That wasn’t the case in 2020.
No, the Central Cyclones did everything they could to stay in touch and push the Toilers as much as possible on Tuesday night at Sask Polytech – to the point they found themselves down only five with a minute remaining in the game.
But you don’t win every league title from 2011 on without knowing how to close out games, and in the end, the Toilers were able to pick up a 56-49 victory in front of another loud and raucous city final crowd.
“It feels really amazing, just to be back in this environment, I really missed it, just the energy and all the fans, it’s really amazing,” said Toilers senior Anna Maelde, who missed playing in the 2019 final after breaking her arm in an off-court accident. She appeared to making up for the lost time, putting down 25 points on the night, including three three pointers, to lead all scorers.
“Our coaches put in a lot of effort and we put in a lot of effort to make our team successful and I think it takes all of us, as you can see. I just want to thank my coaches and all my teammates for such wonderful Grade 12 season.”
Central was in the game right from the opening tip-off, trailing by six after the first heading into the dressing room with a 31-24 edge. The Toilers would lead by as much as 12 in the second half, but the Cyclones kept hanging around to set up the interesting finish.
“That’s what you expect in the city final, that’s a part of this kind of game and that’s what it was,” said coach Penny Maelde. “We knew it was going to be like that… at this point everyone is picking each other apart and coming up with a gameplan and they had a solid gameplan.”
But in the end, experience, depth and a commitment to defence proved to be the difference.
“They played great defence, they’re very fast, they’re a quick team and they rotate very well, but we had great leadership from our Grade 12s and they showed patience at the end,” Maelde said.
Cyclones head coach Bryan Adams pointed to the Toilers’ timely shooting as a major factor in the win.
“The difference in the game was they hit three threes with one second left on the shot clock, and good for them… lot’s of credit to the Peacock girls, they made the shots when they had to make the shots and that’s basketball,” Adams said.
Seeing his charges come up with one of their best showings of the season in such an important game was a source of pride for the veteran coach – and a sign of good things for the future.
“This is where we thought we’d be all year,” he said. “There’s not a lot of difference between the two teams and they do a really nice job on what they do. Some of our Grade 10s, they really showed up, we’ve done a lot of work in the last three years, we have a lot of good juniors and kids coming back, so we have high hopes.”
The Toilers, meanwhile, will be looking for number 11 when things tip off next fall.
“I think we have a really strong legacy at Peacock and everyone who comes onto this team, they look at that,” coach Maelde said. “Every Grade 12 that graduates, the Grade 12s that are coming up, that’s what they want for their team. I mean, wow, 10 years, I’m very, very proud.”
Peacock Grade 12 guard Caitlyn Johnson scored nine points for the Toilers, Caitlin Miller added 12.
Cyclones senior Alexa Watterson led Central with 15 points, Malea Kletzel scored 11.
The remainder of the season remains up in the air due to the ongoing Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation job action (see related story).
