Carpenter High School's senior girls basketball team earned a third place finish at the John Paul II Collegiate tournament on the weekend. (Carpenter High School/Facebook)

By Elliott Knopp

Womens Basketball

Carpenter senior girls basketball takes bronze at JPII tourney

Dec 6, 2021 | 2:05 PM

Carpenter High School’s senior girls basketball team is starting their season with some success to build on.

The team of young women captured the third place prize at the John Paul II Collegiate tournament over the weekend, defeating North Battleford Comprehensive High School 54-53 to take home the hardware.

The tournament was the team’s first slate of action in their 2021-22 campaign, which head coach Kendra Paramchuk said provided the unit with some valuable experience and knowledge heading into their next contest.

“It came down to work ethic and anticipating that you’re not going to make every basket,” she said.

“As a whole, the group was getting boards. If there was a ball on the floor, we definitely reminded them it needs to be ours. They all worked together, our spirits were up because we were seeing improvement, and everybody got an opportunity to play.”

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The girls first game of the season came against L.P. Miller High School from Nipawin. The Carpenter squad would alternate players five at a time to ensure each player had their minutes and built chemistry with the others on the court.

The Spartans would go on to secure their first victory of the year, earning a chance to play against John Paul II Collegiate.

While the girls dropped the contest 41-31, Paramchuk explained the setback revealed some key areas of improvement that would help the team bounce back.

“The biggest thing that came out of it is we do really well when we run on transition,” she said.

“When we push the ball ahead, we are a fast team and we can get the ball off the floor quicker than others.”

Looking at the bigger picture, this tournament also represents the first few games the girls team has played in nearly two years.

Paramchuk said this tournament provided the young team with a spark that could translate to success as the season progresses.

“As a team, it brought us together because some of the girls have never played together,” she said.

“We have a deep bench, and that’s huge because I think we could run down teams in our upcoming senior season. It definitely brought a lot of confidence for both the coaching staff and the girls. Knowing we play again this weekend, we can build on that momentum.”

The girls next game is against Humboldt on the road at 7 p.m. on Friday.

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elliott.knopp@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ElliottKnopp