In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The Fillmore Falcons stomped the Bengough Tigers 98-26. …………………………………………………… The Herbert Laurels whipped the Radville Rebels 70-34. …………………………………………………… The Central Butte Bulldogs dumped the Canwood Cougars 67-40 after leading 13-4, 29-13 and 51-26 at the quarters. …………………………………………………… The Southey Screaming Eagles clipped the Hepburn Hawks 65-47. The Eagles broke to a 14-0 lead and never looked back, leading 23-5, 38-13 and 57-25 at the quarters. …………………………………………………… The Middle Lake Three Lakes Avengers crushed H.H. Hardcastle Royals 78-30. The host Avengers took a 30-3 lead and romped. They led 49-8 at the half. …………………………………………………… The Rockglen Raiders defeated Loreburn 70-60 after lead 17-10, 37-24 and 49-41 at the quarters. The Aztecs rallied to within four down the stretch but the Raiders hung on for the win. …………………………………………………… The Frontier Raiders dusted the Plenty Wildcats 102-38. The Raiders broke to a 20-2 lead and extended their margin to 32-3 after one quarter and 54-20 at the half. Coakley and Heggested repeated pilfered the ball for transition layups. Frontier led 82-30 after three quarters. Kaitlyn Heggested led Frontier with 31. Hailey Coakley added 29. Follensbee paced the Wildcats with 15. …………………………………………………… The Lake Lenore Lancers whipped the Wolseley Warriors 67-40 after leading 16-11, 34-24 and 49-36 at the quarters. Bauml paced Lake Lenore with 30. Bella led the Warriors with 16.
In the quarterfinals, the Fillmore Falcons crushed the Herbert Laurels 82-48 by dominating the paint.
The Southey Screaming Eagles dumped the Central Butte Bulldogs 55-41 after leading 17-14, 23-17 and 37-26 at the quarters.
The Middle Lake Three Lakes Avengers dismissed the Rockglen Raiders 81-43 after leading 26-12, 46-22 and 62-30 at the quarters.
In the last quarterfinal, the Frontier Raiders handled the Lake Lenore Lancers 74-55. The Raiders notched eight treys on the night. Coakley scored 15 points as Frontier took a 24-14 lead after one quarter and Haley Caswell dominated the boards. Frontier led 36-26 at the half and 62-34 after three quarters. Bauml rallied Lake Lenore in the second half, scoring 20 but it was too little too late. Kaitlyn Heggested led Frontier with 21. Bauml paced the Lancers with 23.
In the semis, the Fillmore Falcons crushed the Southey Screaming Eagles 79-39 as Erin Clarke scored 26 and Amanda Ogden 15. Samantha Calhoon led the Screaming Eagles with 14. Samantha Flaman added 9.
In the other semi, the Middle Lake Three Lakes Avengers nipped the Frontier Raiders 54-53 as Jill Heidecker scored 26 and Taylor Krentz 11. Kaitlyn Heggestad led the Raiders with 22. Janelle Bennett added 13. Kristen Laforme scored the winning basket with 26 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. “I just called for the ball and hoped it would go in,” Laforme, who was 10 feet to the right of the basket when she accepted a pass from Taylor Krentz, told the Regina Leader-Post. “I can’t put it into words. I just want to burst into tears.”
In the bronze medal match, the Southey Screaming Eagles edged the Frontier Raiders 70-64 as Samantha Calhoon scored 25 and Liz Thompson-Gale 14. Kaitlyn Heggestad paced the Raiders with 24. Haley Caswell added 12. “The girls put the word ‘Hoopla’ on their mirror in lipstick two years ago,” Southey head coach Karen Gorham said. “We just have to add the word ‘medal’ underneath that this year.” One challenge for Southey is to find teams in its class. There aren’t enough 1A girls’ teams in the Southey area to form a league, so the Screaming Eagles’ schedule is restricted to tournaments until Hoopla. Consequently, several weekends have been spent on the road. Davidson, which is an 80-minute drive from Southey, is the closest destination. Other excursions have taken the Southey team to centres such as Middle Lake, Lake Lenore and Central Butte. “To get to where the good teams are, it’s a necessity,” assistant coach Dean Andrews said of the travel. “There are few teams, period,” coach Karen Gorman said. “Our season is sleeping on the floor, at schools far and wide.” Sometimes the girls sleep on gym mats. “And the odd air mattress, if they’re lucky,” Andrews said with a chuckle.
In the final, the Fillmore Falcons dumped the Middle Lake Three Lakes Avengers 67-47 to capture their ninth title in 10 years as Erin Clark scored 22, Amanda Ogden 21 and Helyn van Staveren 12. Jill Heidecker paced the Avengers with 33. Cara Kielan added 4. Falcons 4-11 guard Skye Griep told the Regina Leader-Post “this is just awesome. It’s hard to believe that such a small school can get that many trophies.” Coach Tracy Ogden said “it never gets old.” Griep said “there’s probably no one in Fillmore — absolutely no one. Everything’s closed down. I believe our gas attendant is even here.” Griep received her fourth gold medal as a player while being part of her fifth victory celebration. She was the team manager as a Grade 7 student and joined the Falcons the following season. “Each year is different,” said Griep. “There’s a different atmosphere and a different place. People are leaving (due to graduation) and new people are joining the team.” Ogden told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “We’ve been fortunate. It just comes from tradition — (the girls) just play hard and practice hard.” The Falcons soared to a quick 24-2 lead in the first quarter. Ogden never played the sport, and only got involved as a parent volunteer. Even though he’s now won four titles as the head coach, he admits to incorporating new plays as he sees them. In the end, the talent just seems to come. “They get a chance at an early age, and the rest comes down from the top — older girls want it, and the younger girls want it too,” said Tracy. Amanda Ogden said “I don’t know how to put it into words,” she said. “It’s the teamwork, everyone working together and all the fans we have. It’s just amazing how much support we have.”
The bronze medalist Robert Southey Screaming Eagles: Samantha Calhoon; Samantha Flaman; Liz Thompson-Gale; coach Karen Gorham; assistant Dean Andrews
The silver medalist Middle Lake Three Lakes Avengers: Jill Heidecker; Taylor Krentz; Cara Kielan; Heather Martin; Haley Olynuk; Kristen Laforme; coach Trevor Otsig
The gold medalist Fillmore Falcons: Erin Clarke; Amanda Ogden; Breanne Dammann; Mackenzie Fahlman; Skye Griep; Helyn Van Staveren; coach Tracy Ogden; coach Trent Berling