It was a big weekend for the Peacock Toilers senior girls basketball team even though they haven’t even played a playoff game yet.
The Toilers used this weekend to gear up for the final stretch of their season with a tournament victory in Wilcox.
Peacock beat host Notre Dame in the final with an 87-69 victory on Saturday.
“It was a really big tournament in that they were seeded No. 2 provincially and we were posted No. 1. That’s unofficial right now, but we should be seeded No. 1, which is really exciting for us,” said Peacock’s head coach Renee Verge.
There were eight teams at this tournament and the Toilers played Melville on Friday and then Indian Head on Saturday morning. With those two wins, it put them in the final and Notre Dame won their games to end in the final as well.
“Ideally, that’s exactly what we were hoping that’s what was going to happen. We couldn’t have picked a better situation,” said Verge of their opponent. “We really challenged the girls to take care of business and win those first two games. We were confident that Notre Dame was going to do the exact same thing and we would have an opportunity to meet a very competitive team in the final. That’s exactly what it was…a very competitive game for us.”
Although the score seems a beat unbalanced, Verge stated it was a closer game than the scoresheet indicated.
“That may seem like it was a little lopsided, but it definitely wasn’t. It was a game that we played very hard right from tip-off and we prepped the girls to come out very aggressive,” she explained. “It is a big atmosphere out in Notre Dame as they bring in all the kids. There is a lot of red in the crowd, but we knew what to expect. It is very loud, but I think the girls came out really focused. We won tip-off and went straight to the hoop and scored. We never really looked back as we had the lead during the entire game.”
This weekend was extremely important to the Toilers as well as all the teams in the Saskatchewan High School Athletics Association as Saturday at midnight, all seeding had to be submitted to set up rankings.
“We’ve been going to Notre Dame for the past three years and when we got an invite, we were very excited to go there. It is your last opportunity to make any plunges towards seeding,” said Verge. “Anytime you can play really competitive games on that day and in this case, we didn’t know we would wind up with a 1-2 ranking. To be able to square off against a team that is ranked as close as they are to us is an ideal situation.”
The Toilers will have a busy week ahead of them as they prepare for the Central Cyclones this evening (6:15 p.m., Peacock) for one of the semifinal matches in the Moose Jaw league playoffs.
“The playoffs have started for us and every game is very important and we come in with some definite goals in every game,” she said. “We have a big game tonight…we want to be in the city final and to get there, we have to show up and play good, hard basketball. I anticipate that is what we will do.”
