Kwahommies finish with consolation loss
Rhiannon Ware left everything on the hardwood Saturday at Crescent Heights
The Grade 12 Hat High Kwahommies guard put up 28 points in her team’s seasonending 81-65 consolation loss to the Leduc Tigers in the Alberta Schools Athletic Association 4A girls basketball championship while helping narrow a 30point deficit to 16 with a tenacious two-way effort down the stretch.
“I just tried to do my best and go out there and give it my all before my last few minutes on the court,” said Ware, who scored 22 of her points in the fourth quarter. “It was a bit of an emotional game. I realized it was my last quarter I’d get to play at a high school level so I really just tried to do as much for my team as I could.”
Kwahommies head coach Jeff Harrold says Ware truly showed how much she meant to the team this season in Saturday’s finale. While they dropped the decision, the veteran guard left her teammates with an inspiring performance all the same.
“She’s been there for us all year,” said Harrold. “She’s been our hardest worker, a great leader and she’s improved so much because of that too.”
Jenessa Ramsoomair led Leduc with 29 points in the win.
Ware is one of two graduating players on the Kwahommies roster, but was the only active Grade 12 at provincials. Fellow veteran Bretonnie Stenhouse had her season cut short with a concussion down the stretch of the season, but stepped into an assistant coaching role when she was ruled off the court.
“Those two are irreplaceable,” said Harrold. “You can’t replace what they brought. They brought efficiency, they brought hustle, they were great leaders and they really kept this team together.”
While Stenhouse and Ware will leave a void behind, Harrold says the future of Kwahommies basketball is exciting.
“The minutes, the competition, we did not have an easy game all year,” he said. “We were in great tournaments, the South was strong, the experience that these girls gained is irreplaceable and it’s very exciting moving forward.”
While Ware won’t be on the court when the Kwahommies tip off next season, she says she expects great things from a team that showed a lot of improvement and promise this year — and with any luck she’ll still be out helping from the sidelines.
“They have such a drive to get better. I’m going to come back and try to help as much as I can because I know the determination they have is going to take them as far as they want,” said Ware. “I can’t wait for what this team is going to do. They’re going to do wonders.”
Calgary’s Centennial won the 4A final Saturday night 89-60 over Edmonton’s Jasper Place. In the boys 4A final, it was Edmonton’s Harry Ainlay beating Calgary’s Bishop O’Byrne 86-65.