By Jeff D'Andrea

Crusaders and other area teams jacked up for Hoopla

Mar 21, 2018 | 5:00 PM

It’s the 39^th Hoopla Provincial High School Basketball Championships tournament and the first in Prince Albert since 1996, but the Carlton Crusaders senior girls are ready to take on their role as host. Hoopla will host the provincial tournament in 10 different divisions in Prince Albert from Thursday to Saturday at Carlton, École St. Mary and Saskatchewan Polytechnic.

The Crusaders qualified after winning the Rural 5A Girls Regionals, beating North Battleford 83-49 in the finals. With all the pressure that’s on the Crusaders to perform in their home tournament, especially being the lone P.A. representative, qualifying as the top team of their region is an encouraging sense of relief.

“There was pressure going into regionals to make it here and play in front of everyone, so now we actually made it so that pressure’s a bit off,” Mackenzie Emmerson said. “I’m definitely excited to get that opportunity.”

If anything, the Crusaders perhaps are growing a tad impatient.

“I feel like this week has gone by so slow, because I think we’re just so ready to play,” Crusaders guard Payton Izsak said. “With all the excitement that’s been talked about in our school, with the parents and the community, we’re just ready to play at this point.”

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The Crusaders will play Riffel Royals from Regina for their first game, Thursday at 7:45 p.m. at Carlton CPAC.

4A Girls, Melfort Comets

The Melfort Comets surprised everybody at last year’s Hoopla, including themselves, by winning the 4A Girls division with a 64-42 win over Moose Jaw Peacock. The Comets didn’t qualify for the big dance 10 years prior, and with the win, they hung up their first girls’ title banner in their gymnasium.

“It was pretty surreal and pretty exciting. Nobody knew who we were, no one knew who Melfort was. They were just some random team,” Grade 12 Comet Rachel Linnell said. “I think we were all pretty excited.”

Well everybody knows who the Comets are now. They come in as the top seed in the 4A Girls Conference, coming off an 85-37 win over Warman to qualify for Hoopla.

There may be targets on their backs, but the Comets will also have a ton of support as well flooding in for nearby Melfort.

“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Comets Grade 12 post Kayla Kish said. “We know the gyms, we’ve been here so many times before. So many friends and family are going to come and support us, so the atmosphere is going to be electric. It’s going to be so much fun.”

The Comets will kick off their tournament against the Central Cyclones from Moose Jaw at 7:45 p.m. at Saskatchewan Polytechnic.

3A Boys, Birch Hills Marauders

The Birch Hills Marauders have been a mainstay in the 3A Boys Hoopla tournaments over the last few years. They’ve appeared in the last six Hooplas, finished as runners up in 2016 and picked up a bronze medal last year. In their two qualifying games, the Marauders scored 112 points in their rout over Tisdale 112-56, then flirted with the century mark over Saskatoon Legacy Christian with a 98-55 victory to qualify for Hoopla.

Their first game will be on Friday at 7:45 p.m. against the Norquay Knights at the Carlton Red Gym.

1A Girls, Three Lakes Avengers

The Three Lakes Avengers who hail from Middle Lake have built themselves a dynasty in the 1A Girls division. They won the Hoopla title in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and were runners up in last year’s tournament.

The Avengers’ first game is will be at the Carlton CPAC gym on Friday at 4:15 p.m. against the Gladmar Falcons.

jdandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW