Jamie Mountain
The Muskie junior girls’ basketball team played a ton of basketball last week and have been impressive to start the season.
After defeating the host Kenora Broncos 26-14 in the NorWOSSA season-opener last Tuesday (Sept. 17), the Muskies compiled a 2-2 record at a one-day tournament hosted by the Dryden Eagles on Friday.
Muskie coach Gord McCabe conceded that four games in one day is a lot of basketball to play and also said that we was proud of how his players fared on Friday.
“I was very happy with the way the girls played,” he enthused.
“Frankly, I felt that four games in one day was too much but it is so difficult for us to get games that when a tournament is offered, we really have to go if we can.
“The girls were absolutely exhausted and we were pretty beat up by the end of the day,” he admitted.
“But they played extremely hard and I saw huge improvement over the four games.”
Fort High opened tourney play on Friday with a rematch against the Broncos, where they again dispatched them by a 44-23 margin.
Tatum Glowasky led all scorers with 12 points while Joyce Wu chipped in six.
Emily Fitzgerald, Grace Smith, and Ayiana Gagne each netted four points with Anna Gagne, Monika Ruppenstein, and Tierney Rousseau each recording a basket.
The Muskies then suffered their first loss of the tourney, along with some injuries, in their second game in falling 44-41 to the host Eagles.
Glowaksy scored a team-high 12 points while Heaven States potted six and Anna Gagne had four.
Fitzgerald, Serena Teeple, and Ayiana Gagne each recorded a basket in that one to round of the offence.
“I thought we moved the ball really well against Beaver Brae,” said McCabe.
“The game with Dryden could have gone either way, although–based on what I saw–they are the team to beat in NorWOSSA, largely based on the fact that they are very big.
“They have one Grade 9 girl who is at least six-foot-two and she is going to do nothing but get better,” he noted.
McCabe said that due to the Muskies’ lack of size, they will really have to work hard to limit her touches in the paint moving forward in league play.
“Anna Gagne did a very good job of that but, unfortunately, she was injured in the second quarter and could not play the rest of the day,” he revealed.
The Muskies then got back into the win column with a convincing 49-24 win over the Sioux Lookout Warriors.
Glowasky again led the way for the black-and-gold with a 17-point performance while Wu added seven points.
States chipped in with six points while Smith had five and Ruppenstein and Ayiana Gagne both contributed four.
Fitzgerald recorded three points while Teeple added a basket.
The Muskies then wrapped up tourney play on Friday with a tough 44-32 loss to the Hammarskjold Vikings (Thunder Bay).
States led the way with a nine-point performance while Smith chipped in six points and Wu had four.
Fitzgerald, Teeple, and Glowasky netted three points each while Ruppenstein scored a basket to round out the offence.
“Sioux Lookout is low in numbers as they only had six players but they have some really good players and I was impressed with them,” lauded McCabe.
“In our last game against Hammarskjold, it was our fourth game of the day and their third and I can’t overemphasize how much of a difference that is,” he stressed.
“Anna was hurt, Emma Yerxa could only play in very short spurts as her hip was bothering her, and although Tatum Glowasky gave it everything she had, it was clear that her feet were really bothering her–simply from playing so hard all day.
“She never stops moving and she just could not move anymore, so she rested for most of the second half,” he noted.
“The girls who were on the floor were exhausted but it was a very close game until we visibly ran out of gas near the end. I could not have been more proud of their effort.”
McCabe praised the efforts of a lot of his players over the weekend and felt they all helped contribute to the Muskies’ success.
“I thought Tatum Glowasky was outstanding. She is so quick and plays with a lot of confidence,” he lauded.
“Heaven States really improved as the tournament went on and I have high expectations for her as the year progresses. She has a lot of skill and once she learns to believe in herself and how good she is, the sky is the limit.
“Grace Smith is a fabulous athlete and she also showed a lot of improvement,” he noted.
“As she learns how to use her athletic ability she has a chance to become a really good basketball player. Monika Ruppenstein and Emily Fitzgerald got much better as the tournament wore on and Tierney Rousseau played really tough defence.
“Probably the two players who most impressed me with their improvement over last year were Joyce Wu and Ayiana Gagne,” McCabe remarked.
“They are both lightning quick and they are starting to play with more control.”
The Muskies (1-0) were slated to resume NorWOSSA action yesterday afternoon when they welcomed the Warriors to Fort High for their home-opener, with the score unavailable at press time.
Then they’ll cap the week on Thursday by heading to Dryden to battle the Eagles for the first of three meetings this season.
