In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The Central Butte Bulldogs crushed the Pangman Panthers 90-36 after leading 15-8, 37-17 and 66-30 at the quarters. …………………………………………………… The Regina Harvest City Christian Academy Reapers clipped the Loreburn Aztecs 67-50. The Reapers led 17-13, 34-18 and 46-34 at the quarters. …………………………………………………… The Frontier Raiders dusted the Radville Rebels 83-34. The Rebels built a 9-2 lead on the strength of a series of Kelsey VanDeSype buckets. But Frontier coach Anderson called a time out to settle the troops and they began to pound the ball inside to Haley Caswell to rally within 17-15 after one quarter. The Raiders ripped off a 20-0 run to start the second quarter and move ahead 42-23 at the half, using their height advantage and depth to great effect. They pulled off their press in the second half but still romped. Caswell led Frontier with 21. VanDeSype led Radville with 23. …………………………………………………… The Fillmore Falcons stomped the Rockglen Raiders 79-56. Rockglen led 6-0 and Frontier took 5.5 minutes to score but promptly exploded with a 14-1 run to take a 14-7 lead after one quarter and a 39-15 lead at the half as Dakota Kosior poured in 18. Jenna Thomson led Rockglen with 7 in the first half. Rockglen opened the second half with 12-2 run as Maria Prefontaine got hot and then closed within 60-43 after three quarters but got no closer. …………………………………………………… The Lake Lenore Lancers whipped the Edam Royals 82-32 after leading 19-8, 42-12 and 64-22 at the quarters. The Lancers dictated the tempo with their full-court pressure. Danielle Bauml led the Lancers with 25. Mckenzie Nordell paced Edam with 15. …………………………………………………… The Herbert Laurels dumped the Meath Park Mustangs 58-47. The Laurels led 13-10, 21-16 and 41-29 at the quarters. The Mustangs rallied no closer than seven in the final frame. Kim Doll paced Herbert with 22. Lexi Rowden led the Mustangs with 16. …………………………………………………… The Luseland Arthur Geelan Lords dumped the Eatonia Spartans 59-41 after leading 11-8, 26-21 and 51-28 at the quarters after exploding for 8 unanswered points to start the second half. Kirstin Meier paced Luseland with 22. Nancy Anderson added 21. Andrea Schan paced Eatonia with 19. Erika King added 8. …………………………………………………… The Middle Lake Three Lakes Avengers crushed the Canwood Cougars 76-42. The Avengers pounded the ball inside and built a 16-4 lead after one quarter. They extended it to 37-15 at the half and 58-26 after three quarters. Heather Martin led Middle Lake with 23. Ali Mayoh paced Canwood with 14.
In the quarterfinals, the Central Butte Bulldogs clubbed the Regina Harvest City Christian Academy Reapers 80-50 after leading 24-13, 51-25 and 64-39 at the quarters.
The 4th-seeded Frontier Raiders whipped the 5th-seeded defending provincial champ Fillmore Falcons 70-48. The Raiders started the game on a positive note with nine quick points after nailing a trio of three-pointers by Hope Anderson (2) and Melissa Peacock (1). But Fillmore responded with some fast break buckets. The Raiders squeezed out a 23-15 lead at the end of the first quarter, thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Peacock. Fillmore made several more scoring runs to get back in the game, but Frontier’s outside shooting helped kill Fillmore’s momentum. The Raiders increased their lead at halftime to 44-26. In the second half, both squads increased their defensive pressure. Kenzie Fahlman led the Falcons with 11 in the half and keyed a 12-5 run in the third quarter. But Frontier opened the final frame with a trey and a pair of runout buckets to steals to take command. Peacock paced Frontier with 20. Haley Caswell added 16 and Hope Anderson 12 (all from beyond the arc). “We’ve played a lot of games this season and the kids were just mentally prepared,” said coach Darryl Anderson. “They knew that if they wanted to get to Hoopla, they had to win that game and they worked really hard.”
The Lake Lenore Lancers slammed the Herbert Laurels 68-46 after leading 23-10, 32-20 and 50-32 at the quarters. The Lancers had built a 19 point but a late 9-2 run allowed Herbert to creep within 12 at the half. Lake Lenore extended its lead to 26 in the second half and while Herbert went on an 8-0 run, it was too little, too late. Danielle Bauml led Lake Lenore with 21. Kim Doll paced Herbert with 18.
In the last quarterfinal, the Middle Lake Three Lakes Avengers edged the Luseland Arthur Geelan Lords 51-46 after leading 12-7, 30-21 and 41-30 at the quarters. Cara Kielau paced Middle Lake with 15. Nancy Anderson led Luseland with 13.
In the semis, the top-seeded Central
Butte Bulldogs dumped the 4th-seeded Frontier Raiders 58-40 as Karleen
May scored 21 and Deandra May 18. Melissa Peacock paced the Raiders with 10. The
first three minutes were played at a furious pace with both teams working the
fast break to perfection. Frontier had a four-point lead after the first quarter,
but in the second quarter Central Butte’s depth and rebounding began to take
their toll. After taking a one-point lead into the half at 27-26, the Bulldogs
opened the second half on an 8-0 run thanks to a full-court press that created
numerous Raiders turnovers. Down 47-35 after three quarters, the Raiders mounted
a comeback in the fourth to close the gap to 10 with two minutes left, but
their inability to rebound the basketball allowed the Bulldogs easy second
chance points. Raiders’ grade 11 point guard Janelle Bennett noted their five-person
rotation zapped their energy by the end. “They had more legs than us and we just
ran out of gas,” said Bennett.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Middle Lake
Three Lakes Avengers edged the 2nd-seeded Lake Lenore Lancers 56-51
as Heather Martin scored 19. April Gerwing paced the Avengers with 14.
In the bronze medal match, the Frontier Raiders defeated the Lake Lenore Lancers 61-50 as Kaitlyn Heggestad scored 18 and Haley Caswell 17 and Janelle Bennett 10, Lindsay Anderson 9 and Coakley 8. Danielle Bauml paced the Lancers with 17. The opening half was a tight defensive struggle, with Frontier falling behind 6-5 after the opening quarter before building a 20-12 lead at the half. Both teams struggled to hit shots from the field, behind the three-point arc, and the foul line. Kenaston closed their deficit to five points by pulling to within 30-25 after three quarters. Kenaston took a brief 23-22 lead midway through the quarter before the Raiders responded with an 8-0 run. The final quarter was all Frontier 22-11. The Raiders were able to take advantage of a depleted Kenaston squad with fast-break baskets from Hailey Coakley and Lindsay Anderson. “It felt really good, our fans motivated us a lot,” said Kaitlyn Heggestad. “We played our hearts out to get a medal, we did what we could, and we accomplished it.” Raiders coach Darryl Anderson said “we have kind of had a monkey on our back the last three years. We got in a pretty tough battle up north in regionals a couple of years ago and it has just kind of been following us around. We have been playing teams that we fell we are far superior to and losing. I told the girls today that it is time to get that monkey off our back and play like we can. We came out and shot very poorly today but we still played good defense and managed to come on in the end and win the game quite easily.”
In the final, the Central Butte Bulldogs edged the Middle Lake Three Lakes Avengers 60-56 in double overtime. Coach Troy Wist advised a player at the free throw line to close their eyes. With his team down by one and a team captain at the free throw line, that was Wist’s advice during a timeout with 5.8 seconds to go in the first overtime. She was told to smile too. Whether she did so or not, the player managed to tie the game at 53. That sent the game to double overtime, where the Bulldogs finally managed to pull away from the Avengers. The game was tied at halftime, and ended regulation at 45 after Bulldog Shantelle May stole the ball and hit a layup with 10 seconds to go. With plenty of tense moments in the waning moments of regulation and overtime and with his squad down both times, Wist said he used his litany of timeouts to reinforce his simple message: “calm down, have fun.”
The bronze medalist Frontier Raiders: Haley Caswell; Melissa Peacock; Hope Anderson; Dana Dale; Alanna Kluzak; Kaleisha Heggestad; Haley George; Payton Miller; Megan Fyfe; Skyler Kluzak; Samantha Glenn; Tanner Jensen; Adrienne Keith; Janelle Bennett, Lindsay Anderson; Coakley; coach Darryl Anderson; manager Lucy Legge
The silver medalist Middle Lake Three Lakes Avengers: Heather Martin; Cara Kielau; Kristen Laforme; Rayna Olynuk; coach Trevor Otsig
The champion Central Butte Bulldogs: Karleen May; Shantelle May; Aftyn Campbell; Sarah Wist; Bobbi Schmitz; Bailey Wilson; Emma Wist; Brett Loeppky; Jackie Patrick; Kasey Schmitz; Kirstie Berger; coach Tom Wist; assistant Owen Schmitz