Atmosphere the real star
March is known to bring the madness.
Few venues could have presented as intense an atmosphere as the Campbell Collegiate gymnasium, where the Regina Intercollegiate Basketball League contested its junior boys and junior girls large school city championships Wednesday evening.
Frenzied fans lined the baselines and hundreds more crawled over one another to grab a seat courtside.
Cued by their school mascots, dozens of fans decked out in school colours chanted for their respective teams. Some fans waved pom poms. One parent played a trumpet.
Jayda Watson, whose Campbell Tartans edged the Winston Knoll Wolverines 69-50 to claim the junior girls title for the second straight year, admitted the atmosphere provided a spark to her and her teammates.
“The first quarter was really crazy ... lots of noise,” said Watson, who netted a game-high 30 points. “After halftime we decided enough was enough and we were going to play our game and not let the crowd affect us.
“You hear everything when you’re on the court — when we do something good and when the other team scores. You have to keep calm and straight-faced and keep your cool.”
Michaela Kleisinger added 16 points for the Tartans.
Winston Knoll was led by Nicole Konieczny and Kaylee Hayko, who scored 18 points and 12 points, respectively. The intensity didn’t skip a beat in the nightcap, either, as the LeBoldus Golden Suns knocked off the host Tartans 71-50 in dramatic comeback fashion.
LeBoldus, down six points at the half, trailed by as many as 13 in the third quarter.
But a Ben Hillis threepointer at the third-quarter buzzer gave the Golden Suns their first lead (48-45), a shot that caused the dozens of LeBoldus faithful to erupt.
Hillis and Kade Belyk led LeBoldus in scoring with 15 points apiece and Brad Wallace added 12 points. The Tartans were led by Levi Reoch’s 14 points.
The wins capped undefeated season for the Golden Suns boys team and the Tartans girls team.
Fans from each school had reason to cheer for a second consecutive night, as the Campbell senior boys and LeBoldus senior girls celebrated city championships on Tuesday.
Each school carries a proud basketball tradition, one which was showcased loud and clear on Wednesday.
Emma Colin, who is in her first year at Campbell, felt overwhelmed at times playing in front of such a crazed audience.
“We’ve been programmed to not hear (the crowd), but it’s hard not to,” Colin said. “At times, you do feel overwhelmed, but you just have to shut it out as best you can and concentrate.
“We’re supposed to listen for our coach and that’s it. I’m sure this (atmosphere) won’t change when we play senior.”