Local basketball notebook

In Ontario Basketball Association club team action from this past weekend:

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The Sault Junior Cougars Major Bantam girls basketball team lost a heartbreaker to keep them out of the final rounds of the OBA Provincial Championships in London this weekend.

The Cougars went into their third game of the championships with a 1-1 record, needing a win to advance to the quarterfinals. Playing the Cornwall Lions #2, they overcame a 16-2 halftime deficit to send the game into overtime, eventually losing 33 - 29.

Top scorers for the Cougars were Samantha Hunt with seven points and Taylor Wright with six. Hunt was 4-for-5 from the foul line at the end of the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.

In game one, the Cougars overtook the Lennox & Addington Guardsmen, who finished with the silver medal, 32-27 as Melanie Thorburn was top scorer with 12 points while Breanna Denneny and Sam Hunt had six each. Game two saw the Cougars lose to the Espanola Selects 45 - 37. Denneny and Hunt had eight points apiece.

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The Sault Junior Cougars midget boys team captured the gold medal at the London Orion Tournament.

In the championship game, tournament MVP Tom Campana drained 24 points while Josh Martella added 23 in a 71-65 win over the London Ramblers.

In earlier games, Martella scored 23 points and Campana 16 to lead the Cougars past the London Orion 51-50. Martella and Campana then poured in 16 and 15 points, respectively, in a 50-46 win over the Hamilton Wildcats.

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The Sault Sharks Major Midget girls basketball team played in the Huntsville Tournament over the weekend.

In the opening game, the Sharks fell 34-31 as Orillia Lakers hit a shot at the buzzer for the win. Erin Hurd, Katie Huckson and Kelsey Foster led the Sharks with six points each.

In another heartbreaker, the locals fell 39-37 to Bracebridge in overtime. Jessica Bauer led with 10 points while Foster and Allison Marinich added eight each and Huckson six.

In their final game, the Sharks rolled past Caledon 54-32. Top scorer was Marinich with 14 points while Iolanda Ranco and Huckson chipped in eight each. Katie Babcock, Hurd and Ali Wytsma scored six points each.

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