The Stonewall Rams JV Girls Basketball Team is preparing for a busy final few weeks, hopefully filled with more on-court success. They have already achieved a lot this season, improving to a 5-1 record this week, which places them first in Winnipeg Tier 2. Just two weeks ago, they finished in second place at the Sanford JV Girls Basketball Tournament.
In Sanford, the Rams bounced both the St. Norbert Celtics and the host Sanford Sabres in the quarter- and semi-finals before ultimately falling in the final to the Linden Christian Wings.
Returning to league play last week, the Rams recorded bounce-back victories over the Shaftesbury Titans on Tuesday and the St. John’s Tigers on Thursday.
“Right now, the key to our success is definitely defence, but offensively, we’re starting to figure things out,” said coach Jason Cassils. “It’s a big transition with a lot of the girls coming to play at the high school level but they’re figuring it out and we have a bunch of athletes which helps a lot.”
Their upcoming challenges include a match against the St. James Jimmies on Tuesday and another against the Portage Collegiate Saints on Thursday. If they secure a win against the fourth-place Jimmies, Thursday’s game will likely determine the regular season title, as Portage currently boasts a 4-0 record and sits in second place. The Rams have faced Portage once this season, on January 16, where they suffered a significant loss, trailing 49-11. Cassils expressed enthusiasm for the rematch, eager to assess their improvement since that game.
“It’ll be a good test for the girls to see how far we’ve come since that last game against Portage. Portage is really good. They’re tall, quick, and put a lot of pressure on us when we played them last. Hopefully, we’re a lot better and ready for the challenge.”
Regardless of the outcomes, the Rams expect to finish in the top two, which will help with their seeding in the Winnipeg Tier 2 playoffs. They are also aiming for a significant matchup on February 21, the AAA JV Girls Qualifier against the Westwood Warriors at Westwood Collegiate. A win in that game would secure the Rams a spot in the Provincial Qualifiers, although their current ranking may already guarantee their participation. Nonetheless, earning a higher seed would facilitate an easier path to Provincials. The Provincial Qualifiers are slated to begin at the end of the month, with the locations and dates to be determined. Provincials will take place in Dauphin in mid-March.
“It would be a great experience for them to get to provincials. It’s in Dauphin, so it is a little bit of a road trip for them and just the whole experience of provincials; a lot of them probably haven’t experienced it, so to have that chance would be a lot of fun and a good challenge for all of them. We’re hoping and have a good chance. Playing Westwood will be tough competition. I think we’re ranked eighth right now, so even without beating them, we should have a good chance of making the provincial qualifiers, but you definitely want a good seed there because it helps with your first game.”
Tuesday’s game against the Jimmies will tip off at 4:30 p.m. at St. James Collegiate. Thursday’s highly anticipated game against Portage goes at 6:15 p.m. at home in Stonewall.
