Neepawa Tigers advance to provincials

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Published on Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Photo by Eoin Devereux. The NACI Varsity Girls Basketball team earned their spot in the ‘AA’ Girls Provincial Championship with a pair of wins over the weekend. 

By Eoin Devereux

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

The varsity girls basketball team for Neepawa Area Collegiate Institute (NACI) is a step closer to a provincial title. The team won a pair of games on Saturday, Mar. 5, at the ‘AA’ Girls Provincial Qualifier to earn its chance at the title later this month. 

NACI began the event facing the Major Pratt Trojans, based out of Russell. The first half of this contest featured each team trading opportunities on both sides of the court. It was Neepawa however, who were able to take greater advantage, allowing them to hold a 35-25 lead after two quarters.

Early in the third, Neepawa started to pull away, as they notched the first eight points of the half. The Tigers were able to control the ball well and create high percentage shots in or near the paint. The Trojans were able to tighten up their defensive strategy in middle of third. forcing tougher shot selection from Neepawa, but were unable to take advantage by cutting into the deficit. After three quarters, Neepawa held onto a commanding 50-27 lead. 

Instead of going into a defensive strategy in the final quarter, the Tigers kept pressing offensively, putting the Trojans back on their heels. Unfortunately, that didn’t translate into points early, as they secured just six points in first four minutes. The offence found its rhythm at the mid-point of the quarter, as they scored 10 points in a three minute span. From there, Neepawa was able to cruise to a 69-31 win and moved on to the final. In that championship game, the Tigers would square off against the Morris Mavericks, who earned a 36-27 win over Ste. Anne in the other semi-final.

During the final, NACI began the game by being patient with its shot selection. That allowed them to climb out to an early 23-9 lead after the first quarter.

In the second, a slow start from Neepawa combined with a few unforced turnovers, allowed the Mavericks to climb back into the game, cutting the lead down to nine points, at 23-14. The Tigers would not score their first basket of the second until the 5:54 mark. Once that occurred however, the shots quickly started to fall once again for Neepawa, allowing them to go into half-time with a 36-23 advantage.

In the second half, Morris pressed to get back into the game, but was unable to make any headway. At the end of regulation, Neepawa would come out on top by the score of 69-49.

With the tournament victory, Neepawa ensured its place at the ‘AA’ Provincial Championship, scheduled for Souris from Mar. 17-19.