Girls Final 12 Matchups Are Set

By Paul Vaughan
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Updated: February 18, 2019

Republished with permission of NB Hoops Report

Well, well, well.

After all of that, it’s come down to this.

The Final 12 dinner tables are set and ready to chow down on some February Frenzy of interscholastic basketball at Saint John’s gem of an arena, Harbour Station from Feb. 22 to 23.

The finalists at the AAA, AA and A levels all earned their Final 12 tickets on sectional final Saturday across the province.

Here are your match-ups:

AAA

It’s going to be a Battle of Fredericton, some 67 miles to Station Street.

The Fredericton Riverview Ford High Black Kats and Capital City rival Leo Hayes High Lions will meet on the big stage in the AAA championship.

Both finalists used major offensive eruptions to get there.

Fredericton held a slim 31-30 halftime lead over the Kennebecasis Valley High Crusaders, but exploded for 41 third quarter points on the way to an 84-61 win over the Quispamsis squad.

The Black Kats held serve on their own court.

In Moncton, the road Lions downed the host Moncton High Purple Knights, 88-72 to reach the final.

Leo Hayes jumped out early against the NorthEast’s No. 1 seed and never looked back for the school’s first ever girls’ trip to the NB title game.

Both the Black Kats and Lions play out of the Western Conference.

There was an easy route and a difficult one.

Either way, it’s destination Harbour Station for the Rothesay High Red Hawks and Fundy Middle High Mariners of St. George.

No. 1 seed Rothesay took care of business at home, downing St. Stephen High Spartans, 83-48 to get the trip from the Saint John suburbs into town.

It was a little more difficult for the Mariners.

Facing the multi-defending champion Woodstock High Thunder, the game turned into a low scoring affair and ended 37-37 at the end of 40 minutes, forcing overtime.

Fundy, the fourth seed, came out strong in the extra session and posted a 52-40 win. The Mariners had eliminated top seed James M. Hill High Tommies of Miramichi to get to the final.

Both Rothesay and Fundy are Southern Conference members.

One team was expected, the other howled of surprise.

Regardless, the single A Final 12 showdown has the Harvey High Lakers and Hartland Community School Huskies ready to duel.

Hartland shocked No. 1 NorthEast seed Caledonia Regional High Tigers in their own den, 77-73 to get to Saint John.

Harvey, No. 1 in the SouthWest, had its fits against upstart Nackawic High Nighthawks and its defence first, ask questions later style of play.

The Lakers would prevail with a 54-43 decision at home.

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