Losses have silver linings

Churchill, Eden V- ball teams, Vanier hoops squad settle for silver at OFSAA championships

Three Niagara teams returned home from Ontario high school championships with medals.

Eden settled for the silver medal at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations ( OFSAA) double A boys in Brockville, while Jean Vanier and Sir Winston Churchill lost in the finals at the single A girls basketball and triple A boys volleyball championships in Timmins and Kitchener- Waterloo, respectively.

Finishing just out of the money and fourth overall in the province was Notre Dame, which was awarded the antique bronze at the triple A girls basketball championships in Guelph.

Six provincial championships in all were awarded on the weekend — three each in boys volleyball and girls basketball — and all but one featured a team from Niagara representing the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association ( SOSSA). Dundas Valley, the Hamilton and district champion, represented the region at the double A girls basketball championships in Huntsville.

Smithville Christian, the second SOSSA entry at the all- Ontario single A girls basketball finals, won the consolation final to finish the 18- team competition fifth overall.

Flyers grounded in final

In double A boys volleyball, third- seeded Eden was swept by No. 1 seed Stratford Central – 25- 13, 25- 21, 25- 17 – falling one win short of capturing its first Ontario championship in two years and 10th since it started a remarkable run of eight gold medals in a row.

After going 4- 0 and sweeping each game in pool play, the Flyers swept L’Escale from Sudbury in the quarter- finals – 25- 23, 25- 21, 25- 22 – and eliminated defending champion Franco Cite from the Ottawa area in four sets – 25- 20, 19- 25, 25- 23, 25- 22 – to advance to the gold medal game.

Three medals in a row for Lynx

In Timmins, hometown favourite O’Gorman lived up to its billing as the top seed and defeated defending champion Jean Vanier for the OFSAA single A girls basketball title.

Before falling 52- 39 to the Knights in Saturday night’s final, which was decided at O’Gorman, the third- seeded Lynx went 4- 0 to clinch a berth in the championship game.

Isabelle Sinclair topped Vanier in scoring in a 42- 11 victory over Quinte Christian, Alyssa Arcand led all scorers with 14 points in a 46- 18 defeat of Lester B. Pearson, Julia McPhail was leading the Lynx on the scoreboard in a 54- 26 decision over Sainte- Famille, and Andrea Hebert netted 16 points for Vanier in a 42- 41 victory over MacDonald Cartier.

Hebert was also the leading scorer for the Lynx, with 15 points, in the loss to host O’Gorman in the gold medal game.

Vanier was seeking its third straight Ontario championship and fifth in the Welland school’s history. The Lynx won back- toback titles in 2011- 12.

Bulldogs curbed in final

Sir Winston Churchill advanced to the gold medal game at the Ontario triple A boys volleyball championships after finishing the round- robin portion of the threeday tournament at .500.

The Bulldogs went 2- 2 in pool play and advanced to the final four on the championship side of the bracket with a four- set victory over St. Jean de Brebeuf – 25- 23, 25- 21, 15- 25, 25- 22.

In the semifinals, Churchill defeated St. Marcellinus – 27- 25, 25- 14, 18- 25, 25- 21 – and settled for silver losing in four sets to Mississauga – 25- 12, 27- 25, 15- 25, 25- 18.

Irish No. 4 in Ontario

A Friday night loss to the No. 3 seed bounced second- seeded Notre Dame to the bronze final in triple A girls OFSAA hoops at Guelph.

Jessica Ciolifi led the Fighting Irish and all scorers with 23 points as Notre Dame tipped off the eightteam playoff with a 63- 42 victory over No. 12 seed Martingrove.

Jamira Rousseau, with a gamehigh 14, paced the Irish in points in a 56- 30 victory over Sir John A. Macdonald, the 15th seed, and her 12 points also topped the team in scoring in a 57- 39 loss to St. Joseph’s.

Notre Dame dropped a 43- 40 decision to Holy Cross from Kingston in the bronze final. Rousseau led the Irish with 11 points.

Storm in finals forecast

Smithville Christian ended the all- Ontario single A girls basketball finals in Timmins on a winning note.

While the Storm didn’t leave the City With a Heart of Gold with a gold medal, eighth- seeded Smithville finished the 18- team, three- day competition with a 4- 1 record.

Rebekah Deltoan’s nine points paced the Storm in a 36- 19 victory over Lester B. Pearson, the 14th seed, on Day 1 of the tournament.

A 35- 24 loss to ninth- seeded St. Mary’s relegated Smithville to the consolation side of the bracket. Terin Hultnik topped the team in scoring in the loss scoring 14 points.

The Storm remained in the win column the rest of the way. Hultnik’s 13 points was the gamehigh in a 46- 23 victory over Red Lake, Leanna Meinders led all scorers with 12 points in a 45- 34 victory over Le Caron and Hultnik had the hottest hand, draining 16 points, in a 43- 27 defeat of seventh- seeded Notre Dame from Carleton Place in the fifth- place final.