U17 Surge conclude season
The Swift Current U17 Surge girls basketball team recently finished with a 2-1 record at the Kodiak Growl tournament in Lethbridge.
They opened the tournament with a 48-43 win over the Eagles from an unknown locale. The contest was tied 10-10 after one quarter and the Surge led 28-26 at halftime. Coach Adam Jackson noted that the Eagles had a knack for securing offensive rebounds, while his team defended well in the fourth quarter to clinch the win. Madison Mortensen led the Surge with nine points.
The Surge followed up with a 42-37 win over Taber’s Horizon Heat on day two. The Surge got out to a poor start and trailed 15-6 after one quarter before outscoring the Heat 12-3 to lead at halftime. Kylie Carefoot hit a threepointer and Ali Vance made a free throw to seal the win. Carefoot and Vance each finished with nine points to lead the team, while Jyllian Kaliciak added eight points.
The Surge ran into the Magrath Deep South Pandas and lost their final game 72-26. Jackson pointed out that the Pandas half-court trap forced them into turnovers and defensive quickness stymied their offense as they trailed 21-2 after one quarter. The Surge created some better shots in the second half but the Pandas ran their fast break for easy baskets.
Taylor Dickie, Vanessa Clothier, and Kennedy Choo-foo each scored six points in the loss.
The shorthanded U17 Surge concluded their season in Moose Jaw at the BSI Club Championships where they won once and lost twice at the nine-team tournament the following weekend.
The Surge won their opener 41-26 over the Saskatoon Slam on Friday. Both teams struggled to score, but the Swift Current interior defenders made it difficult for the Slam to get into the lane. The Surge struggled from beyond the three-point arc but adjusted to make the extra pass and find open players in the second half. Clothier led the offense with 10 points and Messer scored nine.
The Surge lost 57-46 to the Prince Albert Lakers the next day. The Surge scored only three points in the opening quarter as both teams got out to a slow start in what Jackson called their lowest energy game of the season. The Surge also struggled to rebound defensively and made poor decisions on offense, which caused continuous turnovers. Choo-foo led the team with 12 points, while Kyla Morante, Mackenzie Veason, and Elise Hildebrandt all scored seven points.
The Surge ended their season with a 59-49 loss to the Saskatoon Steel. They trailed 16-10 after one quarter but scored only two points in the second quarter to trail by 21 points at halftime.
“We had a number of turnovers when running screen and roll action on offense and were getting out-rebounded,” said Jackson. “The girls rallied to win the second half 37-22 mainly because of their defense; the posts were not allowing the Steel bigs deep post position and our guards were tremendous limiting dribble penetration. Although the loss ended our club season the girls played very hard and didn’t quit.”
Choo-foo led the Surge with 14 points, followed by Messer with 12 in their final game.