The Canora Cougars senior girls basketball team took home first place by winning three straight games as the host team of the senior girls basketball tournament at Canora Composite School (CCS) on February 2-3.
The eight team tournament included visiting squads from Kamsack, Gladmar, Cupar, Melville, Rocanville, Norquay and Esterhazy, said Curtis Baillie, coach. Each team was guaranteed three games.
In Canora’s first game against Kamsack, the Cougars roared out to a 40-17 lead at halftime, and cruised to a decisive 85-29 victory, positioning the local girls in the A-side of the tournament.
In the A-side semifinal, Canora met up with the team from Gladmar. The Cougars once again established a substantial lead, and rolled to a 74-45 win and a spot in the A-side final.
Baillie said the final turned out to be quite a bit more challenging.
“It was a close game until the midway of the third quarter when the Cougars started to pull away. The final score was 62-44 for the Cougars, giving us first place.”
With the three wins, Canora improved its record to 14-2 on the season. Three games were on the upcoming schedule against Yorkton Regional, Kamsack and Yorkton before the winter break, said Baillie.
“After the break we will have one final tune-up tournament in St. Brieux on March 2-3 before starting conference playdowns. The girls are looking to finish the season strong and hopefully secure a top-four ranking in the province. This would allow us to host a regional tournament in Canora once again.”
Baillie looks forward to the possibility of playing at home with the goal of advancing to the Hoopla provincial championship.
