Stage set for girls basketball city championships

It's now down to a single game to determine the city champions in the Girls High School Basketball League.

After semi-final action on Thursday, the St. Mary's Knights and Korah Colts will battle for the senior division championship while the St. Basil Saints will play the Knights for the junior division crown.

The city championships are now scheduled for St. Mary's on Saturday due to a rotation in venues and will begin with the junior final at 4 p.m. followed by the senior championship at 6 p.m.

In senior, the Colts captured a 50-48 thriller over St. Basil in one semi-final while the undefeated Knights handled the Mount St. Joseph College Royals 55-24 in the other.

At Korah, Brittany Hogan drained five three-pointers for 15 points while Christina Medaglia added another 15 to lead the Colts past the Saints. Jaclyn Cummings added 10 points for the winners while Lara Stilin paced the Saints with 13 points, Samantha Rainone added 12 and Adrianna Bruni 11.

At St. Mary's, Kathleen Thorburn led the Knights with 15 points while Brittany Denneny and Kira Favaro added eight each. For the Royals, Vanessa Chaimbrone dropped seven points and Diana Buonomo six.

*** JUNIOR:

St. Basil, who have yet to be defeated in league play, captured a 34-24 win over the Sir James Dunn Eagles at home. Lauren Wonzy poured in 16 points for the Saints while Angela Bruni added eight. Allison Marinich led the Eagles with five points.

At St. Mary's, Megan Delfre and Brianna Mandolesi scored 15 points each and Katie Babcock added 10 in a 48-39 win over Korah. Jessica Bauer topped the Colts with 13 points while Heather King added eight and Alexis Smith seven.

*** NOSSA TIEBREAKER:

In a special tiebreaker to determine a third NOSSA berth in the junior division, the Colts and Eagles will meet on Tuesday. With the Sault hosting the NOSSA championships, the locals will get two entries into the AAA playdowns and one in the AA category.

In senior, Mount St. Joseph will represent the city as the third NOSSA seed while St. Basil will play in the single A playdowns.

*** 2005 GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE:

* City Finals: Saturday, Nov. 19 @ St. Mary's

Junior - 4 p.m Senior - 6 p.m.

* NOSSA AA & AAA: Friday/Saturday, Nov. 25-26 in Sault Ste. Marie

* NOSSA A: Friday/Saturday, Nov. 25-26 in Sudbury

* OFSAA: December 2-4

*** REFEREE'S AWARD NOMINEES:

Seven senior division players are in the running for the Lyn Cole Memorial Trophy, symbolic of the Referee's Award winner for the player best combining sportsmanship and ability.

This year's nominees include Amanda Whitmell (Bawating), Sarah Levesque (Korah), Miranda Chaimbrone (Mount St. Joseph), Lara Stilin (St. Basil), Kathleen Thorburn (St. Mary's), Stephanie Davies (Sir James Dunn) and Bridgit Hindermeier (White Pines).

The winner will be announced following the senior division championship game on Saturday at Korah.

*** FINAL REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS:

SENIOR DIVISION

St. Mary's 12-0 Korah 10-2 St. Basil 8-4 Mount St. Joseph 6-6 White Pines 3-9 Sir James Dunn 2-10 Bawating 1-11

JUNIOR DIVISION:

St. Basil 10-0 St. Mary's 8-2 Korah 6-4 Bawating 3-7 Sir James Dunn 3-7 White Pines 0-10

***