OLDS — The Olds Koinonia Christian School (OKCS) senior girls basketball team has won the Chinook’s Edge South Athletic Association (CESAA) championship.
Now they look forward to hosting the 1A provincials March 20-22.
The Royals won the CESAA crown by downing the École Olds High School Spartans 67-51 last week.
“This was a fun, well-played game by both teams,” Royals head coach Diane Sewell wrote in an email.
The team’s record stands at 22-5 and they ended up first in the rankings.
“We had been in second (place) behind Stirling as we had lost to them by six points earlier in the season. Then at our home tournament in February we were able to defeat them by 10 (points) which changed the rankings,” Sewell wrote.
Twelve teams are expected for the provincials, bringing 180 players and lots of coaches, parents and fans to the school.
“OKCS has never hosted provincials, so the whole school community is excited,” Sewell wrote.
“We have had fantastic support from the whole community with some amazing donations and sponsorship.”
Sewell said planning for the tournament has been ongoing for a year. It will feature a skills competition and banquet.
Sewell knows the provincials will provide some very tough competition for the Royals but “we look forward to those hard games.
She said a big strength of the Royals this year is their defence.
“Our defence is fantastic,” she wrote. “The girls work super hard together as a team. We have been working on reducing the number of turnovers as well as playing clean, disciplined defence to stay out of foul trouble.”
Overall, the team is of average height, but one girl has “some height,” she noted.
They work on speed.
“I do coach the girls to push the ball and play at a fast pace, looking for the fast break at every possible opportunity,” Sewell wrote.
“Playing in transition with lots of great passes can be really fun.
Another advantage is that several girls on the squad have played together for a long time, so they know each other’s tendencies.
“I have four Grade 12 players who have played together for many seasons which really helps strengthen our team,” Sewell wrote. “The Grade 10 and 11 girls also add a lot of heart and speed to the team.”
