REFLECTING ON THE 4A ZONES
Clutch three gives Magrath win over LCI in 4A girls basketball semfinal
Members of the LCI Clippers and Magrath Pandas are reflected on the gymnasium floor at the University of Lethbridge 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness during a game in the 4A South Zone High School Basketball Championships on Thursday.
As far as dying-seconds, clutch threes go, Lucy Wilde has never hit a bigger one. For that, the Magrath Pandas varsity girls basketball team will play for gold at the 4A South Zone basketball playoffs following a wild 67-64 win over the LCI Clippers in semifinal action Thursday afternoon at the 1st Choice Savings Centre.
With a little over three seconds to go, Magrath inbounded the ball and found Wilde, who had just enough time to drain the winning shot and cap off 15-point afternoon as the Pandas play for the South Zone title against the number-one ranked Raymond Comets at 6 p.m. Saturday at the 1st Choice Savings Centre.
“Never,” said the Panda with chuckle when asked if she’s ever hit a bigger three. “Our post got it and she passed it to me once. I wasn’t open, so I passed it back. When it it back, I just heard Brad (Karren, Pandas head coach) say ‘Shoot’. So I just shot and prayed it went in. So it did.”
In a game where both sides were rocked with the injury bug that cost them some starters, it was fitting a firstyear delivered.
“I have two injuries and two starters are out,” said Karren, who was without Lauren Payne and Montana Berezay. “So my young kids had to step up and they did. We drew up a play and we knew she would get open on the wing. They actually ran it and she was open.”
The Clippers were also without a pair of starters with Maitlynn Miller out of the lineup while Catriona Smith went down with an injury in Thursday’s game.
In a battle of two of the three teams who finished 11-3 in the regular season — the other being the Raymond Comets, who beat the Cardston Cougars 70-55 in the other semifinal Thursday — Karren gave an honest assessment of Thursday’s semifinal.
“We knew it was going to be close,” he said. “To be honest, they’re a better team than us. We got lucky and hit some shots when we needed to. But in all reality, they’re deeper and better than us. But every once in a while, like my dad always said, sometimes a blind squirrel finds a peanut and we found one.”
Adi Strong scored 14 points for the Pandas and Ellie Wilde added 12.
For the Clippers, Berkley Heggie led the way with 19 points. Jocelyn Neilson and Krista Nelson added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Magrath gets set to face the top-seeded Comets Saturday night.
The top-three teams in each gender earn berths in provincials in Medicine Hat March 15-17 in addition to host Medicine Hat.
“We just focus on quarter-byquarter with this group,” said Karren. “It’s been a long year and they’ve basically had to learn to walk, to trot, to run and now to play. Now they’ve figured that out so we just take each quarter as they come and now we’re in the final. Basically, we have nothing to lose. We’ll go and play as hard as we can.”
“It’s super-exciting,” added Wilde. “We haven’t been in a 4A championship for a really time. We’re just excited to have that chance.”
With their spot to provincials clinched, Payne and Berezay will remain on the shelf.
“We won’t get them for Saturday,” said Karren. “I thought maybe we’d get one back if we lost this one and had to work through the third-place game to get to provincials, but now I won’t play them.”
Berezay is dealing with a sprained ankle, while Payne has been out nearly four weeks with an MCL strain.
“So we’re weathering the storm until we get her back,” said Karren. “Maybe for provincials because it gives us another week rest, so we’ll see from there.”
In the other girls semifinal, Raymond opened a 34-30 lead at the half and then distanced themselves from the Cougars with a 20-point fourth quarter to set up Saturday’s gold medal game.
Lyvia Jensen scored 21 points for the Comets and Gracie Heggie hit for 19.
Kansas Long added 14 points for the Comets.
For Cardston, Hanna Nunn was the top point-getter with 16. Madison Barfuss and Ava Hardy each had 12 points.
In the first boys semifinal Thursday evening, the topseeded Magrath Zeniths earned the first berth in the gold medal game slated for Saturday at 8 p.m. at the 1st Choice Savings Centre.
The Zeniths downed the fourth-seeded Raymond Comets 97-75.
Paycen Blackmore put up 36 points for the Zeniths, while Taylor Cook added 25. Sam Payne added 17 for Magrath.
Jeter Heggie topped the Comets with 23 points.
Drake Still, Brady Baines and Brady Baines scored 17, 15, and 13 points, respectively, for the Comets.
The second boys semifinal game between the secondranked Cardston Cougars and the third-seeded LCI Rams was in progress at press time.
The winner of that game advances to Saturday’s final with the loser playing Catholic Central tonight at 7 p.m.
4A boys B-side quarter-final Winston Churchill Bulldogs 91, Medicine Hat Mohawks 88 (OT)
Churchill with 16 points, Ali Azimi and Isaac Greenwood scored 13 each and Dorian Bertram had 10.
For the Mohawks, Bailey Gosse drained 28 points and Eidan Jonker was one behind with 27.
Ethan Egert scored 14 points for Medicine Hat.
Catholic Central Cougars 112, Chinook Coyotes 82
Five Cougars hit double digits as Catholic Central topped the 100-point mark, led by Shae Gibb’s 23-point outing.
Ben Hoveling and C.J. Hirsche each scored 16 points, Nate Moreira added 13 and Josiah Leclerc put up 10.
Liam Doyle had a 31-point game for the Coyotes. Ty Wevers and Karson Valgardson each scored 10 points for Chinook.
4A girls B-side quarter-final Catholic Central Cougars 69, Chinook Coyotes 61
Alissa Crawford had a 26point afternoon game as the Cougars advance to the bronze medal semifinal today at 3 p.m. against Cardston.
Kyra Collier chipped in with 13 points for Catholic Central.
Charlize Baron led the Coyotes with 20 points and Mackenzie Harms had 10.