Mitch Calvert
Spikers finish
season winless
They left it all on the court.
Both the Muskie junior and senior girls’ basketball teams advanced to their respective NorWOSSA finals on Friday versus the host Dryden Eagles, but suffered heart-breaking defeats in their final games of the season.
The seniors trailed most of the game against the Eagles, but rallied to tie the score with 40 seconds left—only to have Taylor Meyers and Jolene Stahn foul out and open the door for the Eagles to break free in the final seconds and win 48-40.
“That was kind of depressing to battle back from seven or eight points all the way and lose, but I’m proud of the effort the girls put into it,” Muskie coach Ian Simpson said.
“They never gave up,” he stressed. “They fought tenaciously right until the end, and played a tremendous game.”
The seniors had drubbed the Kenora Broncos 41-16 in the semi-final earlier Friday, but Dryden’s fast-break offence and quick ball movement proved to be a stiffer test in the final.
“The biggest factor was the difference in the speed of the game,” noted Simpson. “They got used to playing Kenora, which plays a slower game like us.
“We don’t race the ball up the court [while] Dryden really plays a transition game and looks to fast break at every opportunity.”
The Eagles jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter, but the Muskies battled back to close to the deficit to 20-16 at the half.
Dryden then came out hard in the second half and extended their lead to 29-23 after three quarters—only to have the black-and-gold pour it on and tie the score with less than a minute on the clock.
But Fort High couldn’t sustain the momentum from there as losing both Meyers and Stahn spelled doom for the Muskies’ season.
“The things we worked on, ball handling, outside shooting, and passing, that wasn’t what hurt us,” Simpson remarked. “We were able to move the ball up the court successfully and get into our half-court offence.
“We did correct the things we needed to, but we just fell a little short.”
Meyers finished up with 15 points, Lauren Gurski added 12, and Jamie Holliday netted nine against the Eagles.
“We have five or six players coming back, so we should have a good nucleus [next year],” Simpson noted. “I was exceptionally proud of how hard this group played.
“In defeat, they showed excellent sportsmanship, and it was a pleasure to coach them.”
The juniors, meanwhile, also got past Kenora in the semi-final but then fell 35-34 to Dryden in the final.
“I, Mike [Krueger], and Sarah [Noonan] are very proud by the effort and team play of all our players,” co-coach Dan Bird wrote in an e-mail to the Times. “We could not have asked for anything more.
“They left everything out on the court, and Dryden deserved the win with their gritty play.”
The final saw four lead changes, illustrating how close the two teams played one another all season, but the Eagles made two crucial free throws down the stretch to seal the one-point victory.
“I’m already excited for next year as we have a solid core returning,” Bird noted. “Erika Moffitt, Taylor Windego, Chantal Jodoin, and Chelsea Audette will provide a strong forward presence while Mary Strain, Alyssa Caul, and Emily Drouin will handle the backcourt.”
Bird also thanked the second-year players for their dedication, who now will be moving on to the senior team, including Morgan Krueger, Chelsea Hill, Sara Roach, Hailey Swire, Jen McDowell, Shayanne Holden, Natasha Bragg, and Tina Pham.
< *c>Spikers swept
It was a different story in boys’ volleyball action Friday in Dryden as both the Muskie junior and senior squads were swept by Kenora in their respective semi-finals.
“I started off with my older, Grade 10 group and they really struggled in the first set,” noted junior coach Duane Roen. “They rallied back a bit in the second, losing 25-17, and then I put my Grade 9 crew on in the third set because we didn’t win the first two, and they only lost 25-21.
“They played a really strong set and it’s very optimistic for next year.”
Despite failing to win a match all season, Roen was optimistic for year.
“I’m happy with how the kids performed, and it’s looking good for next year for those Grade 9 kids who played strongly against Kenora’s top line,” he remarked.
“Usually in the NorWOSSA [playoffs] you play your top eight, but I played 11 or 12 of my 14, and the kids got some playing time that some of them didn’t expect,” he added.
“I was happy with that part, and even though things didn’t turn out the way we wanted to, we knew it was a rebuilding year.”
The seniors were in much the same boat, having also gone 0-8 during the regular season.
“Despite having three injured players, the boys came out hard in the first set, taking an early lead and battling back and forth through the first 17 points of the set,” senior coach John Gibson noted of their semi-final match with Kenora.
“They caught a couple bad breaks late in the game, and couldn’t regain control,” he added. “The next two sets they struggled to execute the offence and Kenora capitalized.”
Tryouts now are underway for boys’ basketball and girls’ volleyball.
