CANORA - The Canora Composite School Cougars senior girls’ basketball team hosted a tournament on Feb. 11 where they made it to the championship final before finishing in second place.
“Being a first-year head coach, I was very satisfied with how our tournament went,” said Cougars Coach Olivia Gordon. “We had four teams attend our one-day tournament including Foam Lake, Sacred Heart, Langenburg, and CCS.”
The tournament kicked off Saturday morning with a game between Foam Lake and Yorkton Sacred Heart High School. Yorkton was victorious, and moved in to the championship game. Their opposition would be decided in the following game between Langenburg and CCS, with the Cougars led by Coach Gordon and Assistant Coach Baily Potts.
The Cougars looked to be ready to compete at a high level right from the start, scoring the first six points of the game. Yet Langenburg kept the game relatively even for the rest of the first half, resulting in a 22-14 CCS lead at halftime.
The Cougars kept applying pressure in the second half and stretched the lead to 34-21 after the third period, and then a final score of 52-26.
“I think I speak for myself and Coach Potts when I say, we were impressed with our team's play for the entire weekend,” said Gordon. “We have been focusing a lot on passing, positioning, and making sure our plays flow coherently.”
The victory created a showdown with Yorkton for the tournament championship, a team that’s quite familiar to the Cougars
“We have faced Sacred Heart multiple times this year and we knew what to expect,” said Gordon.
Sacred Heart started fast in the final, and led 36-16 at halftime. They stretched that lead to as much as 24 points in the fourth quarter. The Cougars kept fighting back but ultimately ran out of time, with a final score of 54-38.
“Coach Potts and I agreed that our final game against Sacred Heart was the strongest game we have seen our girls play against them this season, even if the score didn't reflect that,” assessed Gordon. “Scared Heart has strong coaches who lead their team to success. As a team, they have amazing chemistry on the court and impeccable rebounding skills, which will lead any team to success on the scoreboard.”
Gordon said she has really developed a passion for coaching, and has benefited this season from the presence of Coach Potts, as has the entire Cougars team.
“Baily has been an absolute rock star addition to our team. I have been told and would absolutely agree that she and I mesh greatly as co-coaches. I can truly say I would not be able to do this without Coach Potts by my side.”
According to Gordon, the Cougars have been enjoying a fun season.
“Although we haven't won as many games as we would like, we have had many skill-building games. I would say we are in a rebuilding year where we have lots of talents flourishing and ready to set up success for our future.”
The Cougars are looking forward to conference playoffs coming up March 10-11 in Hudson Bay. Results there will determine the team’s future in regards to qualification for regionals and Hoopla (provincial championships).
