For one more year the Elecs fell short, and for one more year Weyburn has bragging rights.
The finals of the 76th McLeod series started with the Estevan Elecs with a slight lead, very slight, at 129-128.
The second half of the series had the Elecs boys and girls' senior basketball teams head to Weyburn on March 3 to wrap up the four-game, total-points series and try to claim a win for the first time in 26 years. Up one point heading into the final two games, the Elecs did all they could to claim a victory they've been waiting the last quarter century to put their name back on.
The boys and girls teams traveled to Weyburn on March 3 to play their games. The boys hit the court first.
Things started well enough with the Elecs leading by one point at the half. The final two quarters didn't go Estevan's way however, and they lost by 23 points, 74-51.
This left the girls with 22 total points they needed to pick up in their game, if the Elecs were going to take the series. The task was a little too daunting, as the girls fell to Weyburn as well, 56-54, adding to a series total of 258-234.
"My girls followed all the right steps," said coach Jessica Elias. "They did the visualization part before the game, we had talked about Weyburn. We did some different things like throwing a 2-3 zone at them, and played that rather than just playing our regular defensive zone.
"It just didn't work out for us."
Losing by two points, the Elecs lead the Eagles in fouls 23 to eight over the course of the game. The Elecs also lost two key players for the end of the game as they had fouled out earlier.
"It was hard for them. The school was putting a lot of pressure on my girls because they had the last game. So there was a lot of external pressure coming from our school and the community on the girls."
The pressure, said Elias, was perhaps a little too much for her team.
"They needed to be mentally prepared for the game, and they couldn't let little calls or not finishing their baskets, they couldn't get upset with it. They just had to brush it off, but they didn't. They took it very personal."
The all-time series sits at 39-37 for Weyburn. The girls play a conference playoff game at Estevan Comprehensive School on Friday at 6 p.m. They need a win this weekend to advance to HOOPLA regionals.
