Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Girls Earn Silver at District Basketball Tournament

The JC Hill Girls Basketball team lost their first game to OMSK today but then went on to beat every other team in the tournament before eventually falling to OMSK again in the championship game to claim 2nd place, or silver, in the district tournament.

The day got off to a rocky start against the eventual champs, with JC Hill suffering a 26-5 loss.  OMSK got all their points from three scorers, while JC also had a basket each from the trio of Tana, Tashina and Mackenzie, who made one of her free throw attempts. 

The first game served as a wake up call for the girls, but almost too late.  Trailing by eight points to start their second game against ECG, the bench players came on to spark a come from behind victory 18-14.  The team got balanced scoring as six girls found the score sheet; Madison, Alexis, Darrien, Tana, Mariah and Mackenzie.  The girls celebrated this victory by dedicating it to Mrs. M. Hill.

Facing a win or be eliminated situation for the rest of the day, the girls squeaked out a hard fought defensive battle against Kawenni:io in game three.  The victory was secured by limiting Kawenni:io's best player to 5 points.  A.J., Jazzy and Tashinah led with great defensive play along with a bucket each.  Erin and Mackenzie also pitched in on the scoreboard to earn the 13-7 victory.

Immediately following that game, the girls had to face LSK in a very tight match that saw neither team gain much of a lead on the other.  Both teams found scoring from four players apiece, with one dominant scorer on each team.  Jazzy, Shaely and Tana pitched in to help "Big Mac" Mackenzie's huge 14 point game turn into a 20-16 victory.

Having played 40 minutes of straight basketball, the team had one minute to rest before playing the championship game against OMSK.  Playing for an hour straight caught up to the girls, who had little left in the tank, but you wouldn't know it by the way they played.  It was amazing to see how much better the team was getting throughout the day, as they held OMSK to under 20 points for the first time all day.  Unfortunately, only Shaely and Tashinah could find the basket in a 14-3 loss.

Coaches Grozelle and Restoule General want to congratulate the girls on a great run.  We are impressed with your teamwork, your perseverance and the joy with which you played.  It was great to see everyone on the team score and how well you supported and encouraged one another. 

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