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
