It was a valiant effort on the part of the Ponoka Secondary Campus Broncs senior girls during their last game of the regular season as they narrowly lost to Wetaskiwin by 10 points.
The team played at home on Tuesday, Feb. 24, with a 41-31 end result.
The Wetaskiwin Sabres are one of the top 3A teams in the league, said Broncs coach Adam Triotsky. “They’re a strong team, we played as hard as we could.”
“We just struggled to score,” he added.
When facing such an advanced team, Triotsky says the girls just needed to put a little more effort in their game.
The first half of the game started slow for Ponoka as the girls fell behind in points. “We could not score in the first quarter to save our lives,” said Triotsky.
During the second half of the game Ponoka’s defense picked up, allowing the girls to make some headway.
The girls tried to battle back in the fourth quarter and cut the lead, but Wetaskiwin had gained too much momentum.
However, the girls did not give up and Triotsky says persistence is the key to staying positive; to overcome mistakes one must focus on the rest of the game. “We talk about how you can’t fix the last play.”
Triotsky says his highlight of the season with the girls was their willingness to buy into building the team.
The Broncs girls sit at third place in the league and Zone playoffs are next on their agenda.
Senior boys
It was an unwavering effort and intense defense that kept the Broncs senior boys in the running during the team’s last game of the regular season, Feb. 24, in which they lost 63-52 to Wetaskiwin.
“I was very proud of our effort. They boys played hard,” said coach Blaine Haines.
During the first half of the game, the Broncs were able to keep in time with their opponents. Haines says the team gave away a few baskets in the last few minutes but for the majority of the game stayed competitive.
“We played great at the defensive end of the floor but struggled at the offensive end,” said Haines.
During the second half of the game, defense stayed solid but the boys’ offence continued to struggle against Wetaskiwin. “Wetaskiwin played a 1-3-1 zone defense that we had problems attacking. That's something we'll have to fix come playoffs,” explained Haines.
Over the course of the season, Haines says the boys have grown in every aspect of the game, from offense to defense and playing smart. “We’re playing at a much higher level now than in December,” he stressed.
The boys Zone playoffs begin Monday, March 9 and the Broncs host a sudden death semi-final game. If the team wins that fixture, it will compete for the championship later in the week, says Haines.