Boys’ and girls’ varsity teams from Hapnot Collegiate suited up for zones last weekend, with both teams making tournament finals before ultimately falling in the finals.
The Kings and Kweens co-hosted the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association (MHSAA) AA Zone 11 championship tournament March 4-5, competing for a coveted title banner and a spot at provincials later this month.
On the girls’ side, four teams joined up for zones - the host Kweens, the Oscar Lathlin Wolverines from Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Mikisew from Cross Lake and The Pas’ Margaret Barbour (MBCI) Spartans.
The Kweens started with a W, beating Oscar Lathlin 60-50, then dropping a second game to the Spartans 56-40. On Saturday morning, the Kweens set aside Mikisew 84-28 in the last game of pool play, giving them second spot in the round robin and a date in the final against the Spartans Saturday afternoon.
With a packed Hapnot gym looking on, the Spartans took an early lead and maintained a crushing defence, forcing the Kweens to lower percentage perimeter shots. Shanti Church and Cadence McIntosh were often the shooters, seeing some success, while the team relied on Gianna Watt on both offence and defence for rebounding and inside scoring.
In the fourth quarter, the Spartans defence tightened and closed out the Kweens, whose mid- and long-range shots stopped falling in the basket. The game would end with a 60-49 win for MBCI, giving them the banner and a spot at provincials and keeping the Kweens from a repeat of their 2020 zone victory.
The Kings had a three-team field for their zone tournament, playing against Mikisew and MBCI. The Kings won their first game against Mikisew 73-34, but lost their Friday night game against MBCI 83-51. The second-place finish led to a rematch with the MBCI squad Saturday afternoon, but the Spartans buzzsawed their way through the hosts with almost identical results, winning 83-49 and booking their ticket to provincials.
With the tournament finalist finishes, the Hapnot senior Kings and Kweens teams’ seasons are now over, ending the high school basketball careers of three Grade 12 girls’ players - Alyssa Leslie, McIntosh and Rene Thompson - and five Grade 12 boys - Kyler Colomb, Cooper Eastman, Steven Hamilton, Ethan Patterson and Joel Williams.
