The Niverville Varsity Girls basketball team may have had a rocky season so far, but everyone loves a good dark horse story, and the Panthers are ready to deliver.
The team has already played in four tournaments this season, playing in their fifth this weekend. They placed fourth in a recent tournament in Gimli, losing in their last game to the Springs Christian Eagles with a score of 35–26.
The latest tournament, hosted by NCI on February 2–3, saw them face off against the Eagles in the opening game, in what NCI hoped would be a redemption match. The score ended with the home team losing 35–31, placing the Panthers on the consolation side. In their second matchup of the bracket, the team beat the Green Valley Pirates with a score of 33–30, advancing them to the consolation final, where they face off against the Pierre Elliot-Trudeau Canadiens on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, the Panthers fell 57–37 and finished in sixth place.
“We hoped to have better shooting, so we had been practicing our form shooting,” says head coach Nathan Dyck. “Our defence was okay and doesn’t need much for adjustment. Overall, we just need to play with more pressure in general.”
The Panthers have been sitting in third place in the Zone 13 South division, utilizing their veterans to lead the team with strong gameplay as they make a push for Provincials.
“Annika Wolfe is our point guard, who has shown great leadership and has become more vocal on the court,” says Dyck. “Rhyanne Pauls has been great on defence and helps out our offense down in the post a lot.”
As the season nears its end, the Varsity girls are hoping to win their last two regular season games. Their final game will be against the Steinbach Christian School Flames, who currently sit second in the division and have ranked in the top three in all four tournaments this season.
Meanwhile, the Varsity boys were also in tournament play February 2–3, emerging victorious in their first and second games. In the finals, they lost a tight match to the Ste. Anne Lynx, 66–62.