The doors were wide open for this one.
In most sporting events, it's said that the best offence is a strong defence. Hockey teams will win games by way of a shutout, football teams will win games by not allowing any touchdowns and every now and then a pitcher will throw a no hitter.
A strong defence usually means a strong offence.
On Wednesday evening, April 21 at MC Knoll, they proved it definitely translates into basketball too.
When the Yorkton Elementary Schools Sports Association (YESSA) held its annual year-end basketball tournament they figured the finals matches in boys' band girls' play would be so big they might as well open up the dividers and let the kids feel like they're in the NBA for 40 minutes.
They were right about that.
The floor was much bigger without the divider down the middle and as a result the scores were smaller. The winning girls' team was held to less then 25 points. The losing team was kept under 20 points.
In the boys' final, the final score was under 30.
Lou Ellert, coach of the St. Michael's Stars boys team, said the added open area on the floor was more of an obstacle because most of the players aren't used to having so much extra space to cover.
He even pointed out that the rims were different then what they are used to.
"It kept both teams down to a low score," he noted. He added that it was "exciting" to watch.
He said that it puts more emphasis on the concept of team defence. When the offence has more land to work with, it cuts into their point total, he suggested.
Ellert said his team scored 70 points earlier in the YESSA tournament, which started last Monday afternoon and ran late into Wednesday night.
Benson McDowell, coach of the victorious MC Knoll girls' team said it was a good end to a very strong year of basketball and the quality of the teams is going up.
"We put in a lot of time and effort all year long."
He said that having the divider open for the championship game, in which the MC Knoll Knights beat St. Mary's, probably created a little confusion for both teams because of the amount of space. Some players looked pretty exhausted heading back to the bench following their shifts.
"To open up the gym to the full courtsome teams get a little lost.
It's a different game," he remarked.
Lou Ellert, coach of the St. Michael's Stars team battled back to force overtime and beat the Yorkdale Central Royals, said it was definitely an obstacle to overcome when there's that much more real estate to cover. If there's anything you'd like to see covered by Game 7, please forward your suggestions to the Yorkton This Week sportsdesk by phone (306) 782-2465, fax (306) 786-1898 or email me at jeff@yorkton this week.com
