Joey Payeur
Only one Muskie court team captured a trophy Friday in Kenora but two will continue their seasons.
The senior girls’ basketball team put the finishing touches on its second-straight undefeated season—and third-consecutive league title—by routing the Dryden Eagles 51-18 in the NorWOSSA final.
It also marked the team’s 20th-straight win in NorWOSSA play dating back to the 2012 playoffs.
“Those numbers sound pretty good to me,” grinned forward Hannah McLeod, one of four Grade 12 players on the team to be part of both Muskie squads to go undefeated in NorWOSSA the past two seasons.
Cassandra Moffitt had 13 points in the first half, and a game-high 19 overall, as Fort High roared out to a 19-2 lead after the first quarter.
Amber Williams added eight points while Claire Hyatt and Maggie Jean each had six.
The Muskies now will head to Thunder Bay on Friday for the best-of-three NWOSSAA final against the winner of tonight’s SSSAA showdown between the Hammarskjold Vikings and St. Ignatius Falcons.
The Muskie senior boys’ volleyball squad also is heading to NWOSSAA despite losing a thrilling 3-2 decision (25-20, 25-19, 24-26, 23-25, and 15-8) to the defending champion Dryden Eagles in the NorWOSSA final.
With Dryden hosting the OFSAA ‘AA’ volleyball boys’ championship this year, and thus guaranteed a spot in the field already, Fort High was assured an NWOSSAA berth the moment the Eagles finished off the Kenora Broncos in Friday’s semi-final.
The Muskies will host either St. Ignatius or the La Verendrye Vipers, who square off tonight for the SSSAA title, in the best-of-three NWOSSAA final this Friday and Saturday at Fort High.
Meanwhile, Dryden also captured the two junior titles up for grabs Friday, although they were pushed by the Muskies in both matches.
The Muskie junior boys’ volleyball team lost 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, and 27-25) in what was a tighter match than the sweep indicated.
In the semi-final earlier Friday, the Muskies rallied from a 17-3 deficit in the first set to roll over the host Broncos 3-0 (25-23, 25-6, and 25-14).
The Muskie junior girls’ basketball squad hung on for a heart-pounding 25-22 win over Kenora in the semi-final.
Sarah Vandermeer scored six of her game-high seven points in the fourth quarter while Carmen Godin chipped in with six.
But a more experienced Eagles’ team proved too tough in the final, outscoring Fort High 7-0 in the fourth quarter to clinch a 31-19 victory.
Godin led the Muskies with 10 points in the final while Abby Sanders had four.
There is no NWOSSAA playoff at the junior level.
