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Warriors winless at home

The FH Collins Secondary Warriors continued their slump with a pair of losses on home turf in Grade 9/10 basketball. Playing the Porter Creek Rams, the Warrior girls let a close game slip to a 40-29 loss while the Warrior boys fell 61-37.
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The FH Collins Secondary Warriors continued their slump with a pair of losses on home turf in Grade 9/10 basketball on Wednesday.

Playing the Porter Creek Rams, the Warrior girls let a close game slip to a 40-29 loss while the Warrior boys fell 61-37.

Unlike with the boys, the girls’ game was neck-and-neck up to the final quarter. Down by four midway through the third, the Warriors managed to tie the game with two successful free-throws from Sonali Malhotra followed by a steal and basket from Markie Bailie to tie. However, a pair of distant jumpers from Rams Mikeala Lane and Hannah Woodwalker put their team back up by four to end the quarter.

Not helping the Warriors were six consecutive possessions in the end of the third where they failed to at least get the ball to the rim.

“Maybe we were getting tired, because we only had two subs,” said Warriors coach Sarah Crane.

“At this level it’s just a matter of what falls and what doesn’t. We were taking good shots but they just weren’t falling.”

“I think they threw on a different type of defence that we hadn’t played or practised against,” added Warriors coach Deidre Davidson.

Leading the game in points was Lane, scoring 16 worth from the floor, followed by Bailie with 12.

Also helping Rams were Kiana Palamar with seven points and Woodwalker with six.

Helping keep the Warriors in the game Odette Rivard and Hana Val, each with six.

“We told them at the end of the game they did a great job and the score wasn’t totally reflective of how they played,” said Crane.

“At this calibre the best part is seeing each of the teams evolve with better players,” said Davidson. “Every game is better - for both sides. It’s fantastic to see.”

Rams bring an army to game

Last week in their game against the Vanier Crusaders, the Warrior boys struggled to keep up with no subs on the bench. On Wednesday the team had two subs, but compared to the Rams, they still seemed understaffed.

The Porter Creek Rams did not even have enough chairs for the small “army” they brought to the game, dressing 19 players for the game - almost enough for four full lines!

“We have 22 that come out to practice - we split them into two teams, a strong team and our developmental team,” said Rams head coach Paul MacDonald. “If we had gone with our stronger team, I think the score would have been a little more lopsided. (The Warriors) have come a long way since they started and so has my developmental team.

“At the beginning of the year I was going to take just one team but because this army is so keen ... I didn’t feel like I could get rid of them.”

Despite the lopsided depth on the benches, Warriors head coach Tyler Bradford feels more intense play from his players could make the difference.

“Our boys lacked intensity - we lost the battle for the rebounds and loose balls and I felt that was a big part of why we lost,” said Bradford.

Helping prevent the idea of a player fouling out unthinkable, the two new players making their debut in Warrior black were Sheldon Guenard and Eric Fekete.

“Sheldon was good - he got eight or nine blocks there,” said Bradford. “Eric’s coming off an injury, so he’s working it out and did what he could.”

Contact Tom Patrick at

tomp@yukon-news.com