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.
The Manitoba High Schools Athletics Association (MHSAA) held their Zone 11 'A' Varsity Girls and Boys Basketball Championships at Snow Lake's J.H. Kerr School from February 19-21. Twelve teams - six girls and six boys - entered pooled play beginning on the afternoon of the 19th, all competing for the chance to represent the zone at the Provincial Championships, which will be held later in March. Teams taking part in the zones came from Pukatawagan, Wabowden, Leaf Rapids/Lynn Lake, Oxford House, Grand Rapids, and Snow Lake on the girls' side, and on the boys' side teams traveled from Wabowden, Lynn Lake, Grand Rapids, Oxford House, Pukatawagan, and Churchill. Play throughout the tournament was not only exceptionally close, but also extremely physical. The number of participants wearing tape, tensors, bandages, bruises, and braces, was testament to this. Regardless, many persevered out on the court and appeared willing to sacrifice the body again, if called to do so. By the evening of the 20th, the tournament was over for some teams, as the pooled play selected the opponents for the semi-final games. With these contests set, the teams hit the court. The first to be played was at 5:45 p.m. on the 20th and pitted Pool 'B' first place girls' team, Grand Rapids, against Pool 'A' second place team, Wabowden. The girls from Mel Johnson School in Wabowden bested Grand Rapids 37-20, with Wabowden's Hailey Chubb hitting for 21 of the winning team's points. The other girls' semi followed and it had the Pool 'B' second place team, Oxford House, up against the Pool 'A' first place squad from J.H. Kerr. In a bit of a blowout, Snow Lake won this affair 50-9. Ashton Lief found the net at will, racking up 24 points; the team also got 13 points from Danielle Pettipas. On the boys' side, the first semi-final took place at 9:30 p.m. on the 20th and had the first place team from Pool 'B', Pukatawagan, playing the Pool 'A' second place team from Lynn Lake. Lynn Lake won handily, by a score of 64-30, with Steven Lysohirka netting 25 points for the winning team. The other semi went at 9 a.m. the next morning. It had Pool 'A' first place team, Wabowden, in against the Pool 'B' second place team from Churchill. Wabowden cruised to victory, with a 70-31 final score. Derek Garrick accounted for 21 of Wabowden's points and Snow Lake's 6'6" Tyson Klyne (playing with Wabowden, due to lack of a team in Snow Lake) chipped in with 20 more to help the cause. With the teams decided for the final games, the girls' final between Snow Lake and Wabowden got underway at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. It was an exciting match that was only points apart throughout. However, with Danielle Pettipas leaving the game early with an injured thumb and Ashton Lief fouling out with close to four minutes remaining in the game, the J.H. Kerr girls had to dig deep to pull out the 36-33 victory. Lief still managed to put up 22 points prior to her foul trouble and Pettipas tallied a respectable eight, before succumbing to injury. See 'Boys'' P.# Con't from P.# The boys' final couldn't have been any closer. There was never any more than five points separating the Lynn Lake and Wabowden teams throughout the contest. The game see sawed back and forth and a tie at the end of regulation sent it into overtime. With the battle still teetering back and forth during this extra stanza, Wabowden finally took control and in doing so, squeaked out a 55-53 win. Derek Garrick was a terror on the court and potted 25 points for the winners. Tyson Klyne was also equal to the task and hit for 16 of the team's points. Although they only, just, came up short, Lynn Lake's Tyler Hunt and Steven Lysohirka hit for 20 and 14 points respectively. The girls head off to Provincials in Treherne on March 18th. The boys are off to Provincials in Glenboro the same weekend.
