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Elecs come up just short in McLeod Series

The Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) Elecs senior boys and girls basketball teams came up just short in the annual McLeod Series games with the Weyburn Comprehensive School Eagles.
McLeod series
Brie Hagen (12) dribbles the ball in the senior girls game in Weyburn. Photo by April Zielke of the Weyburn Review

The Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) Elecs senior boys and girls basketball teams came up just short in the annual McLeod Series games with the Weyburn Comprehensive School Eagles.

The Elecs dropped the annual best-of-four showdown with their Weyburn counterparts. Each team won twice in the series, so it came down to point different, which Weyburn won 314-312.

Estevan's senior girls basketball team soundly defeated their Weyburn foes 92-72 to give the Elecs a 2-1 series lead in the 85th annual best-of-four basketball battle. Estevan also had a four-point advantage in point differential after the victory.

“I was so happy with how our team played, especially our grade 12s,” said coach Jessie Smoliak. “You could tell how much this game meant to them as their last McLeod Series game, and that they wanted to contribute to the game.”

They played as a team by using their post/guard connection, which played a big part in the win.

“The whole team supported one another – if they were on the bench or if they were on the court,” she said.

The Elecs seized a 29-19 lead after the first quarter, and led 47-30 at half-time. The Eagles rallied in the third to close within nine, but Estevan took over again in the final frame.

“I was so proud of the girls, especially for winning both games in the McLeod Series. We haven’t taken both games in the series in a very long time, if ever, in the 11 years that I have coached at ECS.”

Estevan defeated Weyburn by narrow margins in previous meetings this season, but everyone contributed for Estevan to win by 20. Renee Stephany missed the game for a personal reason and Laren Kobitz was injured, but the remaining players came together well.

This will be their final game for two weeks. They’ll be back on the court for an exhibition game against Indian Head, and then they will host their annual Shoot for a Cure home tournament Feb. 28-29.

Smoliak hopes the Elecs don’t lose momentum from the McLeod Series.

The Elecs senior boys lost 78-62 to their Weyburn rivals, leaving the series tied 2-2, and requiring the tie-breaker to be used.

Estevan was down just one point, 31-30, at half-time, but the Eagles pulled away in the second half, with most of the damage coming in the third quarter, as the Eagles had a double-digit lead after three frames.

“In the second half, we got away from what was working in the first half,” said coach Trevor Dutka. “We were down one point going into the second half, and again we went away from our game plan, and Weyburn outrebounded us, and their shooting was a little bit better than ours.”

Francois Adaya had 27 points to lead the Elecs. Aden Haywood led the team in rebounds, which impressed Dutka, because Haywood is under six feet tall.

It’s the third straight meeting between the two teams in which the two teams were close for much of the game, only to have Weyburn pull away.

“It’s not that we’re not prepared for the second half. I don’t think they changed anything. We didn’t change anything. We both ran the same offence and the same defence, but their shots sank and ours didn’t.”

Clark Cabiluna didn’t play much in the third quarter because he had a twisted ankle, which hurt the Elecs. And they ran into foul trouble in the second half as well.

While the crowd wasn’t as big as what was seen in Estevan the previous week, it was still large and respectful, and likely the second-biggest the Elecs will face all year.

The senior boys were slated to host their annual home tournament on Feb. 14 and 15, but it was cancelled Dutka noted that after the McLeod Series, ECS had played 10 games in the last 12 days.

The first two games in the series were played Feb. 5 in Estevan, with the Eagles winning the senior boys game 96-78, and the Elecs winning the senior girls game 80-78 in a thrilling battle.

Weyburn now has a 45-40 lead all-time in the McLeod Series.