Olds Koinonia Christian School (OKCS) held a big celebration last Tuesday (March 19) after its senior girls' basketball team won the 1A provincials.
In the final, the Koinonia Royals played against the Stirling School Lakers and came out on top 66-61 during the March 16-17 weekend in Paradise Valley, near Lloydminster.
The senior girls' championship was the first one in the school’s history according to spokesman Ken Terpstra.
Students, staff and parents filled the gym around a tunnel covered with curtains. A spotlight shone on that tunnel as the team ran through it. Fog created by a machine added to the celebratory atmosphere.
Everyone showed their team spirit with loud cheers as the team shared their experiences from their banner-winning game.
During the celebration, co-captain of the team, Dayna Sewell, said she still hadn’t even fully processed winning the final.
“It hadn’t quite settled in yet, disbelief, like 'wow, we actually did that.' It had just started to settle,” she said.
“To me, it was a great sense of community that we have here," coach Diane Sewell said. "We have all the grades here from K to 12 and we’re a smaller school. I think it’s really fun to have everyone enjoy this moment.”
Coach Sewell thinks the win means something to everyone in the school beyond just the team themselves.
“It’s not just us. It’s the whole school that gets to enjoy this victory because we have a lot of support in the student body — our coaches, alumni and parents. It’s great,” she said.
The captains and coach said their defensive and offensive strategies were key to winning the big game.
“Our one-three-one defence was a big thing,” said co-captain Rachael Rieberger.
A one-three-one defence plays the passing lanes and puts the offensive team in a position where they’re forced to throw balls over the defensive team's lineup. The strategy is meant to confuse the offence so they make mistakes.
Co-captain Sewell said on offence, the team's fast breaks were a big factor in the win.
In a fast break, the offence moves quickly up the court to get into key scoring positions.
Coach Sewell said the team played well on both sides of the ball.
“Our defence really stepped up in the final game to some of their (the Lakers') drives and I would say one of our best things was our fast break offence.”
“She (Dayna Sewell) would take care of the post players and I would take care of the wing players. We got it taken care of,” said Rieberger.
The two were the most experienced on the team, being the only girls in Grade 12.
“We had a very young team, these girls really did have to play a huge role,” said coach Sewell. “Rachael would often say ‘Mrs. Sewell, this isn’t working.’ She did a great job of letting me know when something wasn’t working on the court.”
After the celebration in the gym concluded, the students were all dismissed. The team served cake to them in the school’s halls.
