By Joel van der Veen
KENASTON — Winning the bronze medal at Hoopla last weekend may not have been the way Kenaston’s senior girls hoped their season would end.
But given the challenging year they’ve had, coach Gene Zdunich said, simply making it to provincials seemed out of reach at some points.
“It was a real struggle this season, we had so many injuries and so many people sick,” Zdunich said Tuesday.
“Just surviving it and getting to Hoopla was kind of the high point,” he said. “I didn’t know how far we were going to go in the playoffs.”
The Kodiaks hosted 1A regionals on March 11 and 12, easily defeating both Eston and Paradise Hill and paving the way for them to compete in provincials in Moose Jaw the following weekend.
They began the weekend with a close, physical game against Fillmore on March 18. Their competitors held a narrow lead for most of the game, with Kenaston tying the score at 44-44 with 35 seconds remaining.
However, Fillmore broke the tie with a string of successful foul shots, earning a 48-44 victory.
“We just couldn’t seem to catch a break,” said Zdunich, adding that in the closing minutes, “A lot of it was not in our hands.”
The Kodiaks thus moved on to the consolation game against Asquith on Saturday, which they easily won with a score of 81-34.
“Asquith’s a pretty young team,” said Zdunich, adding that competing in a faster-paced game came more naturally to his players.
Ann Ulmer was the high scorer for Kenaston in both games, scoring 17 points on Friday night and 38 points in the consolation match.
However, Zdunich said both games saw a true team effort from the Kodiaks, adding, “All of our kids worked so hard.”
He noted that he was also working with a younger team this year, with no Grade 12 players on board. On the plus side, the Kodiaks will be able to build on their past success next year, as no players are graduating.
Kenaston’s senior girls have reached 1A provincial finals 12 times since 1971, including a three-year string from 2013 to 2015.
The Kodiaks won gold in 1972, 1973, 1999 and 2013. In the latter year, they defeated Middle Lake 51-38 in the final.