The Sacred Heart Saints Sr. Girls basketball team walked into the YRHS Gymnasium on Friday afternoon with one mission: Victory.
They walked out of that same gymnasium on Saturday as winners of the YRHS Sr. Girls Basketball Tournament. Mission completed.
The Lady Saints rolled through their first two opponents, handing tournament host and rivals YRHS a 49-26 loss before decimating the Melville Cobras to the tune of 58-10. Grade 12 athlete and basketball star Morgan Shymanski led the Saints in scoring against the Raiders picking up 22 points including a pair of three pointers, while Corin Heim also put up double digits in points with 14.
The Shymanski/Heim combination was at it again against Melville. Shymanski once again led the way, this time with 24 points, while Heim put up 17 of her own in the 58-10 victory that sent the girls from Sacred to the tournament final where they met the Vincent Massey Vikings from Brandon.
Those who were in attendance witnessed one of the greatest Sr. Girls basketball games ever held in the city of Yorkton as the Saints and Vikings traded the lead five times throughout the final game.
Vincent Massey held the lead through the first three quarters, 19-18, 28-27 and 47-40 but the never-say-die attitude of the Saints was just too much to handle for Brandon as the Lady Saints went on a 10-2 run to begin the fourth quarter, taking the lead on a Justine Zarowny basket and forcing the Vikings coach to call a time out to try and quell the Saints offence. The time out didn't work as the Saints put up six more points, including a clutch free throw by Taneisha Roussin. The Vikings answered back with five points of their own but it was too little, too late as the Lady Saints took the final game 56-54. Leading scorers in the final game were Heim with 21, Shymanski with 17 and Roussin with 10.
With game totals of 22, 24 and 17 there is no doubt that Shymanski was the catalyst of the Saints offence all throughout the tournament, something that didn't go unnoticed by her coach. "Morgan Shymanski is one of a kind," said SHHS Sr. Girls basketball coach Lana Haider. "She's an awesome leader. She's one of our true seniors along with Hannah Hansen. When you have them on the court they're just the glue that holds the team together. They bring the team together out there and never give up."
Speaking of never giving up, Vincent Massey twice had leads of seven points. But was Haider worried? No, she was not. "One thing that's really strong about our girls is that they never give up. It doesn't matter what the scoreboard says they still give us 110% on that court and that's what they did today and it paid off," said the jubilant coach.
With the weekend goal accomplished the Saints will now work on their seasonal goal. They hope to secure a berth in the Hoopla basketball tournament later in the season. "We have Hoopla in our sites. It's a goal we always set for ourselves so we're ready for this season."
