On Saturday morning, we played Northside, winning 30-28 in a hard-fought victory! In game 2, Cierra led the team with 7 points, Maraya potted 6 points, while Hannah and Teigan netted 4 each. The second game was very exciting and both teams showed excellent sportsmanship. We worked very hard for a chance to play in the Tournament final!
The Championship game was between NVSS and Columneetza (our Williams Lake rivals). We won pulling away, and the final score was 28-20. Columneetza defeated PGSS and Cedars Christian to get to the finals. Having lost to Columneetza last week by 5 points, we knew we were going to have to work hard! It turned out to be super intense with never a dull moment from start to finish!
Teigan and Maraya led with 6 points each, and Hannah got 5. The game was exciting with some great passing and moments of awesome full-court speed. Sky, Brivee, and Cierra never stopped running, and were instrumental in taking it to Columneetza.
Tournament Highlights for NVSS
During the two days of our tournament, there were many highlights. Offensively, Haley and Hannah's long court passes made our full-court offense more mobile and added some speed to our game. Anika dropped some nice shots. Brivee and Sky had some blow-by lay-ups! On the 3 games, Hannah had 18 points, Cierra 15, Maraya 14, Teigan 12, Shelby 10, Meghan 8, and several other players had 6 points.
The true key to success in basketball is Defence, however! I believe we are getting better at this part of the game. Over 3 games, we held our opposition to 21, 28, and 20 points - not too bad at all! On the boards, we had some real leadership from Teigan, Shelby, Katie, and even Meghan, although her foot was bothering her again this weekend. Even Taylor was getting into the act! The girls gathered in rebounds, blocked out, and prevented other teams' big girls from scoring against us. Our team played man-to-man defence, zone defence, worked the press, pulled some traps, and played aggressively from start to finish. There was very little standing around watching by the players - there are too many girls waiting to get on the floor for that to happen! :)
Tournament Results
1. NVSS (W) vs. DPTodd 60-21
2. Northside (W) vs. Duchess B 32-28
3. Columneetza (W) vs. PGSS 37-31
4. Cedars Christian (W) vs. Correlieu 25-15
5. Duchess B (W) vs. DPTodd 75-13
6. Correlieu (W) vs. PGSS 47-32
7. NVSS (W) vs. Northside 30-28
8. Columneetza (W) vs. Cedars Christian 30-25
9. PGSS (W) vs. DPTodd 49-42
10. Duchess B (W) vs. Correlieu Forfeit (2 player injuries)
11. Northside (W) vs. Cedars Christian 28-26
12. NVSS (W) vs. Columneetza 28-20
Tournament Summary
There were 4 major injuries, including 2 turned ankles, a hyper-extended knee, and a broken nose. (Correlieu comes to games ready to play hard - 3 of the major injuries happened during Correlieu games). If a blow-out is a win by 25 points or more, then there were 2 in this tournament. Both were against DPTodd who have not won a game this year, despite a good attitude and effort by their players. Northside competed very hard, winning game 1by 4, losing game 2 by 2, and winning game 3 by 2 points - exciting and challenging games all!
Skills Competition
Best Shooter - Ciara Verduzco (NVSS); Best Ball-Handler - Annie Blois (Col)
Tournament Awards
All Stars: Hannah Marks (NVSS); Kaylee Billyboy (Col); Amanda Schultz (NS); Nikeisha Clayton (DPTodd); Jennifer Stern (PGSS); Cassia Gauthier (Corr); Michel Nikkel (Cedars); (DPSS) Samantha Childs
Top Individual Awards: MVP - Teigan Miller-Gauthier (NVSS); Best Defensive - Annie Blois (Col)
Team Awards: 1st - NVSS; 2nd - Columneetza; Most Sportsmanlike - Duchess Park B
