The North Battleford Comprehensive High School Vikings junior girls’ basketball team concluded an impressive season in style Saturday.
The Vikings captured the Battle West District Championship Saturday evening at John Paul II Collegiate with a 58–17 victory over the Unity Warriors.
“We had played Unity three times this season so we had a pretty good idea of what to expect when we played them,” Vikings head coach Kara Wilkinson said. “We had great shooting from our guards, but unfortunately, one of our starters was injured in the first quarter and had to leave the game.
“Our entire team has had a lot of court time this season, so I was pretty confident that everyone would be able to make adjustments, and the entire team played well on both offence and defence.”
The Vikings advanced to the championship game thanks to a quarter-final victory over the Hafford Viqueens and a semifinal triumph for the Kerrobert Rebels.
“All season long, I felt like the girls were getting better and better, and they showed how much they have improved over the course of the tournament,” Wilkinson said.
“We travelled up to a tournament Prince Albert a few weeks ago where we were tested against a number of high quality Grade 9 and 10 teams from Regina, and that really prepared us for the rest of the year. The girls realized that if things weren’t going their way at times, they had the ability to work their way back into games.”
After a tournament at Prince Albert Carlton on March 3 and 4, the Vikings’ season will come to an end.
According to Wilkinson, half of this year’s team will be moving up to the senior ranks while the rest of the squad can come back.
“I think the confidence that those graduating players have gained this season will be huge for them as they step up to a new league,” Wilkinson said. “They have spent a lot of hours in the gym on their own time getting better and the hard work they put in has paid off, especially when they matched up against older and bigger girls.
“I want to see those girls that are coming back practicing in the gym as much as possible, and most of them will be playing club basketball and attending camps during the summer. I think you’ll see that extra time on the court pay off when they return next year.”
The John Paul II Collegiate Crusaders also competed in the tournament and came away with a bronze medal after a win over the Rebels.
