If there was any doubt that the Weyburn Eagles had the 77th annual McLeod Series firmly in hand, they squashed it on Thursday with two decisive victories in their home leg of the tournament.
In the first game, the Weyburn girls defeated Estevan 65-47. The boys followed that up with a 62-37 win over the Elecs.
The total damage was four wins for the Eagles, with a total point spread of 249-179 in the four games.
The first leg of the series was played Jan. 18 in Estevan.
It is the 28th straight win for Weyburn in the series, and they now lead 40-37 all-time.
Girls' assistant coach Amanda Minchin said her team started well but struggled with shooting.
"We came out strong. We had a good beginning to the game. We just didn't make shots and they did, and that's kind of what it came down to. Our field goal percentage wasn't where it needs to be and that's what hurt us," said Minchin.
She said the game was within reach at the half, but a Weyburn run in the third quarter changed that.
"We had lots of opportunities, lots of good looks on offence. We just couldn't mount a comeback," Minchin said. "We've had trouble building our own momentum lately and it seems that if a team gets up on us, we have trouble overcoming that."
Minchin said the Elecs got strong contributions from their three Grade 12 players and that the team's points were fairly evenly spread.
On the boys' side, head coach Nathan Wilhelm said a dismal start made it tough to generate a comeback.
The Elecs fell behind 18-2 after the first quarter.
"I think nerves got to us a bit and we knew we'd just lost to them by two in Estevan. We were coming out squeezing the ball a little tight and just couldn't score baskets," Wilhelm said.
But the boys got to within 12 points at the half before falling further behind in the third and fourth quarters.
"It's the fourth time we've played them this year and every game's been within two points," he said. "Every team has a bad game and this was ours."
With the Elecs now approaching 30 years without winning the series, each coach had different suggestions for how Estevan can get back on top in the near future.
"Both teams just gotta get more aggressive. Weyburn's an aggressive team, they've always been aggressive," said Wilhelm. "They do a good job of elevating their game, getting ready for big games, and that's something we need to learn from and come out flying in these games."
Minchin, meanwhile, said it's been a developmental year for her team, which has been playing with a short bench.
"The score I don't think reflects how good of a team we actually are," she said. "We haven't been able to jive it together for some reason. I don't know what the answer is for that. Definitely I see us progressing quite well in the next few years. I'm looking forward to next year's McLeod Series already."
