Court teams have mixed results at weekend tourneys

The Muskie junior girls’ basketball used a balanced offensive attack to place second at a tournament in Kenora last weekend.
Paced by the strong play of guard Sarah Noonan (named game MVP a couple of times) and Christin Thomson, the black-and-gold advanced to the final before losing a 42-31 decision to host St. Thomas Aquinas.
“We held them and weren’t down by much until the last few minutes,” said Muskie co-coach Kent Kowalski, adding everyone in the lineup was able to see court time during the tournament.
He noted the Muskies had trouble adjusting to Kenora’s “unorthodox” style of zone coverage in the offensive end.
Still, Kowalski said it was a good tournament for his team. After losing 46-28 to St. Thomas Aquinas to open action, the Muskies dumped Rainy River 71-13 and then trounced Grassy Narrows 70-7 to earn a berth in the final.
Meanwhile, the Muskie senior boys’ volleyball team struggled at a eight-team “Royal Spike-Off” tournament in Selkirk, Man. last weekend, finishing the round-robin with a 1-1-1 record and then getting swept in playoff game Saturday.
The black-and-gold beat John Taylor Collegiate (15-9/15-12), lost to River East (7-15/13-15), and then split with Ecole-Gabrielle (11-15/17-16).
“We played very, very average,” head coach Toby Munro said afterwards. “I didn’t think the teams we played were that great. There are about four teams from our league that could have won that tournament.
“We just struggled offensively–big time.”
Munro said the team, which was thinking of making some changes on offence before the tournament, most likely would sport a new look in today’s against Pelican Falls.
It’s a match the Muskies will be looking to win on their home court to start building confidence and momentum down the stretch.
“We have to get a win and get the season going,” said Munro. “I don’t know what it was but we are going to make changes.”