Hoopla will include teams from Unity and Wilkie

UNITY - With decisive victories in all cases, the Unity Composite High School girls’ and boys’ basketball teams, as well as the McLurg High School girls’ team, were each crowned regional champions in their respective divisions March 19, paving the way for them to compete at Hoopla, the SHSAA provincial basketball championships, March 25 and 26. UCHS hosted both the boys’ and girls’ 3A competition, while Wilkie was the host for the 2A girls’ regionals.

UCHS boys

The Unity Warriors had decisive victories in both of their regional games. Under the guidance of coach Jeremy Wagner, the boys played their first game March 18, beating Prince Albert Christian Institute 71-32, moving them to the regional final March 19, against the Kindersley Kobras. The Kobras had a little tougher battle in their first game, but won over Delisle 62-59.

In the final, the Warriors took an early lead and never looked back enroute to their 83-59 victory. Kindersley had three of their players foul out while UCHS was able to use their full rotation throughout the game. Nine Warrior players put the ball in the basket to help Unity’s cause with Denim O’Donnell sinking 13 shots, including three 3-pointers and one foul shot.

In the consolation final, Delisle defeated PA Christian Institute 78-52.

Speaking after the final game, Coach Jeremy Wagner said one of the keys to the boys’ win was their full-court press, limiting the opposition’s opportunities to get under the basket and score. “It especially works well when we are playing a shorter team,” he said.

As for what he will have his players practise in preparation for Hoopla – “foul shots.” The boys did not make the most of their opportunities to score when awarded foul shots and, in a closer game, a foul shot could mean the difference between losing and winning.

The UCHS Warriors will take on Fort Qu’Appelle March 25, with the provincial tournament being held in Osler. The winner of that game will then meet the winner of an Osler Valley Christian Academy and Regina Christian School matchup to decide the provincial champions. The Warriors are currently ranked second in the province among 3A boys’ teams, with Osler VCA the only team ahead of them.

UCHS girls

The Unity Warriors easily moved on to the regional final by beating Moose Jaw Riverview School 79-28, March 18. In the other preliminary regional game, the Creighton Kodiaks beat Regina Christian School 69-46.

The Unity girls led in the final game against the Kodiaks from start to finish, ending with a 78-41 win. Nine of the ten players on the team contributed baskets to the victory, with Kierra Bosch leading the team in scoring, putting the ball in the basket nine times, including three 3-pointers. Dailyn Wagner also was successful on nine of her shot attempts, which included four foul shots.

In the consolation final, Regina Christian School handily beat MJ Riverview 81-29.

Coach Aaron Melnyk is pleased with his team’s flexibility in adapting to different game plans. “Depending on who we are playing, we have been able to take a number of different approaches … and it’s paid off.” Because the girls have worked hard on fundamental skills, they have the foundation to use different strategies in different settings.

Melnyk added, “We aren’t the biggest team on the court often, but our defensive intensity and determination has made up for any lack of size we may face.”

Looking forward to Hoopla weekend, Melnyk said “Hustle plays and an increased shooting percentage have helped us get this far. As we prepare … we will stick to our fundamental routines and work through some specific strategies that we believe will give us the edge.”

Ranked second provincially, the lady Warriors will face the third-ranked St. Walburg team in their first game at Hoopla, March 25. The winner of that game will then take on the winner of a Indian Head/Kamsack game for the provincial championship. Indian Head, which holds the top ranking in Saskatchewan 3A girls’ basketball, will host the games.

McLurg girls

The Wilkie Broncs moved on to their regional final by defeating Asquith 83-48, March 18. Meanwhile, in a lower scoring game, Hepburn beat St. Brieux 58-39 to earn the right to meet the Broncs in the final.

The McLurg girls won the final against Hepburn 73-57 to advance to Hoopla.

Coach Mark Myszczyszyn said, although the speed and athleticism of team members definitely has contributed to their wins to date, “more than that, we don’t rely on any one player. Everybody does the job.” He believes he can put anybody in the game and get the same results. In fact, with a stacked bench of 16, he sometimes has to work extra hard to “keep everybody in the game.”

Looking forward to Hoopla this weekend, Myszczyszyn said one area where the team could do better is communication. At practices this week, he will be working with the girls to improve their on-court communication.

Wilkie knows they will face Moose Jaw Cornerstone in their first game, March 25, in the 2A provincial tournament. A win in that game would move them on to the Hoopla final March 26 against either Wynyard, ranked first in the province and hosting, or Norquay, ranked fourth. The Broncs currently hold a second-place ranking.

Macklin girls

With a second place finish at conferences in Wilkie March 12, the Macklin Sabres girls’ basketball team qualified for regionals. They travelled to Moose Jaw March 18 to compete where they lost their first game, to Davidson, 57-45. Davidson moved on to the regional final, losing a close game, 63-61 to Moose Jaw Cornerstone. Macklin played Eatonia in the consolation final, March 19, winning that game 66-53. Eatonia had lost to MJ Cornerstone the day before, 54-45.

Coach Don Golden said this was the first time in 19 years Macklin School was able to send a girls’ basketball team to regionals. “It was very exciting for the girls, and for the coach too,” he said. Overall, “the girls played very well this weekend. I was very proud of them.”

Golden said they were close to making it to the final, but had one bad quarter in the preliminary game, with Davidson outscoring them by 13 points in the third quarter, ultimately winning the game by only 12 points.

The team will lose just two players to graduation this year. With nine players set to return next year, perhaps it won’t be another 19 years before Macklin competes in regional basketball again; but Golden did say they will miss the “very good” leadership of their two Grade 12s: Nomi Kratchmer and Olivia Golden.