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North Bay Spartans U16 Girls capture Bronze in Hamilton

Playing in their last tournament before the Provincial the North Bay Spartans U16 Girls captured a bronze medal at the Blessed Sacrament Basketball Tournament over the weekend.

Playing in their last tournament before the Provincial the North Bay Spartans U16 Girls captured a bronze medal at the Blessed Sacrament Basketball Tournament over the weekend. 

It has been a steep learning curve for this very young Spartan team this year as over half their lineup are 1 or 2 years younger than most of their opponents.

They have been very competitive but this weekend was their first taste of tournament success.

The Spartans got off to a slow start losing to the eventual gold medalist Tecumseh Saints from Windsor 43-32. North Bay got off to a very slow start in this game trailing at the half 22-9. The second half saw the Spartans pull within 5 points in the last 2 minutes but clutch foul shooting down the stretch sealed the victory for Tecumseh. Player of the game Morgan Meilleur led the Spartans with 11 points.

The Spartans then defeated Penetang/Midland 46-43 in their second game. This game didn’t start off well for  the Spartans trailing by 13 points late in the 3rd quarter. The Spartans chipped away and took their first lead on a Madison Jeanneault basketball in the final minute.

A late free throw by North Bay and a failed desperation three sealed the win for the Spartans. Valeria Munoz Rodriquez with a game high 17 points led the Spartans.

The Spartans then defeated Blessed Sacrament 39-25. Morgan Meilleur was the high score with 12 points and Madison Jeanneault added 9 points.

In their final round robin game North Bay defeated Whitby 59-40. The Spartans were clicking on all cylinders in this game. Valeria Munoz Rodriquez led the way with 20 points. Meilleur added 11, Megan Bessette 8 points and Madison Jeanneault was automatic at the free throw line hitting 5 free throws and a basket for a total of 7 points.

The Spartans finished in a tie for second but lost the tie breaker with Tecumseh and were forced to play for bronze. That was not a problem as they kept their winning streak going with a convincing 65-47 victory over Penetang. This final outcome was the result of strong rebounding play by Cleo Caruso and Madison Jeanneault allowing Tylor Vaillancourt and Valeria Munoz Rodriqiuez to run the break leading to easy transition points.

Every Spartan hit the scoresheet with Madison Jeanneault leading the way with 14 points. Meilleur added 11, Vaillancourt 9, Caruso 6. Bessette 6, Megan Lefebvre 6, Munoz Rodriquez 4, Katelyne Brownlee 4, Carissa Ricci 3 and Alex Strom 2 points.

The Spartans are off to the Provincial May 1-3 in Niagara Falls.