The St. Thomas Tommies avenged last year’s bronze medal loss, beating the Grant MacEwan Griffins 73-56 at the 2012 BMO CCAA Women’s National Basketball Championship.

The game was a physical affair, with bodies from both teams flying everywhere.

Although Grant MacEwan’s Courtney Knox scored the first points of the game, it was Kelly Debow’s three-pointer immediately afterwards that kick-started St. Thomas’s dominance.

The Tommies played strong defence throughout the game, often having two players covering a Griffins player. Their defence was so successful, they managed to hold Kristen Monasterski, the Griffins’ lead scorer and CCAA All Canadian, to six points in the first half.

However, Grant MacEwan managed to keep it close, with Bayan Kurd’s two successful free-throws making it 17-12 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, St. Thomas continued their aggressiveness, with Debow
scoring two more three pointers. Debow led her team with 11 points in the first
half.

The Tommies’ strong defence and foul trouble from the Griffins helped extend their lead to 33-20 at halftime.

In the first half, St. Thomas had 23 rebounds compared to Grant MacEwan’s 20.

In the third quarter, the Tommies continued their dominance outside the paint, with successful shots scored by Debow and Kelly Vass. The score at the end of the quarter was 53-35 for the Tommies.

The Griffins played a strong fourth quarter, with three pointers from Kurd and Hilary Annich. They managed to close the gap to 10 points with a minute to go, but the Tommies kept the game out of reach.

Players of the game were Kelly Debow with 17 points for the Tommies and Kristen Monasterski with 15 points for the Griffins.

Tommies coach Fred Connors was excited after the Tommies’ victory, praising his team’s style of play.

“We played tough. We thought that if we could turn it into a scrappy game, it would be to our advantage,” he said.

He also added that it was a team effort that ensured their victory.

Head coach of the Griffins Rob Poole also praised the Tommies’ victory, despite being unhappy with the result.

“When you get to this level, you have to play well. The Tommies did what they had to and we didn’t get it done. That’s why they are bronze medalists,” he said.