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The Melfort Unit and Comprehensive Collegiate Senior A Girls basketball team is heading to HOOPLA for the third consecutive year. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)
MUCC HOOPLA

MUCC heading to third straight HOOPLA

Mar 18, 2019 | 1:44 PM

For the third straight year, the Melfort Unit and Comprehensive Collegiate (MUCC) Senior A Girls basketball team will play in HOOPLA.

The senior girls booked their ticket after they hosted regionals at MUCC’s gym, where they defeated Martensville High School 83-26 in the semifinal on Friday, March 15 and Sheldon Williams Collegiate 93-49 in the final on March 16.

Kelly Linnell, head coach of the MUCC Senior A Girls basketball team, said the two dominant performances won’t raise their expectations at HOOPLA.

“We know that the teams at HOOPLA are always strong and we have to play our best,” Linnell said. “The team that shows up ready to play is going to be successful. The girls are excited, geared up, ready to play, and hopefully they can carry this momentum forward.”

The regional championship win marked the final home basketball game for Grade 12 players Alexa Hangs-Copeland, Jenna Fedusiak, Avery South, Hannah Linnell, and Nicole Fedorychka.

Linnell called it bittersweet to see some of her girls end the home portion of their high school basketball careers on a high note.

“I’ve coached these girls since Grade 7,” she said. “I said we would be going to HOOPLA when they got to high school and they’ve already got two gold medals under their belts.

“I’m pretty proud of these girls. They worked so hard, had good team chemistry, and are great people on and off the court.”

As two-time defending HOOPLA gold medal winners, Linnell hopes her senior players can set the tone for the younger girls and get into the same routine they’ve been in all season.

MUCC enters HOOPLA as the second seed in the four-team tournament. They’ll play the third seeded Moose Jaw Peacock in the semi-finals at Walter Murray Collegiate in Saskatoon on Friday, March 22 at 11 a.m.

If MUCC wins, they’ll face the winner of the first seeded North Battlefords Comprehensive High School versus Notre Dame in the 4A Girls gold medal on Saturday, March 23 or the loser of that match-up in the bronze medal game earlier that day.

Both the bronze and gold medal games will take place at Centennial Collegiate in Saskatoon at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. respectively.

aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow

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