Despite only playing four games in the month of December, the Peacock Toilers were ready to go in their first game after the Christmas break. The Toilers used their speed to create chances in a 94-42 victory over the Vanier Spirits in senior girls basketball action on Tuesday evening.
“We came into tonight wanting to come out really explosively and that’s exactly what we did,” said Toilers coach Renee Verge. “It was a great start for us. We have had a really quiet December compared to everyone else. So that means we have a very busy January and February, but it certainly didn’t look like we have only played four games and that’s very exciting for me.”
The Spirits didn’t have any answers in the first half of the game for the Toilers as they used speed and pressure to create fast break points off the rush. With a lot of turnovers, the confidence level of the Vanier team seemed to drop throughout the match.
“It became like a hot potato. They have some tall girls that were blocking some of our shots. There were instances where they couldn’t shoot the ball right now and I’m going to shoot it instead of pass it and turn it over,” said Vanier’s coach Bob Gottselig. “They did a lot better job in the second half, but particularly, early on, with Peacock’s pressure and aggressiveness, we lost confidence and didn’t move the ball quickly.”
The Toilers used all of their players and everyone contributed offensively. With everyone rolling, Verge has high hopes that everyone can continue and the team can build more systems.
“Everyone is contributing and that is a wonderful way to start your season,” she said. “It was a real team effort and everyone was able to contribute. We’ve got a lot of youth on our team and I thought they were able to play some significant minutes and great leadership from our Grade 11 and 12s that are returning.”
For more on this story, read an upcoming edition of the Times-Herald.
