Royals open strong at OFSAA tourney

The Lajeunesse Royals got off to a strong start at the OFSAA girls’ A basketball championship in North Bay on Thursday. Lajeunesse is the No. 3 seed in the tournament and opened with a convincing 56-24 victory over the No. 18-ranked Kenora St. Thomas Aquinas Saints. The Royals opened an 18-point lead after the first quarter and extended it to a 32-point advantage at the half as head coach Linda Carriere emptied the bench early. “My starters didn’t even play half the game,” Carriere said. Jamilah Christian was the lone Lajeunesse player to finish in double figures with 12 points. Ashanti Christian had nine points and Michaela Marenchin added eight points. Next up for Lajeunesse is No. 14-seed Whitby Saint Charles Garnier on Friday.

RAIDERS REBOUND

The Essex Red Raiders rebounded with back-to-back wins after dropping their first match at the OFSAA boy’s AA volleyball championship in Sydenham, which is just outside of Kingston, on Thursday.

The Red Raiders dropped a three-set match to open the tournament against the No. 13-seeded team and host Sydenham Golden Eagles, who took the match 2-1 by scores of 20-25, 25-18 and 15-10. Essex rebounded to knock off the No. 10-seed Rexdale Monsignor Percy Johnson Jaguars 2-0 by scores of 25-15 and 25-20 and then finished the day by beating the No. 4-seeded Sudbury Lasalle Lancers in three sets and took the match 2-1 by scores of 22-25, 25-19 and 15-12.

The Red Raiders close out pool play on Friday against the No. 8-seeded Cobourg St. Mary’s Thunder, who lost both games on Thursday, with a win sending Essex to the quarter-finals.

CLIPPERS WINLESS

The host Kennedy Clippers had a tough start to the OFSAA boys’ AAA volleyball championship on Thursday.

The Clippers, who are the No. 20 seed in the 20-team tournament, dropped both pool games on the opening day of the tournament, which is being held at St. Clair College.

Kennedy faced the top-seeded Georgetown Rebels to open tournament play on Thursday and fell 2-0 by scores of 25-14 and 25-19. That was followed by a loss to the No. 11-ranked Whitby Sinclair Celtics, who took the match 2-0 by scores of 25-19 and 25-20. The Clippers close out pool play with a match against the No. 16-ranked Kingston Regiopolis-Notre Dame Panthers and the No. 6-ranked Toronto York Mills Titans. The top two teams in pool play advance to the quarter-finals.