The Vanier Spirits have steadily been putting together a solid high school senior girls basketball program over the last few years.
That’s translated into winning league seasons in addition to tournament victories, including the Victor Elias Memorial in Estevan last weekend.
Now they’ll have another chance at a city championship on Tuesday night at Sask Polytech.
The Spirits booked their spot in the final with a 68-51 victory over the Lumsden Angels on Wednesday at Vanier, showing off a bit of resiliency in the process as they overcame an 18-6 deficit in the first quarter.
“Oh yeah, we like to keep it interesting, we like to give the fans a show and what they paid for,” joked Vanier head coach Christa Lapointe after the contest. “But seriously, kudos to Lumsden. They have a lot of seniors, they had a lot of energy and they wanted it and for us, it took us a while to find our legs and to get our rhythm.”
Once that happened, though, the Spirits were off to the races. They’d put on a defensive clinic in the second quarter, holding the Angels to only five points and building a 36-23 lead in the process.
Lumsden managed to close some ground after the break, but Vanier always found a way to respond. That’s become a hallmark of the Spirits in recent years, especially as their team has continued to develop.
“Our basketball program over the last few years has definitely been on the upswing, our junior program has done excellent and won cities (Wednesday), so you build that culture and add some fun into it and the girls are buying into it,” Lapointe said. “It’s really exciting, they have that grit and desire to improve in each game, so it’s paying off and that’s what you always want.”
Waverly Demassi led Vanier with 23 points, while Kate Waldenberger had a 16-point outing. Jordyn Exner was Lumsden’s top scorer with 15 points, Kiera Winquist added 14.
Now, it’s on to the league final for the Spirits, where they’ll face the Peacock Toilers after their 60-41 victory over the Central Cyclones in the other semifinal.
“If our girls show up to play and play as a unit, anything is possible,” Lapointe said of the prospects of winning a city title. “The great thing is the girls like showing up every day and they’re committed, so we’ll be ready to play on (Tuesday) night. It’ll be March Madness at its best.”
Devlyn McClung led Peacock with 15 points, while Hannah Miller put up 14 and Jessica Selensky added 11. Ava Nichols was Central’s top scorer with 14 points, Molly McLean scored 12.
Peacock led 16-10 after the first quarter and 36-19 at the half.
The high school boys semifinal between Peacock and Vanier was interesting in the early going, but the Toilers would put together a defensive performance for the ages in the third quarter and go on to a 71-46 victory.
With Peacock nursing a 30-27 lead at halftime, they’d hold Vanier to a single point -- a free throw by Zayden Anderson -- while putting up 27 points of their own to pull away for good.
Makungu Mutabazi led the Toilers with 12 points, while Mac Simpson had 11 in their balanced offence. Eric Meili put up 13 points to lead Vanier.
That all set the stage for the city final at Sask Polytech on Tuesday, Mar. 14, with the girls' final between Vanier and Peacock at 6:20 p.m. and boys’ championship between Central and Peacock set for 8 p.m.
