SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Kylee Speedy was just happy to be in the middle of the action this year.
The Grade 11 point guard was a dominant force in leading the Leo Hayes Lions of Fredericton, N.B., to winning back-to-back championship banners in the Three Oaks Senior High School Sweetheart basketball tournament, which was celebrating its 38th year.
“I didn’t get to play in this tournament last year because I had a concussion,” said Speedy, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player after pouring in a game-high 38 points in the Lions’ 99 79 victory over the James M. Hill Tommies of Miramichi, N.B., in Saturday afternoon’s final. “It was nice to be able to come back and play well.
“I had a rough first game, but I was glad I was able to come back and play well these last two games.”
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The Lions completed the two-day tournament, which attracted eight senior AAA girls’ teams from P.E.I., Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, 3-0 (won-lost).
“It was a really great team win because everyone contributed,” emphasized Speedy. “The (championship) game was really close, and it was good to have a close game for the final.”
The Lions actually trailed 29-24 with just over six minutes remaining in the second quarter. An 18-8 run to close out the half sent the Lions into the intermission ahead 42-37.
“At halftime, we talked about what was hurting us, and I think we did a good job on fixing those things,” said Speedy.
Such as?
“One of the things was our help side was not there,” answered Speedy. “We talked about when someone gets beat off the dribble helping and dropping as well as boxing out because they were getting a bunch of rebounds, and switching on their ball screens to get in front of the shooter.”
Madalynn Kean (19) and Jaiden Perry (12) were the other top scorers in the final for Leo Hayes, which put the game out of reach in the second half. Reese Nowlan (25), Nancy McLean (21) and Jenny Cripes (10) were James M. Hill’s top offensive performers.
The Lions opened tournament play with a 72-48 win over the Bluefield Bobcats on Friday night, and defeated the Tantramar Titans 77-50 in a semifinal Saturday morning. James M. Hill, which defeated the Amherst Vikings 71-55 in its first game, outlasted the host Three Oaks Axewomen in the other semifinal 64-51.
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Axewomen finish third
The Axewomen, led by Lauren Lilly’s 24 points and a clutch two-point shot from Jane Doyle in the final minute, got by the Avon View Avalanche 62-56 in their opener, and completed play 2-1 after an exciting 57-54 win over Tantramar in the third-place game.
“We had a really good game on Friday night with Avon View, and the kids played really, really well and responded well,” assessed Axewomen head coach Garth Turtle. “We had a tough game (Saturday) morning against James M. Hill. We were down 25, but got it back to 10. We showed a lot of guts to come back.
“Our defence has been exceptional, and I’m really pleased with the defence. As I told the girls, we are not shooting well. We are offensively challenged, and that’s got to be what we have to correct. Playing against better teams helps you.”
Turtle said there were “lots of positives and learning experiences” for the Axewomen over the weekend. He was especially pleased with how his team responded in pulling out a couple of close wins.
“This is a turn for our program,” said Turtle. “We have been struggling for two years, and this has been good for us. Hopefully, we can continue to improve.”
Turtle said playing in pressure-filled situations in tight games was a great learning experience.
“Another thing it allows us to do is when we are under pressure, what do we have to fix?,” continued the retired Three Oaks athletic director. “We have things we have to fix, and shooting is one of the things.”
Athletic director pleased
Three Oaks athletic director and tournament organizer Joel Arsenault was quite pleased with the weekend.
“We heard a lot of positive comments from the teams, and I am really happy we had so many close games,” said Arsenault, who noted a lot of the games were closer than some of the final scores may indicate. “There were very few blowouts, and for the most part every game was competitive.”
Speedy, who described it as a “well-organized” tournament, likes the opportunities the tournament provides the players.
“It’s good to play against different teams we have never seen before, which is nice,” said Speedy. “We have had a lot of fun coming here both years.”
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Scores
Three Oaks Sweetheart basketball tournament scores:
Friday’s Results
Three Oaks 62 Avon View 56
James M. Hill 71 Amherst 55
Leo Hayes 72 Bluefield 48
Tantramar 56 North Nova 38
Saturday’s Results
Amherst 65 Avon View 6
North Nova 53 Bluefield 51
Avon View 68 Bluefield 52
Amherst 56 North Nova 32
Semifinals
James M. Hill 64 Three Oaks 51
Leo Hayes 77 Tantramar 50
Final
Leo Hayes 99 James M. Hill 79Awards
Three Oaks Sweetheart basketball tournament awards:
MVP
Kylee Speedy, Leo Hayes.
All-Stars
Lauren Lilly, Three Oaks.
Reese Nowlan, James M. Hill.
Chantelle Austin, Leo Hayes.
Claire Johnson, Tantramar.
