Brock Badgers earn U Sports Final 8 ticket without the OUA co-MVP

Operating without Ontario’s co-MVP, the Brock Badgers found a spark of Maddie-ness to remind hoops fans why why they are one of the top teams in Canada.

Rookie Maddie Weinert stepped up early to fill departed star Samantha Keltos’ shoes on Wednesday, to help the nationally No. 2-ranked Badgers ride out the big-game jitters and the challenge from the No. 10 Western Mustangs in the OUA West final in front of a raucous Bob Davis Gymnasium crowd in St. Catharines. By the third quarter, after a 19-2 run, the Badgers were well-assured of the 77-58 victory that secured their ticket in the U SPORTS Final 8 next weekend in Kingston.

Weinert, a St. Catharines native, had a season-most 24 points, including 18 in the first half, and also nabbed a game-most 11 rebounds. Senior forward Mackenzie Robinson contributed 19 points and seven assists, including two timely three-pointers during the third quarter when the Badgers put away Western. Guard Victoria Lawrence was a two-way force, hooping 12 points and taking down eight rebounds. The Badgers’ team effort also helped them limit Western’s leading scorer, Ariana Saumure, to two points, 14 fewer than her season average.

The Badgers’ playoff run has come while adjusting to the absence of Keltos, who has joined a team in an Australian pro leagu.

Prior to nationals, the Badgers will host the No. 3 Rams, from downtown Toronto, in the Critelli Cup final at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are undefeated in league play, but Ryerson defeated Brock by one point in both teams’ non-conference opener on Oct. 16.

The Badgers will have a chance to give Brock three OUA championship teams in the winter sports season, since the women’s hockey and women’s volleyball Badgers both won OUA titles last weekend.

The Final 8 takes place March 31-April 3 in Kingston. Brock were the U SPORTS silver medallists in 2020 before COVID-19 protections wiped out a season of university sports. The defending champion and No. 1-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies have also qualified for the single-elimination tourney, along with the No. 3 Rams, No. 4 Winnipeg Wesmen, No. 6 Acadia Axewomen and host Queen’s Gaels. The other two berths will include the Quebec rep and a wild-card team.

The Final 8 will be streamed on CBC Gem. The hockey and volleyball championships will also be streamed there this week.

Earlier on Wednesday, Keltos, who also hails from St. Catharines, was named OUA West MVP. In the regular season, Keltos averaged 16.2 points per game and was a 44.1 per cent three-point shooter. Badgers coach Mike Rao was also named OUA West coach of the year.

Congratulations to @uOttawaGeeGees Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu and @brockbadgers Samantha Keltos, who have been named the 2021-22 #OUA Most Valuable Players!🏀👏#WeAreONE | #OUAisELITE pic.twitter.com/7zP7O42jEz

— Ontario University Athletics (@OUAsport) March 23, 2022

The Badgers have played in the national women’s hoops tournament five times. Their silver medal in 2020 was the best result in the team’s history, improving on a bronze medal from 1983.

(Cover photo via Brock Athletics.)