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ECS boys on to regionals; girls lose out

The Estevan Comprehensive School senior boys' basketball team has advanced to regionals after finishing second at its conference championship on Saturday in Wilcox.


The Estevan Comprehensive School senior boys' basketball team has advanced to regionals after finishing second at its conference championship on Saturday in Wilcox.

The senior girls, meanwhile, lost their opening game at their conference championship, also in Wilcox, marking the end of their season.

In a four-team tournament, the Elecs' boys won their first game 72-55 over Lumsden on Saturday afternoon.

The Elecs jumped out to an early lead and managed to hold on for the victory.
That win sent them to the conference final against Weyburn and booked their berth at regionals, as the top two qualifiers move on.

In a game more reminiscent of the first leg of the McLeod Series than the second, the Elecs lost 76-72 to Weyburn in a tightly contested final.

Stefan Seipp led the Elecs with 30 points, while Weyburn's Ben Rumpel had 30 of his own.
The Elecs now head to regionals in Moose Jaw this weekend, with their first game on Friday night against Moose Jaw Central.

The ECS girls, meanwhile, were not so fortunate at the conference championship as they lost 54-45 to Yorkton Regional High School in their first game on Friday afternoon.

Elecs assistant coach Amanda Minchin said the game went back and forth, with Yorkton pulling away a bit in the fourth quarter.

"It was a tight game from beginning to end. In the third quarter, we were down a few points and we kind of got on a run and got ahead of them," she said.

"Then they had a two-minute run where they got a few baskets on us and our shots stopped falling. We weren't able to make our free throws and I think that's what it came down to.

"We got to the line quite a bit, but we didn't make those free throw shots that you need to make in tight games."

Still, she said it was an impressive showing by the Elecs against a team they had not played this season.

"I thought we played one of our best games of the season. It wasn't a great season for the girls, but they played their hearts out and they played one of the best games I've seen all year.

"We went into it looking for a win and it was there and unfortunately the outcome didn't go our way. Our expectations were to win."

Although it was at times a trying year for the senior girls, the team is losing only three Grade 12 players - Bridget Bjorndalen, Kelci Little and Larissa Smeltzer - and Minchin is optimistic about next season.

"Next year we're going to be young, which is fine - there's nothing wrong with being young. (Head coach) Jessie (Elias) has done a really good job of bringing up some juniors. I'm definitely looking forward to next year. We'll have a lot of work ahead of us, but we have a good group of girls that want it."