CREMONA - The Cremona Junior A girls' basketball team pulled off a surprise victory over division rivals Olds Koinonia Christian School (OKCS) to capture the South Central Zone championship in Airdrie on March 3. Cremona went into the zones ranked fifth, while OKCS was ranked second.
"In an Oregon draw you need to win your first game in order to be in contention for a medal," said coach Loree Sheehan. "We beat Keoma in our first game Friday night and then Prairie Christian (ranked first) in our second game, which put us in the gold medal game. It was quite daunting considering that Olds Koinonia had beaten us in all five games that we had played against them this season."
The closest Cremona had gotten to OKCS in the five games they played prior to zones was a 39-32 loss in Chinook's Edge league playoffs March 1.
"The gold medal game was a nail-biter with both teams trading baskets and the lead right until the final moments of the game," she said.
The score was tied at 29-29 at the 4:50 mark of the fourth quarter when Cremona pulled away after getting a couple of steals. When the final buzzer rang, Cremona won the game 41-33.
"This was a great group of highly dedicated girls to work with and I am excited to see what the next couple of years bring as they have tremendous potential," said Sheehan. "After the win there were more than a few tears of joy shed. Our team peaked at just the right time."
The Cougars started the season off slowly, falling to both OKCS and Didsbury at the start of league play. They picked up their play and finished second at tournaments in Three Hills in December and Trochu in February.
"At the tail end of our league play we beat Didsbury and both games against Olds High," she said. "This banner was very special considering it was exactly 10 years ago almost to the day (2008) when I first coached a team to a junior A banner."
