The YRHS Lady Raiders senior girls’ basketball team rode a wave of momentum into Sacred Heart’s annual girls’ basketball tournament this past weekend after a strong performance in last weekend’s tournament in Weyburn.
And like Ahe tune in Game Two against Wadena was much the same as it was in Game One against Fort Qu’Appelle as the Lady Raiders once again dominated their opposition, this time walking away with an easy 65-12 victory led by a Hunter Frankfurt double-double with 14 points and 11 boards.
Game One star Fleger also picked up a double-double against Wadena, scoring 10 points while collecting 11 rebounds while Grey Leask also joined the double digit club scoring 10 points and picking up seven rebounds.
The third game of the tournament looked to be one of the tougher games of the weekend for the Lady Raiders as they took on Esterhazy. However that was not the case as the girls in orange jumped out to a 20-2 lead after the first quarter and never looked back, easily disposing of Esterhazy 50-20.
Olivia Tomcala’s 13 points were a game high for the Lady Raiders while Fleger once again shone, this time scoring eight points and hauling down six boards.
The win over Esterhazy clinched first place for the Lady Raiders with one game to go, however the final game pitted the Lady Raiders against their city rivals the Sacred Heart Saints, and while first was already clinched, pride was still on the line.
But once again the Lady Raiders simply proved to be too much for their opponents, defeating the Lady Saints 41-24 on their home court to finish the tournament a perfect 4-0.
Fleger, as she had done the entire tournament, once again led the way for the Lady Raiders, hitting 6-of-9 shots for a game high 12 points and five rebounds.
Kaitlin Mak also put together a strong game against Sacred. Mak finished just one point away from double digit figures with nine but also picked up two rebounds and an impressive three steals.
Following the tournament, Lady Raider head coach Jessica Schmidt felt that the confidence that her girls gained in Weyburn helped them succeed at the Sacred Heart tournament. “Weyburn was a bit of a turning point for us,” offered Schmidt. “The girls were able to see that they can compete with teams that have given us problems in the past and that all of their time spent in the gym is paying off.
“I think confidence can go a long ways and they brought that into the tournament this weekend and it is so nice to see these girls having success.”
Schmidt also mentioned that while Fleger was her usual dominant self, the rest of the team also rose to the occasion, especially on the offensive side of things. “This weekend we saw a well balanced attack from our girls,” mentioned the Lady Raider head coach, adding that they weren’t relying on a couple of strong performances, although they did get them anyway, but more so wanted to get all of the girls into the game so that they could learn from experience. “I thought all of the girls competed and played hard when they were out on the court.”
SHHS
Sacred Heart went 2-2 at their home tournament, falling 41-36 to Esterhazy to open play before crushing Wadena 52-14.
The Saints then moved to 2-1 by virtue of a 49-15 win over Fort Qu’Appelle before they rounded out tournament play with a 41-21 loss to the YRHS.
Next action
The Lady Raiders and Lady Saints will both be in action on the weekend of January 30-31.
The YRHS will be in Balgonie for a tournament while Sacred Heart travels to Melville.
