Brynn Masikewich had 16 points, nine rebounds and was named Team White MVP, as they defeated Team Red 112-78 in the first BioSteel All Canadian Girls Game at the Goldring Centre, home to the University of Toronto.
The contest featured the 24 best female high school basketball players who were either enrolled in a Canadian institution or Canadian born.
Almost as soon the game tipped off, it was immediately one-sided and could’ve been worse if not for the performance of Merissah Russell, who scored 30 points, added 10 rebounds and recorded three steals for Team Red and claimed MVP honours for that club.
Team White outscored Team Red in every quarter, received far more consistency from their entire roster, and going into the third quarter led in bench scoring 35-11.
Despite a matchup that lacked competitiveness, the advancement of women’s basketball in Canada is something that was emphasized prior to the game.
“The evolution is growing for female basketball,” said Masikewich. “I know the senior team is ranked fifth in the world, so Canada is on the come up and it’s showing them we can ball.”
A six-foot-three forward, Masikewich is set to attend UCLA this coming fall where she’ll be a student-athlete. She joins five others in Sunday’s game who have made NCAA basketball Division I commitments and two who will stay north of the border in U Sports.
One of the five heading south is Russell, who’ll be attending Louisville in 2020.
The six-foot guard from Ottawa showcased her entire game by using a variety of shots, displaying athletic moves and continuously grabbing rebounds.
Even with a great performance, Russell knows she still has skills to work on before heading south.
“Changing my mentality for defence, not that I don’t love it, but I have to change it,” said Russell. “Every day we (working with the founder of Capital Courts Academy, Merrick Palmer) find a weakness that I have to work on, and we work until it’s not a weakness anymore.”
Her fellow Capital Courts teammate Micah Dennis was named 2019 Girls Canadian Player of the Year prior to tip-off.