Two old rivals duked it out in an emotional winner-take-all heavyweight New Brunswick Interscholastic Athletic Association Final 12 girls’ AA final.

It lived up to that billing. Woodstock High Thunder earned a dramatic 79-73 win over a gritty Carleton North High Stars crew from Florenceville-Bristol. This one wasn’t decided until late.

Woodstock led much of the game, but kept watching Carleton North’s Katie McAfee put on a Final 12 show for the ages, despite the defeat. McAfee, a Grade 11 guard, had a remarkable 39 points, but the Thunder held off her wrecking ball offence to cut the nets.

Sandy Saunders had a team-high 26 points for Woodstock. Senior Claire Dunlop put in her usual day of hard work with 17 points and Morgan McHatten drained 14. Saunders had 10 rebounds.

McAfee, who also had 11 rebounds, was helped by backcourt partner Emily Briggs, who cashed in 22 points. McAfee hit a three late to the game 73-73, but it would be decided on the foul line.

Dunlop was one-for-two with 1:19 left to push Woodstock ahead 74-73 and Emma Lawrence hit a pair from the stripe with 48.5 ticks left and it was a three point lead. Carleton North couldn’t cash and was forced to foul Caroline Burpee, who hit both for a 77-73 margin. McHatten hit a pair from the freethrow line with 7.4 seconds to cap the scoring. The game attracted approximately 1,300 fans.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login