Female Cyclones Power Out A Win
Photos and Story by Robert Thomas
A larger than usual crowd was out Tuesday evening to watch the undefeated Central Cyclones senior girls basketball team (2 - 0) defeat the Vanier Spirits (1 - 1) 67 - 55 in city league action
Returning from the Christmas break both teams were close to full rosters in a battle which saw the Spirits hang in tough against the league leading Cyclones.
In the key battle for rebounds the Spirits managed to out jump and out muscle the larger Cyclones team on the backboards.
The Spirits in the second quarter- assisted by two field goals - even for a time held a six point lead over the Cyclones.
The score at the end of the First Quarter was Vanier 17 and Central 16.
The score at Half Time was Vanier 26 and Central 32.
The score at the end of the Third Quarter was Vanier 41 and Central 50.
The Final Score was Vanier 55 and Central 67.
“It was a solid win for us. We are happy with how we played. We’re definitely happy with a win,” Central Cyclones head coach Tanya McLean told MJ Independent in the post game interview.
Asked about the first third of the game - where the Spirits often had the lead (at one point by eight points) - McLean said there were concerns and “you can never count Vanier out.”
“We need to be a little bit more disciplined and execute what we want to do. But overall I’m happy with how they did.”
“We had some moments of brilliance but there are a lot of things we have to work on,” she said.
The second quarter saw the Cyclones get into some foul trouble wracking up five team fouls. Something she said comes into the disciplined part of play.
Defensively McLean said the Cyclones “struggled with a little bit” the execution part of their defence.
It was something the Spirits took advantage of as they won key battles for offensive rebounds.
The Spirits showed patience around the opponents basket managing to make two key field goals giving them the largest lead over the Cyclones in the second quarter.
“We know they have some good shooters and we have to get out on them. Vanier is a solid team we’re going to have to dig against them we know that,” she said.
Asked if she was happy with how the Cyclones played around the backboards McLean responded “nope.”
“We definitely struggled with boxing out. That was one of our major (concerns). Once again our discipline and execution and our turnovers again. Forcing things that aren’t there,” she said.
The Christmas Break did not have a major impact on the female Cyclones who managed to get in some practice but other activities often prevented all of the team getting out.
Tuesday’s game saw the Cyclones have a full roster with ten players on the bench.
A full ten player roster was something McLean was happy about.
The win puts the Cyclones with a (3 - 0) first place tie with the Swift Current Ardens (3 - 0) who defeated the visiting Peacock Toilers in a high scoring affair 96 - 42 in Swift Current on Tuesday evening.
Despite the loss Vanier Spirits head coach Alisha Amey said the game was what the Spirits had predicted.
“It was exactly what I expected. Tough game, physical, lots of good plays. Just a fun competitive game,” Amey said.
Despite the loss the Spirits were in the running for the majority of the game.
“We played a really tough game defensively but our offence kind of stalled out,” she said, adding “that was the difference in the game they scored and we didn’t.”
A major component of the Spirits game was the team dominating in rebounds - especially in the first half of the game. As the Spirits managed to win the battle of the backboards against a much larger Cyclones squad.
“Our rebounding was just great. Kiera (Zimmerman) just crushed it. She is just like the energizer bunny in there. But collectively as a team everybody wants to rebound,” she said.
“We are using our speed and getting in there. We know we aren’t taller than them but we’ll be physical and get those rebounds.”
“It is a bit of a hit and miss which is surprising given their size difference with us. Yeah just a little grit in there and battling. I was proud of their effort in that for sure,” she said.
The Christmas break was a “hit and miss” for the Spirits as with only ten players on the roster it’s tough to do such things as scrimmages if a player is missing, she said.
“It’s a little bit difficult to practice different looks - (if a player cannot make practice) - but we really work on the fundamentals and the skills and conditioning. It was good.”
The Spirits like the Cyclones headed into the break injury free so the off time did not have a major impact on returning personnel.
January has full four weeks of high school league basketball and tournaments Amey said the Spirits are going to take advantage of.
“I’m looking forward to us continuing to grow as a team and find out who we are as a team. So just figuring out what we can do offensively, individually and as a team. Defensively what kind of energy do we have and just figuring that out in the long run.”
Tuesday’s loss moves the Spirits to a 1 - 2 record good enough for third place.
Both the Spirits and Cyclones have a full weekend as they travel to Yorkton on Friday for a senior girls tournament.
