In a back and forth 4A gold medal game at Hoopla that went down to the second-last possession, the Estevan Comprehensive School Elecs senior girls were only a split second away from winning.
“I couldn’t have asked for more from my team for their determination or their heart,” said Elecs head coach Jessie Smoliak, whose team played a close 60-56 loss to the Melfort Comets. “They played to win and had nothing to lose, and that was the thing going into the game. We wanted to make some upsets, too.
The third ranked Elecs got to the final by dispatching the second ranked Moose Jaw Peacock Toilers 65-61 Friday in front of a raucous crowd in Prince Albert.
“They executed the game plan very well,” said Smoliak. “They pinpointed a couple of players on their team and I feel they.. shot those key players down. But we played as a team and won as a team on Friday night and that’s just a huge accomplishment in itself…
“We needed to peak at the right time in order to win and that’s exactly what we did. A couple of players, other than my Grade 12s, played consistently well. Ruth Pecson came through almost for the win.”
With the Elecs up by two with 25 seconds left in the semfinal, Pecson stole the ball and then gained possession. The Toilers didn’t foul the Elecs until the ball had been eventually tossed around to senior Tatiana Dutka, who drained a pair of free throws.
“(Pecson) made a few critical assists and a few points during the game and she just had a really really smart game.”
Smoliak also complimented Jennica Memory, a tall Grade 9 post, for coming in to key moments in the game to score, as well as grade 9 starting post Haylee Jones who also helped with some rebounds.
“She was very strong underneath the hoop,” Smoliak said.
Dutka led the team in scoring in the gold medal game with 24 points.
The Elecs will lose their four seniors in Dutka, Sammy Wade, Morgan Fichter and Khrystal Montebon but with their younger players stepping in to key roles, don’t be surprised to see the Elecs returning to Hoopla soon.
“These girls have experienced it and they want to be back,” Smoliak said. “Even (Sunday) morning, those Grade 9s are talking about when they want to be back at Hoopla.”
