It’s been a long wait for the Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) Elecs senior girls basketball team, but they are headed back to the Hoopla 5A provincial tournament.
ECS defeated the Notre Dame Hounds 74-69 in the semifinal of the rural regional tournament at the ECS gymnasium on Saturday afternoon to qualify for Hoopla. The top two teams at regionals advanced to Hoopla, which will happen in Regina this weekend.
The Elecs will be appearing at Hoopla for the first time since 2005, when they won a bronze medal.
After beating Notre Dame, the Elecs players rushed to the floor to celebrate.
“It’s definitely surreal,” said head coach Jessie Smoliak, who is in her eighth year at the helm of the Elecs. “We worked so hard for this weekend, and it was unbelievable to watch the girls totally step up their game and peak at the right time to beat the No. 2 ranked team in Notre Dame.”
Prior to regionals, Smoliak and assistant coach Ashleigh Dzuba told the players they belonged at Hoopla.
But it was far from easy. Notre Dame had leads of 20-11 after the first quarter and 35-24 at halftime. The Hounds continued to control the game early in the third quarter, extending the lead to 41-28. But then Kourtney Kobitz and Tatiana Dutka drained three pointers on back-to-back possessions to pull the Elecs to within seven.
Smoliak and Dzuba cited those possessions as a turning point.
By the end of the third quarter, the Elecs were down 53-49.
“That was the first quarter that we won,” said Dzuba. “They just came back, and they wanted it. They played with heart.”
The Elecs momentum continued into the fourth quarter, and with the game tied at 60-60 late in the fourth, the Elecs had 10 unanswered points. Notre Dame went on a 9-1 run in the final couple minutes to make it a two-point game, but the Elecs sealed the victory with three points off of free throws.
Smoliak credited Sammy Wade, Kalee Donovan and Kobitz for their strong defensive play. Donovan also made some big three-point shots, including one at the end of the third quarter.
Donovan, a Grade 12 student, said it’s been a dream of hers to advance to Hoopla, and she is looking forward to the experience.
“We definitely work a lot better this year than any other team I’ve been on,” said Donovan. “We’re a different team.”
She said they played better as a team in the second half against Notre Dame.
“If you’re shooting in the first half, and they don’t go in, then keep shooting, because eventually they will fall, and thankfully they did in the second half,” said Donovan.
Dzuba said the Elecs were playing for their coach as well, as Smoliak’s father, Victor Elias, diedon March 13. Smoliak said Dzuba, and Stacy and Trevor Dutka, helped run practice the last two weeks, and preparing the team for games for regionals.
ECS finished with a 2-1 record at regionals. They opened with a 62-49 win over Prince Albert St. Mary’s.
Then, about two hours after the win over Notre Dame, the Elecs returned to the court for the regional final versus Prince Albert Carlton, and dropped a 69-53 decision.
Smoliak noted that starting point guard Tatiana Dutka suffered an injury against St. Mary’s, and didn’t play early against Notre Dame. But she came back and helped lead the team to the win.
Dutka didn’t play versus Carlton, but will be ready for Hoopla.
The Elecs will face Regina Riffel in the opening game at Hoopla on Friday afternoon. ECS defeated Riffel early in the year, but Smoliak said they’re a different team now.
