Last weekend had a silver lining for three local high school basketball teams, plus a bronze hue for a fourth.
At the NSSAF D-1 girls’ provincials in Cape Breton, Horton settled for second following a competitive 59-50 loss in the provincial final to Citadel High, which one its 100th consecutive game.
“We were excited at the opportunity to play Citadel,” Griffins’ coach Jen Veinot said. “Our team played excellent defence by only letting them score 59 points.
“We forced them to run half court offence when their typical style us to fast break off forced turnovers. We narrowed the gap to three points in the second half and had our chances to take the lead, but we didn’t make the hoops when we needed to.”
Veinot said she was proud of her players’ performance, including the senior leaders, Lauren Jodrey, Graysen Parker and Molly Johnson, and exciting play from first-years, Haley MacDonald, Jayda Veinot, Maria Rodrigues and Maia Timmons.
MacDonald led all scorers with 22 points for the Griffins, Veinot added 12 and Jodrey eight. Jane Boyle had 18 and Courtney Nordin 11 for the Phoenix, who captured the provincial banner for a third straight year.
Horton reached the final by prevailing in a pair of nail-biters. The Griffins edged Cole Harbour 68-67 in the quarter-finals and then nipped CEC 57-56 in the semis.
Jodrey had 21 points, Veinot 15 and Rodrigues 14 in the win over Cole Harbour. Parker finished with 16 points, Jodrey 10 and Timmons nine in the win over CEC.
“Overall, it was a great team effort throughout the tournament,” coach Veinot said. “No games were easy and all the players contributed in a meaningful way.”
At the D-2 boys’ provincials in Amherst, the Central Kings boys added to a long list of second-place finishes at provincials, bowing 62-49 to the host team from Amherst. Nigel Simmons had 22 points and Brian Sawler 15 for the Gators.
Central Kings reached the boys’ final by defeating Hants East 82-70 in the quarter-finals and topping Dr. J.H. Gillis 78-68 in the semis.
NKEC topped Millwood in the seventh-place game.
At the D-2 girls’ provincials at Hants East, the CK girls also finished second following a 62-38 loss in the final to Amherst, which swept the D-2 provincial banners.
Emma Hachey, who had an outstanding tournament, led the Gators against Amherst with 17 points, and Serena Dolan added seven in their only loss of the weekend.
The Gators opened with a 63-45 win over NKEC.
CK head coach Ben Hachey said it was “the best finish ever at provincials” for a girls’ team from CK, capping off a 27-5 regular season.
West Kings and NKEC also competed at the D-2 girls’ provincials. The teams ended up meeting for the bronze medal, with the Wolverines topping the Titans 59-42.
At the D-1 boys’ provincials hosted by Citadel High in Halifax, the Horton Griffins finished fifth with a record of two wins and one loss.
Last weekend had a silver lining for three local high school basketball teams, plus a bronze hue for a fourth.
At the NSSAF D-1 girls’ provincials in Cape Breton, Horton settled for second following a competitive 59-50 loss in the provincial final to Citadel High, which one its 100th consecutive game.
“We were excited at the opportunity to play Citadel,” Griffins’ coach Jen Veinot said. “Our team played excellent defence by only letting them score 59 points.
“We forced them to run half court offence when their typical style us to fast break off forced turnovers. We narrowed the gap to three points in the second half and had our chances to take the lead, but we didn’t make the hoops when we needed to.”
Veinot said she was proud of her players’ performance, including the senior leaders, Lauren Jodrey, Graysen Parker and Molly Johnson, and exciting play from first-years, Haley MacDonald, Jayda Veinot, Maria Rodrigues and Maia Timmons.
MacDonald led all scorers with 22 points for the Griffins, Veinot added 12 and Jodrey eight. Jane Boyle had 18 and Courtney Nordin 11 for the Phoenix, who captured the provincial banner for a third straight year.
Horton reached the final by prevailing in a pair of nail-biters. The Griffins edged Cole Harbour 68-67 in the quarter-finals and then nipped CEC 57-56 in the semis.
Jodrey had 21 points, Veinot 15 and Rodrigues 14 in the win over Cole Harbour. Parker finished with 16 points, Jodrey 10 and Timmons nine in the win over CEC.
“Overall, it was a great team effort throughout the tournament,” coach Veinot said. “No games were easy and all the players contributed in a meaningful way.”
At the D-2 boys’ provincials in Amherst, the Central Kings boys added to a long list of second-place finishes at provincials, bowing 62-49 to the host team from Amherst. Nigel Simmons had 22 points and Brian Sawler 15 for the Gators.
Central Kings reached the boys’ final by defeating Hants East 82-70 in the quarter-finals and topping Dr. J.H. Gillis 78-68 in the semis.
NKEC topped Millwood in the seventh-place game.
At the D-2 girls’ provincials at Hants East, the CK girls also finished second following a 62-38 loss in the final to Amherst, which swept the D-2 provincial banners.
Emma Hachey, who had an outstanding tournament, led the Gators against Amherst with 17 points, and Serena Dolan added seven in their only loss of the weekend.
The Gators opened with a 63-45 win over NKEC.
CK head coach Ben Hachey said it was “the best finish ever at provincials” for a girls’ team from CK, capping off a 27-5 regular season.
West Kings and NKEC also competed at the D-2 girls’ provincials. The teams ended up meeting for the bronze medal, with the Wolverines topping the Titans 59-42.
At the D-1 boys’ provincials hosted by Citadel High in Halifax, the Horton Griffins finished fifth with a record of two wins and one loss.
