X-Women 4th at CIS Championship
BRONZE: CIS women’s basketball championship
No. 4 Capers beat AUS rivals for bronze
Courtesy: University of Windsor sports information
WINDSOR, Ont. (CIS) – The fourth-seeded Cape Breton Capers used an 18-7 fourth quarter to defeat the No. 6 St. Francis Xavier X-Women 67-53 in the bronze medal game of the CIS women’s basketball Final 8, Sunday morning, at the University of Windsor’s St. Denis Centre.
Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wbkb
The third-place finish is the second best result in Cape Breton history, after a silver medal performance in 2006. The AUS champion Capers opened the CIS championship on Friday with a 58-49 quarter-final victory over No. 5 Toronto before suffering a 56-47 semifinal loss against top-ranked and tourney host Windsor on Saturday.
The X-Women had reached the bronze medal contest with a 50-44 upset of No. 3 Carleton in the opening round followed by a 58-40 loss to No. 2 Saskatchewan. The fourth-place finish is a program-best as StFX had gone 0-2 in its lone previous Final 8 appearance in 1997.
“It’s not the right bronze but we’ll take it,” said 12-year Cape Breton head coach Fabian McKenzie. “We came here with a goal to win the Bronze Baby but to finish third in the country feels pretty good. It says a lot about our program.”
“It was nice to see two AUS teams reach the Final Four. It speaks volume for our conference.”
Fourth-year guard Jahlica Kirnon of Toronto paced the winners with 21 points and seven rebounds, while 6-foot-2 forward Denisha Haywood of Baltimore earned game-MVP honours thanks to a 10-point, 10-board double-double along with six blocks.
For StFX, Kirsten Jones of Scarborough, Ont., scored 17 points and AUS defensive player of the year Ashley Stephen, also from of Scarborough, tallied 12 in her final university outing. Both grabbed seven rebounds.
The first half could not have been closer as the lead changed hands nine times, including seven in the lone first quarter. The score was 18-18 after the initial frame and 33-31 StFX at halftime.
The Capers shot 46.4 per cent from the floor compared to 36.8 per cent for their opponents in the first 20 minutes but committed 11 turnovers to only five by the X-Women.
Haywood and Stephen led their respective teams at the break with eight points apiece.
The battle resumed in the third stanza as the AUS rivals were tied at 33-33, 37-37 and 41-41 before a Nicole Works jumper gave Cape Breton a 49-46 edge after 30 minutes.
The Capers’ domination in the first half of the final quarter ended up making the difference. The AUS champs outscored StFX by 12-2 in the first six minutes of the period to build a comfortable 61-48 cushion, and never looked back.
Kirnon dominated after the break as she dropped 15 points in the second half. She also had four blocks and two steals on the afternoon.
The Capers were lights out from field goal range shooting 41.7% in the game and 40% from three point territory.
The Capers defensive adjustments at the half swung the momentum in their favour creating 24 turnovers that they were able to score 17 points from.
In the second quarter the X-Women grabbed the lead as the turnovers started to pile up for the Capers who committed 11 in the half. Stephen had eight points and six rebounds at the half.
The second half saw the Capers tighten up on the defensive side of the ball, pressuring the ball carrier with the double team causing the X-Women to turn the ball over to overcome the deficit.
Kirnon had five points in the third quarter to lead the comeback and put the Capers up by three points heading into the final stanza.
Kirnon continued her second half dominance in the fourth stanza as she dropped another 10 points.
GAME NOTES: Cape Breton had won the two previous head-to-head meetings this season, both in conference play, 71-68 at home on Nov. 24 and 72-58 on the road on Jan. 19... The last time two AUS teams battled for CIS bronze, in 2007, Memorial defeated Dalhousie 75-60...
STAT LEADERS
CBU 18-13-18-18: 67
StFX 18-15-13-7: 53
Cape Breton
Points: Jahlica Kirnon (21), Denisha Haywood (10), Kari Everett (9)
Rebounds: Denisha Haywood (10), Kari Everett (6), Stephanie Toxopeus (6)
Assists: Tania McClurkin (6)
Player of the game: Denisha Haywood
StFX
Points: Kirsten Jones (17), Ashley Stephen (12), Sheryl Chisholm (7), Rebecca Sheehan (7)
Rebounds: Kirsten Jones (7), Ashley Stephen (7)
Assists: Victoria Anderson (3), Donisha Young (3)
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Friday, March 18
Quarter-final #1: StFX 50, Carleton 44
Quarter-final #2: Saskatchewan 58, Wilfrid Laurier 51
Quarter-final #3: Windsor 80, Laval 50
Quarter-final #4: Cape Breton 58, Toronto 49
Saturday, March 19
Consolation #1: Wilfrid Laurier 56, Carleton 52
Consolation #2: Toronto 82, Laval 79
Semifinal #1: Saskatchewan 58, StFX 40
Semifinal #2: Windsor 56, Cape Breton 47
Sunday, March 20
5th place game: Wilfrid Laurier 64, Toronto 57
Bronze medal game: Cape Breton 67, StFX 53
16:30 Championship final: No. 2 Saskatchewan vs. No. 1 Windsor (Live on TSN)
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-one universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca.
-CIS-