Hat High downs Lethbridge’s Catholic Central
Brooklyn Kaczynski of Hat High chases down a loose ball during a Southern Alberta High School Basketball League game against Catholic Central Wednesday at Hat High. The Kwahommies won the game 74-66.
With only two Grade 12 seniors this season, Hat High’s varsity girls basketball team could be excused for tempering their expectations.
In an opening-night 74-66 win over Catholic Central Wednesday, they showed they’re willing to put in the effort to rise in the ranks.
“It’s early, first game, there’s some jitters there for sure but it’s a good win for us,” said Kwahommies coach Jeff Harrold. “CCH is a much-improved team. They only lost two (players) from last year.
“That was a battle. We didn’t quit, with the grind we had to go through.”
On home court, the green and white fought for loose balls, overcame the loss of two players to injuries and led most of the way.
Emma Wintoniak’s 13 points led a balanced attack for Hat High. Kyla Kearley added 12 points and Janelle Stegen had 10. Kearley and Brooklyn Kaczynski are the lone seniors on the roster and Harrold is using lots of Grade 11 talent.
“Our bench really stepped up tonight,” said Harrold. “We got good minutes from all of them, really.”
Ashley Sczalski scored 17 points for the Cougars, while Alissa Crawford and Kyra Collier each had 13.
In the earlier junior varsity game, Catholic Central beat Hat High’s girls 6351. Aimee Baron led Catholic Central with 16 points, while Tori Kaczynski had 11 to lead the Kwahommies.
The Kwahommies and Mohawks host their Green and White Classic starting Friday, and the varsity girls open with a 4:30 p.m. game against Central Memorial.
3A
Brooks’ Buffalos leaned heavily on their top two players, and thanks to one of them it was more than enough to beat the Colts.
At Monsignor McCoy Wednesday, Deng Dak poured in 46 points as Brooks beat the host side 95-78. Teammate Chan Lual added 16 but the Colts simply couldn’t stop Dak, who drained nine three-pointers.
Ethan Smith’s 19 led McCoy, which also got 13 from Ayden Miller.
Meanwhile, a scheduled girls game at Crescent Heights against Eagle Butte was cancelled due to a lack of referees.
On Tuesday, Crescent Heights’ Vikings earned a narrow 62-60 win over Eagle Butte in varsity boys play. Niall Weich scored 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for the Vikes, while Triston Duchscherer had 23 for the Talons.
In the junior boys game, Crescent Heights won 80-53. Weich also played in that game and had 25 points. Clayton Renke had 18 for Eagle Butte.