The North Battleford Comprehensive High School Vikings senior girls basketball team took full advantage of playing in familiar surroundings over the weekend.
As the hosts of the 2018 NBCHS Invitational, the Vikings posted a 4-0 record and captured the gold medal with a 55-35 win over the Swift Current Ardens Saturday night.
“I am beyond excited with how things went,” Vikings head coach Bryan Cottini said.
“We’ve been competitive at many of the tournaments we’ve been to this year, but it just felt like we couldn’t get over the hump. So for us to get the gold this weekend, it’s a big step in the right direction and it really feels like things are coming together for us.”
The championship contest marked the second time the two sides had played this season, as the Ardens picked up a 12-point win in their previous encounter with the Vikings.
“We’ve made a lot of adjustments since that game,” Cottini said. “We actually have some height on our roster this season, which is quite different from previous years, so we’ve had to adjust our philosophy a bit when it comes to how we are pressing on defence and how we move the ball down the court.
“It’s taken us a little bit of a time to adapt to a slightly different way of doing things. Our team this year has two Grade 12 players, five Grade 10’s and four Grade 9’s, so our senior players [Mia Cottini and Cammy Simon] have been doing a lot of leading and guidance out on the court for us.”
Following a pair of round-robin victories Friday over the Vanier Spirits and the Peacock Toilers of Moose Jaw, the Vikings advanced to the final with a semifinal triumph over the Estevan Elecs on Saturday afternoon.
“We got to play in front of the school in the game against Vanier so that was a good way to start the tournament,” Cottini said. “We haven’t had a great track record against Peacock this year, but we made a few adjustments from our first two games with them this season and won a really close battle with them.
“Estevan’s one of the top 4A teams in the province so they were a big hurdle for us to overcome. Getting a 10-point win over them in our first time facing them this year was something I was really happy about.”
After winning a bronze medal in the 4A girls division at last year’s Hoopla tournament in Regina, the Vikings have moved to the 5A category for this year’s event, which will be held in Prince Albert from March 22-24.
“It really hasn’t changed much when it comes to how we’ve gone about our schedule for this season, but the road to get to Hoopla is a lot different,” Cottini said.
“Only two teams come out of the 5A rural regional tournament [which will take place in Weyburn on March 16-17] so the odds have gone done quite a bit from what they were in the past. We are going to Weyburn the weekend before regionals for their tournament, so that should be a great tune-up event for us.”
The Vikings are now gearing up to host a Pink Game on their home court on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. against the Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders.
The game, which will see the Vikings sport special pink uniforms, will see all funds raised going to the Cancer Ward at the Battlefords Union Hospital.
“We’re really excited about that night,” Cottini said. “There’s been a number of promotions around the school for the game and the community has really stepped up with a number of business donating money and prizes for our silent auction fundraiser.
“St. Mary’s is a good team so it should be a close game.”
Tickets for the game, which can only be purchased at the door that night, are $5 for adults and $2 for students with children under the age of 12 getting in for free.
