Senior Girls Toilers Fall To Ardens

A new and improved Peacock Toilers senior girls basketball team hit the court on Tuesday evening.

From the initial tip off the improvement was noticeable as for a few short minutes it felt like the Toilers could go toe to toe for 40 minutes against the Swift Current Ardens.

But the Ardens would use their size and strength to outmuscle a 91 - 28 victory over the Toilers.

“The girls came out very strong. Our first couple of minutes they came out really strong and we implemented a lot of stuff we’ve been working on. Our fitness over the holidays really shone through especially over the first couple of minutes,” Toilers assistant coach Caitlyn Kitts said.

She applauded the Ardens as a good and strong team “that got the best of us,”

“Overall we’re pretty happy with effort the the girls put in considering how good Swift Current was last year,” Kitts said.

The Ardens have a lot of returnees from last year’s team while the Toilers are a young team with many standout players having graduated.

Asked if it was a game of the Toilers making two pointers only to have the Ardens score a three pointer - something that happened more than once - she said she would not typify the game as that.

“It was a game of they made a lot of points in the second quarter and we didn’t,” she said, adding “they are a good shooting team and we are more of a cutting and scoring in the basket kind of team.”

The improved Toilers were aggressive.

“Aggressiveness by Swift I think was matched by us honestly. We played a fantastic transition defence stopping the layup.Puttting the body on the line and stopping those really strong drives…our girls did their best to get in front of them,”she said.

Swift Current used their strength and aggressiveness to steal the ball and take possession on numerous occasions.

The Toilers managed to hem in the size and strength advantage but it took until the fourth quarter to do so.

Experience was a major factor in the game. The Ardens benefitted from their experience against the younger Toilers.

The Ardens ‘ experience allowed the team to force turnovers when and where shouldn’t happen.

A mid court steal from behind by the Ardens was from a lack of communication by the Toilers, Kitts said.

“It’s something we need to work on. We need to find her voice out there. We’re getting better at it but there needs to be some work there.”

Pointing out the Toilers have improved over the Christmas break Kitts agrees.

“We definitely have improved 100 percent. I think if we look at our shooting percentage it’s better. The amounts of turnovers and the types of turnovers they’re getting better.”

“The girls have been working really hard.”

Teams with a lot of returning players might be tough competitors but at the same time it allows the Toilers to know what to expect.

“They’re not letting that to deter them they know what to expect,” she said.

The Toilers close knit team helps them forge ahead despite only one victory this season.

“We won one game. But honestly I think the relationships between the girls is so positive. And the friendships and relationships is what keeps us going,” Kitts said.

Senior Kelsey McQueen agrees with her coach about how the closeness of the team helps them get through some tough games.

“I feel like in both years (last season and this season) the connections were very strong so we feel a little bit better. Even as our team lost so many grade 12s….we are such a young team the grade 10s playing right now when they get to grade 12 they will have an advantage,” McQueen said.

She agreed that losing can help build character.

“I feel that losing and having these hard games are helping us practice more and that will just make us better.”

During a fourth quarter timeout the Toilers turned the whiteboard over to McQueen to give directions to the team it is something she relished.

“ I liked it. I really liked to talk to everyone and being heard. Sometimes it’s difficult to be heard when everyone is talking. When the coach is talking we have such little time. It was good to take over the timeout and talk about what we need to do better.”

Losing games isn’t the end of the world for the team.

“Even though we’ve lost a lot of our games, I think the connection as I said is playing and being together and the bond we have is really good,” she said.

The scoresheet