It took a little bit to get the nerves out of the way, but the St. Mary Marauders senior girls’ basketball team was able to take care of business Friday evening at Carlton.
The fourth seed in the 5A girls’ regional tournament picked up a 58-34 win over the fifth-ranked Lloydminster Barons in a quarter-final game and will now take on the host Carlton Crusaders for a Hoopla berth at 10 a.m. Saturday.
“It took us about five or six minutes to get settled in, but we started to do the little things and make baskets,” Marauders head coach Dwayne Gareau said. “Once we started to play our way, things started to go in the right direction.
“There’s always some nervousness when you get into this time of year as your season ends if you don’t advance, so it was good to get that anxiousness out of the way this afternoon.”
Saturday’s matchup with the top-ranked Crusaders will be the fourth of the season between the cross-town rivals.
“They’ve won all three games so far, but if we can get the win tomorrow, we’ll be really happy about going 1-3 against them,” Gareau said.
“Each team knows what to expect, so it should be a good game.”
The other semifinal will be at 11:45 a.m. as the second-ranked Swift Current Ardens will take on the winner of last night’ quarter-final matchup between the third-seeded Weyburn Eagles and the sixth-ranked Yorkton Raiders.
The winners of both semifinals, who will square off in a regional final at 3:15 p.m., will then advance to next week’s Hoopla tournament in Saskatoon.
Meanwhile, the Carlton Crusaders senior boys’ basketball team kept their Hoopla hopes alive on Friday evening with a 75-58 over the Marauders in what was just the second meeting of the season between the Prince Albert schools.
The Crusaders, who entered the tournament as the fourth seed, will face the top-ranked Barons for a 5A provincial berth at 10 a.m. Friday.
The Barons advanced to the semifinal with a 100-73 showing over the Balgonie Greenall Griffins.
In Regina, the 15th ranked Prince Albert Collegiate Institute Golden Bears suffered a 73-55 defeat to the second-seeded Regina Christian Grizzlies in their 3A girls’ regional semifinal.
The Golden Bears will take on the Oxbow Black Knights in a consolation game Saturday.
