The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor The Hapnot Kweens downed the Creighton Kodiaks on their own basketball turf recently amid a friendly but growing cross-border sports rivalry. The Kweens defeated the host Kodiaks in the final of the Fifth Annual KIT Klassic, an invitational tournament for girls' high school basketball teams. 'Winning this tournament was good for our players because that translates into success of what we've been teaching (them) to do,' said Tony Ticzon, who coaches the Kweens along with John Clark. The A side final, played the evening of Saturday, Jan. 21, was hardly a lopsided affair as the Kweens came away with a 37-30 victory. Ticzon was quick to praise the Kodiaks. 'Creighton has a strong team this year and I will give credit to their coach,' he said. Kodiaks coach Ryan Trumbley liked the tight defense and clean conduct displayed by both teams in the final. 'Flin Flon just kind of had a little bit more, I guess,' he added. Indeed Hapnot won all three of its games en route to top spot, downing Aborfield 73-14 and Sandy Bay 55-30. But with this being the Kweens' first tourney of the b-ball season, the team is not about to rest on its success. 'We have a long way to go yet,' said Ticzon. 'The Creighton girls wanted to win their tournament badly, so playing them in the final was good for both teams to showcase their talents.' For their part, the Kodiaks bested Cranberry Portage 59-23 and La Ronge 47-40 en route to the A side final. In the B side final, Cranberry Portage downed Aborfield 52-22. Also competing in the eight-team tournament were a second Kodiaks team, made up of grade 9 and 10 students, and Duck Lake. Trumbley did not see an empty seat on the gymnasium bleachers for the final game, which 'was really nice to see.' He said the strong attendance illustrates how basketball is taking off in the northern region.
