Dakota to face Westwood for high school hoops glory
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/03/2022 (1600 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Dakota Lancers ran their unbeaten record to 21-0 Thursday night but they had a rough path to a 67-42 victory over the Sisler Spartans in varsity girls semifinal action at the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba Provincial AAAA High School Basketball Championships.
The No. 1-ranked Lancers shot an underwhelming 23 per cent from the field but they advanced to Saturday’s provincial final against the Westwood Warriors with the help of Kyu Fust’s 19 points and eight rebounds.
“With having fans back and having a crowd and in a big game I think nerves are always going to be a factor,” said Dakota head coach Eric Sung. “But the kids are gritty and kind of stayed the course and stayed with the plan. We got it done… It wasn’t pretty but we earned every basket that we got on Sisler. They work pretty hard on the defensive end against us.”
In the other varsity girls semifinal at Garden City Collegiate, No. 3 Westwood outlasted the seventh-seeded St. Mary’s Academy Flames, 71-56. Saturday’s final begins at 3 p.m.
Meanwhile, the top-ranked John Taylor Pipers rallied from a one-point halftime deficit to post an 87-69 win over the No. 4 Garden City Fighting Gophers in varsity boys semifinal action.
John Taylor will meet second-ranked St. Paul’s in Saturday’s 6 p.m. final after the Crusaders dumped third-seeded Sisler 115-61.
Varsity Girls
Lancers 67 Spartans 42
Abby Sweeny had 16 points and five rebounds for the winners while Darya Rom and Jasia Hayden chipped in with 10 apiece.
Alyssa Doneza sparked No. 5 Sisler with 16 points.
The Lancers’ smallest margin of victory this season is 19 points and they will be heavy favourites in Saturday’s final.
“Our shooting percentage wasn’t great today and it wasn’t great when we played FRC (in the quarterfinals),” said Sung. “I think we’re able to get second-chance points and in games like this, it’s not always going to be pretty so you kind of just run your race and stay the course.”
Warriors 71 Flames 56
Mia Banmann scored 30 points in her final high school game but it wasn’t enough against powerful Westwood.
Anna Miko had 22 points for the winners, who got 13 from Delany Galera and 12 from Brook Schrader.
Varsity Boys
Pipers 87 Fighting Gophers 69
The top-ranked Pipers took command early, surging to a 30-19 lead after the opening quarter but the pesky fourth-seeded Gophers rallied to lead 39-38 at halftime.
Atok Makuer had a game-high 34 points for the winners while Ryan Luke added 17. Nathan Duncan chipped in with 11.
“I’m very pleased with our effort, especially in the second half,” said Pipers head coach Spiros Kavadas. “Just getting into the change room (at halftime) and reminding them we had a game plan and to stick to it really helped.”
Noah Cansino had 23 points for Garden City while Jayden Holmes and Markus Ragot added 16 and 15, respectively.
“Mentally we made some mistakes,” said Gophers head coach Iggy Grinevsky. “We weren’t very good from the foul line today and we actually turned the ball too much — unforced turnovers — and they’re very big and athletic.
“We’re a short team — probably the shortest team in the province and we have to play a perfect game to give them an upset but my kids worked hard and I wouldn’t take any group over them.”
Crusaders 115 Spartans 61
The Crusaders cruised into the title game with another blowout victory, setting up a matchup with the only club that has beaten St. Paul’s this season.
A lingering question about the availability of St. Paul’s star forward Ramogi Nyagudi was apparently settled.
With a 6 p.m. start time for the varsity boys final Saturday at Maples Collegiate, Nyagudi will not play in the big game.
As a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, he observes the Sabbath on Saturday. The time between sundown Friday until sundown Saturday is a biblical time of rest and worship, which would mean no basketball if the start time is not moved back.
St. Paul’s head coach Jeff Laping said he asked Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association executive director Chad Falk for a later start to accomodate Nyagudi but the request was denied.
Laping was not pleased with the 3 and 6 p.m. start times for Saturday’s finals.
“Ever since I’ve been involved it’s been 6 and 8 p.m. (start times) for the (provincial) finals,” he said.
mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @sawa14