It was a good weekend for the basketball teams in Prince Rupert, as the senior girls team swept Caledonia Secondary School in two games on Saturday.
The team won the games 64-45 and 72-54 at Charles Hays Secondary School (CHSS).
This kicks off the season for the Rainmakers, who lost to the same team at zone championships when they last played a game.
“We only started practicing this past week, so I wasn’t sure how they were going to do, but I was pleasantly surprised,” said coach Anna Ashley.
The long-time coach said the two wins were a combination of holding their own defensively and strong offensive play.
“The best way I can put it is they were playing smart basketball,” she said.
She also mentioned the girls did a good job of rebounding and keeping the Cal girls on the outside of the perimeter, not letting them get the inside baskets.
The victory is a confidence-booster going into the year, but the girls were still missing a couple players and may have lost another one along the way.
In the second quarter of the second game, Tara Robinson collided with another player and hit the ground in pain. The Rainmaker was wheeled out of the game and taken to the hospital due to a knee injury, where she was put on crutches.
Ashley said she isn’t sure how long she’ll be out, but she hopes it is fairly minor. Robinson will know more after a follow-up with her family doctor.
In the first game, the girls came out flat but picked it up as the game went on. The coach noted there is still some work to do defensively. Overall, she was quite happy with the way they played.
In the matinee performance, it was a tighter game. The teams were separated by four points at halftime, but the Rainmakers poured it on in the second half, leading off the third quarter on a 13-5 run and they never looked back.
The whole team played well, said Ashley, but particularly Ruby Mason and Carly Cochrane, who really stepped up when they were needed.