An effort to get F.H. Collins players more game time has given the school two medals instead of one in the Grade 8 girls division of the YSAA Yukon Basketball Championships.
The F.H. Collins Warriors split their regular season team into two.
The No. 2 team took the gold with a 28-26 win over the Porter Creek Rams at Porter Creek Secondary on Friday.
The Warriors No. 1 team took the bronze the previous day.
“We split our team up evenly,” said Warriors 2 coach Christine Kirk. “We had 20 kids playing, so we split them into two teams.
“They weren’t getting enough floor time ... So it worked better because they could play more.”
Tied 25-25 with under three minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Warriors All-Star Jamie Joe-Hudson drained a shot from beside the key to give her team the lead.
The Rams then pulled within one on a free throw from Thea Carey.
Warriors’ Danika Nelson, who was named the tournament MVP, then hit one from the free-throw line. Nelson finished the game scooping up four consecutive defensive rebounds to keep her team on top.
“Danika stepped up big time,” said Kirk. “She got a few big defensive rebounds there when they had free-throws. That was key for us.”
It was a small come-from-behind win for the Warriors after trailing the Rams for the first half of the final. The Rams ended the first quarter up 13-8 as Carey made a steal and put in a lay-up at the half-time buzzer.
The Warriors went into the second half hot, scoring six unanswered points and taking their first lead on a basket from Joe-Hudson.
Carey again made a steal and lay-up before teammate Lena Jensen tossed in an outside shot to put the Rams up 18-15 at the end of the third.
Joe-Hudson led the Warriors with 14 points while teammate Nelson had 10.
Rams All-Stars Carey and Maya Greenough had 11 and eight points, respectively.
All-Stars
Marika Kitchen (Vanier)
Jen Mendelson (F.H. Collins)
Maya Greenough (Porter Creek)
Thea Carey (Porter Creek)
Jamie Joe-Hudson (F.H. Collins)
MVP
Danika Nelson (F.H. Collins)
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com