontario claimed the 2012 University of Windsor Senior Girls’ High School Tournament Championship with a Finals victory over the General Amherst Bulldogs.

The Saints, relying heavily on Guard play and timely outside shooting throughout the tournament, claimed the title, shutting down the Bulldogs who were the 2011 OFSAA (Ontario HS Championships), 2A Champions and their massive inside presence.

One of the main reasons for the Saints’ success was Amanda Milanis (5’5″, G, St Anne, 2014). After an off-season focused primarily training as opposed to game play, Milanis has returned this season in very good shape putting on a bit more muscle and sporting tighter ball handling compared to last year. The Guards she faced, especially in the Finals struggled to contain her as she was able to carve out space for herself and essentially dictate the pace of the game. The quicker pace she usually decided to maintain, was primarily the source of opposing Guards’ problems. Even though I think that a more consistent outside shot would nicely round out her effectiveness, her game play was enough to earn her the nod as the Tournament’s MVP.

Here’s how some of the other Tournament Standouts looked:

Class of 2013

Got bigs on your mind? There were a few that caught my eye that were worthy of mention. Tayla Gibb (6’2″, F, Eastern Commerce, 2013) continues to impress with the amount of improvement that I have seen her make since last year and through the summer AAU circuit. Her obvious hard work in the gym has yielded a more confident and more aggressive Power Forward that in the past may have passed up opportunities and/or deferred to teammates.
The Twin Towers at General Amherst were certainly intimidating factors and were a handful for any of their opponents to try to contain. Returning Senior Lindsay Kondracki (6′ 3″, F, General Amherst, 2013) and her Grade 12 counterpart, Katie Breault (F, General Amherst, 2013), certainly benefitted immensely in the sheer matchup problems they created for other teams when one of them was on the floor, and even more so when they both were playing.

Class of 2014

Aside from the previously mentioned Milanis, Caroline Hummell (6’1″, G, St Christopher, 2014) put the Cyclones on her back as much as she could and was far and away the engine that the team relied on for their hopes of winning games. She has a solid body and good height and when she plays, makes it seem like the game comes easy to her. That’s probably why in the games she played, she was by far the best player on the court.

Class of 2015

I found that this Class was the deepest for players I saw with high potential. Chatham, Ontario’s Bridget Carleton (6’1″, G, John MacGregor, 2015) continues to impress me each time I see her play. Although she has an unassuming build size, she has a deceptively strong base and can find success working inside with very nice post moves, or outside, able to nail a 3-ball with very good mechanics.
General Amherst’s up and coming PG, Aleah Marton (5’9″, G, General Amerherst, 2015) earned one of two Tournament Standout nods. Amherst’s Coach Silvaggio, is very high on Marton whom he feels is operating just under the radar. She showed some promise while running the point during last year’s Provincial 2A Championship run as a Freshman and showed continuing improvement in her game in this tournament.
Also worthy of mention were Lauren Handy (6’2″, F, Sarnia Northern, 2015)  and Kate (Kathleen) Hill (5’6″, G, Eastern Commerce, 2015). Both played on the top U15 Ontario Provincial Team this past summer.  And, based on what I saw from them in this tournament, both players demonstrated that it will be tough to keep a lid on their potential as their high school careers move forward, and at the next level.