Central Kings hosts 2018 Senior Girls Gator Classic basketball tournament

Twelves teams compete with Hants East Tigers emerging victorious

They may not have tasted victory on the basketball court, but they still consider the annual Gator Classic a success.

Central Kings Rural High School in Cambridge hosted the 2018 Senior Girls Gator Classic basketball tournament on Dec. 14 and 15. In a repeat of last year’s final, the Hants East Tigers defeated the Amherst Vikings in a back-and-forth battle between two evenly matched teams. The Tigers took home the banner with a final score of 56 to 43.

In the third-place game, the Parkview Panthers were victorious over the Oxford Golden Bears in a game that also ended with a final score of 56 to 43.

“As for the CK Gators, we may not have had a victory on the score sheets, but what we did accomplish was to have some competitive games against some good competition from across the entire province,” coach Scott Pope said.

He said a number of CK players stepped up their games over the course of the tournament and there is still a lot of ball to play over the next few months. With the way the team is playing, Pope said they hope to battle hard for the rest of the year against their local competitors, the Northeast Kings Education Centre (NKEC) Titans and the West Kings Wolverines.

Pope said that, overall, the tournament was a “huge success” with 12 teams from across Nova Scotia participating.

“Many coaches, players and parents complimented us on how well they enjoyed the entire weekend,” Pope said. “I consider that to be a huge success and it could not have happened without the support of our parents that made sure that the tournament ran effortlessly.”

He said the senior CK girls hosted NKEC on Dec. 19 and the Gators’ second-annual alumni game should be happening very soon.

KIRK STARRATT Santanna Rafuse, of the Central Kings Gators, looks on with intensity in her eyes as teammate EmmaLee Harvey goes for a layup in the Senior Girls Gator Classic game against Cabot on Dec. 15. CK held the lead for most of the game before Cabot closed the gap, winning by a score of 58 to 46.

KIRK STARRATT Talia Boutilier, of the Central Kings Gators, passes the ball to a teammate during the Gator Classic game against the Cabot Caravels.

KIRK STARRATT Jillian Smith, of the Central Kings Gators, wasn’t to be stopped as she maneuvered around a member of the Cabot Caravels.