Buzzer beater sinks Colts in zone final
The McCoy Colts girls varsity basketball team dropped an absolute heartbreaker on their home court Saturday afternoon, falling 73-71 to the WR Myers Rebels in the 3A south zone final after holding the lead in the dying moments of the game.
While they fell short of the banner, the Colts will have a chance at redemption at provincials next week, but head coach Janice Laing says they’ll need to ask themselves an important question before taking to the hardwood again.
“We’ve got work to do. They showed us what we needed to work on and we have to go to work,” said Laing. “Myers is No. 1 in the province for a reason. We have to decide, are we going to be happy with how we played or are we going to go to work and figure out how to do this. At the end of the day, that’s what it is.”
Millay Johnson led the Rebel offence with a 24-point afternoon, while teammate Natalie Hoyt added 18.
Emilee Jackson was on fire all game for McCoy, netting six shots from behind the arc en route to a game-high 30 points. Forward Katelyn Rozdeba added 23 while going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line
While the Rozdeba was flawless from the line, she was the only Colt to get there all afternoon, and as Laing points out, the twopoint game could have easily been swung by fouls.
“We didn’t get to the line enough. I think when I look at how many foul shots we shot and they shot, I think that’s going to come down and be maybe a difference,” said Laing of her team’s trouble drawing fouls. “We have to do a better job of getting there.”
In other 3A action, the Eagle Butte Talons dropped the bronze medal game to the Magrath Zeniths.
In 4A action, both Hat High teams rallied for bronze, with the Mohawks picking up a 100-90 win over the Cardston Cougars and the Kwahommies cruising to an 84-46 blowout, also over Cardston.
Kaesha Milne led the Kwahommies offence with 22 points and 14 rebounds while Rhiannon Ware added 19 points, six rebounds and six steals. Kyla Kearly had 17 points and six steals and Makayla Schultz finished with a double-double at 14 points and 10 rebounds.
On the boys side, Kahden Wright led the Mohawks with 29 points, Mathew Manas added 25 and Anfernee Houmphanh had 15.
Manas finished the tournament with an average of 35 points per game.