For a high school basketball program getting used to bigger surroundings, there’s no better way to get better than by competing at the provincial Hoopla championship.
That’s the biggest lesson that coach Bryan Cottini and the rest of the North Battleford Comprehensive High School Vikings senior girls team are taking from this past weekend, as they competed at the 5A tournament in Prince Albert.
“I talked to the girls at length following both games and the biggest message to them was just how proud I was of their effort,” Cottini said.
“It may not show it in the final scores, but I was very happy with how we played in both games. I had a lot of people coming up to me during the weekend and complementing how well we played against bigger and harder opponents.”
Coming off a bronze medal win last year at the 4A tournament in Regina, the Vikings qualified for Hoopla with a second place finish at the regional tournament a weekend earlier in Weyburn.
Their quest for a provincial crown was halted in the quarter-final round Thursday as they dropped a 84-65 decision to the Saskatoon Centennial Chargers.
“We played well in the first half and had a 37-29 lead, but then Centennial switched into a two-three zone defence that baffled us for about five minutes,” Cottini said.
“They went on a 14-2 run, but we were still tied at 45 late in the third quarter. After that, our big post player [Abby Neufeld] got into foul trouble and eventually got fouled out of the game. It’s pretty hard to match up against Centennial when you are missing someone like that.”
Mia Cottini had 34 ponts to lead the Vikings on offence, while Kaitlyn Jockims put up 33 points for the Centennials in the victory.
The Vikings wrapped up their weekend in the consolation bracket Friday with a 72-47 loss to the Saskatoon St. Joseph Guardians.
Mia Cottini once again led the way for the Vikings with 26 points.
With Cammy Simon and Mia Cottini the only Grade 12 players on this year’s team, the Vikings are expected to return the majority of their roster for next season.
“You never know who will step up during training camp, so it’ll be interesting to see how we’ll fill some of those holes on the roster,” Coach Cottini said.
“One of the biggest things we noticed this weekend was just how strong the depth is on those top teams, and that’s something we’ll be focussing on.”
The 5A girls’ Hoopla title went to the Regina LeBoldus Golden Suns in a 63-47 affair against the Saskatoon Aden Bowman Bears.
