Toilers hold of Cyclones for girls hoops win; Central downs Peacock in boys action; Vanier sweeps Caronport
The Peacock Toilers haven’t had a lot of bend nor a lot of break when it comes to the Moose Jaw High School Girls Basketball League this season.
Teams have tried to stage comebacks, but few have done much more that go score-for-score before the Toilers once again hold on and pull away. Such was the case in league action on Feb. 13 when undefeated Peacock took on the one-loss Central Cyclones at Central – after the Toilers built a 37-26 lead at half, the Cyclones did all they could to chip away at the lead after the break, but they’d get no closer than 10 points as Peacock went on to a 74-48 victory.
“We’re getting more aggressive on offence and that helps since we’re getting more second chances,” Toilers coach Craig McDougall said of the squad’s tenacity in the face of Central’s push. “It’s good for the girls to play that way, it’s something we’ve been preaching and they did a good job of that tonight.”
A major part of Peacock being able to hold the lead was how well they played on defence. A hallmark of their playing style this season has been their ability to generate turnovers – something they were able to do regularly against Central in the second half.
“We’ve been working on a couple of different defences there, working on pressing and completing the fast break.” McDougall said. “That’s easy offence, so we’re always looking for those opportunities as well... defence leading to easy baskets is something we’re always looking to do.”
And then there’s their offensive balance. Only two players – Kennedy Ward with 13 points and Piper Ingalls with 10 – hit double digits for the Toilers despite putting up 74 points. That’s a positive sign in in McDougall’s eyes, and one they’re hoping will be a sign of things to come. “We’ve had some girls stepping up and hitting shots that aren’t always at the top the scoresheet and that’s nice to see,” he said. “It gets everyone excited and involved in the game, so that’s nice to see as well.”
For their part, the season has been one of steady improvement for the the Cyclones. New coaches and new systems have brought plenty of change, and the team is slowly rounding into form as the campaign progresses – and learning on the job has been key to that improvement, especially when it comes to Central’s younger players facing the likes of Peacock standout guards Ingalls and Katherine McDougall.
“They have some wonderful players back there, and we have a Grade 9 and a Grade 10 back there, so this is great learning experience for them, how hard you have to play and how to be strong with the basketball,” said Cyclones assistant coach Bryan Adams. “This is what we want, we want to play good teams like Peacock, we want to keep on improving.”
Peacock improved to 6-0, Central dropped to 5-2
In boys league action, the Central Cyclones remained undefeated in league play with a 96-61 win over Peacock. Four players hit double digits for Central (7-0) -- Fharis Ebet led all scorers with 21 points, Ethan Johnson had 19; Riley Seaborn and Kyle Boughen each added 14 points. Peacock (4-2) was led Payton Chow with 16 points to go along with 11 from Spencer Adams and 10 from Shae Zwozdesky.
The Vanier Spirits and Vikings were both victorious in home games against the Caronport, as the Spirits (2-5) took a 63-50 win over the Cougars (1-5) and the Vikings (4-3) emerged with a 90-77 win against the Cougars (15). Scoring information was unavailable.