These teams are certainly not strangers.
They have played 12 regular season games against each other over the past five years, but have met only once in the playoffs.
It was a memorable meeting.
Back in the 2022, the Maritime Women’s Basketball Association was brand, spanking new.
Halifax Thunder would roll through the league that season with an unblemished 10-0 record, but were stunned in the PRO•LINE Legacy Cup final at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.
It was a dramatic 87-84 win for the city rival Halifax Hornets, who were coached that season by John Tramble.
That game was tied 84-84 before late free gave the Hornets the edge after going 8-2 during the regular season.
Fast forward to now.
The teams clash again for the first time in the post-season since that memorable battle and it’s expected to be a doozy as PRO•LINE Legacy Cup unfolds at the Richard J. Currie Center Saturday and Sunday.
Thunder and Hornets are part of a four-team event in the New Brunswick capital city.
Thunder rolls in as No. 1 overall seed thanks to its 9-1 regular season record as champions of the Nova Scotia Division. Moncton Mystics come in No. 2 as New Brunswick Division regular season title holders after a 7-3 mark. Hometown Fredericton Freeze and its 6-4 mark has it seeded third and the Hornets are fourth after going 6-4.
The deadlock between Fredericton and the Hornets was solved by head-to-head meetings with the Freeze earning an 85-80 win at home back on May 30.
What can you expect from the Thunder-Hornets outing?
Plenty.
As in plenty of offence, plenty of talent and plenty of emotion.
Thunder held a big team offensive lead over the Hornets, outscoring its city foes 890-787, but it was much tighter at the other end of the court. Thunder yielded a league-low 627 points compared to Hornets’ 640, so fairly even in that department.
Thunder owns a number of weapons and with veteran Justine Colley-Leger and Elizabeth Beals-Iseyemi leading the way, it’s an offence hard to contain. Haley McDonald, Sandy Saunders, Bianca Helmig, Ava MacNutt, Maddy White and Kali Grootenboer have all taken turns – along with others – in helping Thunder this season.
Head coach Ben Miller does not have a lot of weakness throughout his lineup and has managed to ensure a team full of star power has shared the same ball all season.
Miller distributed minutes to his entire roster, with Iseyemi leading the way with just under 24 minutes of floor time a game.
It will be interesting to watch and see if Thunder tightens its minute sharing in the single game showdown with the Hornets.
As for the Hornets, the team runs through point guard Aki Kobayashi. Multi-faceted, Kobayashi can dish, can score and can find seams when defences designed to stop her thought the holes were covered.
When she is directing offensive traffic, there are plenty or targets to keep in mind under the direction of head coach, Mark Forward.
Lucy Beaumont paced all Hornets in scoring, averaging 13.1 points a game and hauling down 10.5 rebounds an outing.
She has company.
Clara Gascoigne, who eats minutes and scores a shade under 12 a game. Veteran Jasmine Parent and Chloe Wilson know their way around both ends of the court. Emily Dikdan can go off, Ella Hoyt has been impressive and Lily Francois and Samantha Russell are dangerous on the floor.
Despite all the offence surrounding both teams, this could turn into a defensive tussle which means it may go down to the semifinal wire.
The opening tip is set for 5 p.m.
Winner advances directly to the PRO•LINE Legacy Cup final on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The losing sides meet in Sunday’s 11:30 a.m., consolation game.
The games this weekend will be available on Pay Per View through www.ao.live Each game is $10 (plus tax) or there is a tournament four-game package for $30 (plus tax) if you’re unable to attend live.
Individual game tickets are unavailable at the RJCC box office, but day passes are $15 for adults for two games or $12 for seniors/students. Four game packages are available for $30 or $25 for seniors and students.
Children under-14 are admitted free to all games.
– Two Nova Scotia capital city rivals go head-to-head Saturday in semifinal play. (TC Sports Media Photo)
