Colts, Hawks SR basketball teams off to provincials

By JAMES TUBB on March 12, 2024.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

The Monsignor McCoy Colts and Medicine Hat High Hawks senior basketball teams are all off to provincials.

Both schools boys and girls senior basketball teams earned their way into their provincials tournaments coming out of their respective zones finals this weekend.

The Colts senior boys and girls teams won the South Zone 3A titles at the tournament hosted at Crescent Heights High School and will head to Strathmore for provincials Thursday to Saturday.

The Hawks boys and girls teams were at 4A zones action in Lethbridge. The boys took first place and the girls team with a fourth place finish. Both teams will head to Lindsay Thurber school in Red Deer this Thursday to Saturday.

The Colts senior boys team punched their provincials ticket with a win Friday over the Crescent Heights Vikings in their first game. They enter provincials as the ninth seed.

Head coach BJ Melle says they went into zones knowing it could be their last games of the season and he is looking forward to seeing them get more games.

“We’re just a group of hard working kids, so it’s going to be an uphill battle for us,” Melle said. “We’re going in there as a young team looking to be competitive, but look to gain some experience and really enjoy having some fun with the kids over three days,”

The Colts Sr girls team rode a perfect league play record into zones as the third seed and beat Winston Churchill 62-58 and topped WR Myers 75-66. Head coach Janice Laing says they were up by 19 at one point against Myers before their youth showed and they held on.

Coming off a provincial appearance last season, entering this year as the 10th seed with a younger roster and a wide open draw, Laing says anyone has a chance to win the title.

“We’re going to play St. Albert Catholic and they appear to be the mirror image of us,” Laing said. “Quick guards, a little bit of size to them. I’ve ben watching game film and it’s a micro image of us, so it’s just going to be who’s going to execute. Then if we beat them, then we play Springbank who’s the number two team in the province and they also look a little bit like us. Quick guards, little bit of size in the post, one or two kids who can shoot the ball. So I truly think this is up in the air, so my girls just have to show up to play.”

The Hawks Sr boys team had a bye to the semis and beat LCI 92-84. The Hawks faced Magrath in the finals and came out on top in a 99-98 overtime contest. Head coach Chad Watson described it as one of the best high school games he’s coached, with the intensity, Magrath hitting a last second shot to force overtime and coming out on top.

They head to provincials as the first seed coming off their first zones title in 10 years. Watson says they’ll focus on themselves and has been impressed with their ability to handle their emotions while playing in front of large crowds in big games.

“These kids are almost like robots, Saturday night was probably the most emotional I’ve ever seen his team but it doesn’t matter if we were to win as the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth seed, these kids are true basketball players,” Watson said. “They don’t focus on what they’re not, they focus on what they are. They’ll go out there and they’re going to do their job and they’re going to be successful.”

The Hawks Sr girls team finished fourth in zones and qualified their way into provincials with a 63-23 win over Catholic Central for their bid. They lost in the bronze game 59-44 to Magrath and enter provincials as the 13th seed. Head coach Megan Getz says they’ve played good defence all season and is looking forward to her team getting the provincials experience.

“We’re just excited to get an opportunity to go to provincials and compete with some of these teams,” Getz said. “We’ve been playing the top 15 teams in the province all year long, we haven’t really had any games outside of the top 15, so know exactly what we’re getting into. We have a game plan to try and battle and get some wins over the weekend. It’s going to be tough, but the girls are excited, they’re dialled in and ready to go.”

The Hawks JV girls team also won zones, capturing their first title in 25 years. After a first place finish in the South league, they Beat Raymond 70-55 and topped Cardston 74-66 to win the banner.

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