The Gryphons senior girls basketball team captured the gold medal eight-team home tournament hosted by Barrhead Composite High School Jan. 12 in dramatic fashion.
In the championship game, the Gryphons defeated the Sexsmith Sabres by the narrowest of margins, winning the gold medal 42-41.
Early in the third quarter, Barrhead had a comfortable 10-point lead, but Sexsmith chipped away until they tied the game midway through the fourth quarter.
In the final three minutes the Sabres took the lead by four, however, Barrhead battled back and had a two-point lead going into the final minute.
With 15 seconds left in the game, Barrhead was charged with pushing and Sexsmith was awarded two shots from the foul line, which they made one.
Barrhead then regained the ball killing the clock.
Top scorers were Jocelyn Fisher and Maci Reschke with 10 points each and Sydney Visser with seven points.
Head coach Leahan Schaffrick said she was pleased how her team played the entire tournament.
The Gryphons reached the finals by defeating Onoway and Whitecourt’s Hilltop High School 71-29 and 69-21 respectively.
Top scorers against Onoway were Hannah Tuininga with 20 points and Maci Reschke with 16 points. Top scorers in the Whitecourt game were Top scorers were Hannah Tuininga with 17 points, Jocelyn Fisher with 13 points and Maci Reschke with 12 points.
“They played together. It wasn’t one single player who got us to this point, everyone contributed,” she said, adding she was also happy how quickly the team regained its composure after losing the lead. “They were a little nervous, but they didn’t do anything crazy and they regained their composure for the final push.”
Schaffrick added how much she appreciated having an assistant coach, Jennifer Tuininga.
“As a single coach, it is easy to get caught up and just see one thing, but by having another coach as knowledgeable as Mrs. Tuininga it really helps me have a better perspective on the game as a whole,” she said.
Unfortunately the boys did not fare quite as well winning silver. They made it to the final match by defeating Onoway and Whitecourt’s Hilltop High School by scores of 71-45 and 95-70 but lost out to a strong Edson team in the final game 85-45.
