A terrific season reached its conclusion for the Edwin Parr Composite senior girls Predators basketball team on the weekend, when they finished sixth at the provincial championships in Strathmore.
The event served as one last hurrah for a number of the girls who are graduating this year.
ìWeíre pretty happy. Itís definitely better than last year (at provincials),î said one of those graduates, Janaya Reimer. ìItís really hard to let go, weíve learned so much together and we definitely have a lot of memories. Itís definitely a good finish to what was a great season.î
In the first game they played a team from Grand Prairie and beat them handily, getting off to a better start than last yearís championships at which they lost the first game.
ìIf you lose that first game, youíve got no chance of getting into any of the medal rounds,î noted coach Wade Hicks.
In their second game the Predators battled fourth-ranked Camrose in a tight game that they ultimately lost.
ìIt was a back-and-forth game. It really came down to who made the run at the end, and they really made the last run. We played solid, we just didnít have enough to finish them off.î
They bounced back in their game with a win over Eagle Butte High from Medicine Hat, defeating them by 19 points. In the consolation final the girls met Chestermere, which had entered the tournament ranked just behind them. In a close game, the EPC girls fell short by just a handful of points.
ìWe had chances all weekend long. The nice part was we were in every game that we played and the girls competed hard. We had lots of chances to give up and the girls never gave up once.î
The coach noted that the girls didnít give up once they were out of medal competition, instead giving it their all and trying their hardest to win the consolation championship. Though they fell short, that doesnít take away from their effort.
ìIím very proud of how they played. Itís been a while since EPCís had a chance to come out of provincials with some hardware. We gave it everything we had.î
The loss to Camrose may have been the turning point of the tournament in terms of getting to the medal round, but having met them more than once earlier in the season (winning and losing), the EPC girls knew theyíd be in tough against their rivals.
ìWe knew that if we got past them that we had a really good chance to place in the top three. It was emotionally draining (to lose), but Iím really proud of how they recovered. They turned around and played extremely hard against Eagle Butte.î
With the team bound to look considerably different when play picks up again next year, the end of the tournament was emotional for all involved, and the coach was glad to see them put a positive exclamation point on their time together.
ìWith the amount of effort the girls put in, they really showed they deserve to be at provincials, and that theyíre one of the best teams in the province.î
