SUMMERSIDE – It will be an emotional weekend for two seniors at Three Oaks Senior High School.
It will mark the final time post Haley Brennan of Richmond and point guard Georgie McKenna of Summerside will compete in the Summerside high school’s annual Sweetheart senior AAA basketball tournament for the host Three Oaks Axewomen.
“This is our last tournament, and we don’t have very many home games after this,” said Brennan, 17. “I don’t play any spring sports, so it will be one of the last times I will be wearing a TOSH jersey at home. It will be a big deal for me, and it will be hard to say good bye.”
McKenna added “it’s bittersweet” and “definitely special” knowing this will be her final Sweetheart, which is in its 37th year and has a steep history.
Format
The tournament features eight teams from P.E.I., New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The opening games are scheduled for Friday at 2 and 4 p.m., with the winner of those games advancing to the semifinals later that evening.
“It should be a good tournament and pretty competitive,” said McKenna, 17.
The losers of the opening games will play for placing positions as each team will take to the court three times over the two-day event. The championship game is scheduled for the Three Oaks gymnasium on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Thus, there is no room for error for any team.
“It’s really important that we have a strong start,” said McKenna. “(The first game) kind of sets the tone for the whole tournament.
“You go in knowing there are no second chances, and you have to win the first to be able to win the whole thing.”
The Axewomen’s opening game is against Leo Hayes of Fredericton, N.B., on Friday at 2 p.m. Three Oaks has not faced Leo Hayes in tournament action during the 2017-18 season.
“I’m expecting it to be a good game,” said Brennan. “They are a big competitive school, so it will definitely be a good game. We will have to come out strong and work hard.”
Defending champions
The Axewomen enter the Sweetheart as back-to-back defending champions.
“We lost a lot of good players this year, so we are going to have to work really hard to keep that same standard,” said Brennan. “I feel we definitely have the team that is capable of doing that. It will take a lot of work and effort from us, and we are going to have to really want it.”
McKenna is “really excited” to be returning to action after a layoff.
“We haven’t had a game in a couple of weeks, so it will be fun to get back on the court,” said McKenna. “The Sweetheart is always a fun tournament to host.”
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Schedule
Sweetheart basketball tournament schedule:
(Site in parenthesis)
Friday, Feb. 2
2 p.m. – Game 1: Miramichi vs. Avon View (Athena).
2 p.m. – Game 2: Three Oaks vs. Leo Hayes (Three Oaks).
4 p.m. – Game 3: Bluefield vs. Amherst (Athena).
4 p.m. – Game 4: Colonel Gray vs. Tantramar (Three Oaks).
6 p.m. – Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. winner of Game 2 (Three Oaks).
6 p.m. – Game 6: Loser of Game 1 vs. loser of Game 2 (Athena).
8 p.m. – Game 7: Winner of Game 3 vs. winner of Game 4 (Three Oaks).
8 p.m. – Game 8: Loser of Game 3 vs. loser of Game 4 (Athena).
Saturday, Feb. 3
10 a.m. – Seventh-place game: Loser of Game 6 vs. loser of Game 8 (Athena).
10 a.m. – Fifth-place game: Winner of Game 6 vs. winner of Game 8 (Three Oaks).
Noon – Third-place game: Loser of Game 5 vs. loser of Game 7 (Three Oaks).
2 p.m. – Championship game: Winner of Game 5 vs. winner of Game 7 (Three Oaks).
Roster
Host Three Oaks Axewomen roster:
Players
Grade 12s
Haley Brennan, forward.
Georgie McKenna, guard.
Keirstyn Palmer, wing.
Jenna Woods, wing.
Grade 11s
Jill Woods, forward.
Meghan Mann, wing.
Paige Campbell, forward.
Jordyn Connell, forward.
Jordan Power, forward.
Grade 10s
Kayla Harris, guard.
Amber Dyer, wing.
Lauren Lilly, guard.
Jane Doyle, wing.
Coaches
Garth Turtle
Jason Woods