A longtime rivalry was reignited on Jan. 15 in St. Paul when the Racette Raiders headed down the street to take on the Glen Avon Panthers in Jr. SPAA basketball action.
The girls’ teams put on an exciting first act for the fans, battling through a tight basketball game that went right down to the wire. The visiting Raiders were up 33-30 with only five minutes remaining in the fourth, setting the stage for a nail-biting finish. The victory hung in the balance until the final whistle blew, with the team from Racette eventually claiming the 37-36 win.
Raiders’ coach Kathleen Gerlinsky was proud of her team’s efforts on the day.
“I was very, very pleased,” she said. “I’ve got a very young team, and to see them play against such a strong team and play with them the whole game, it was awesome.”
According to the coach, this is a game that both teams look forward to participating in each year.
“Neither team wanted to lose. It’s just a GA-Racette rivalry, and it’s not going to die,” she said. “It’s nice to have that intensity.”
Glen Avon’s Raven Cardinal would have rather been out on the court battling alongside her teammates, but an injury has her sidelined. Instead, she has joined the team’s coaching ranks, and was pleased with the Panthers’ performance in the game.
“Being injured and not being able to play, especially in your last year, is hard,” she said. “But the game was intense. I was proud of them at the end. Losing by one point, that’s not that much.”
She went on to add that the team’s strengths include shooting, playing defence, and running the fast break. They are still working to improve their boxing out and rebounding skills.
“When it’s a jump ball, they go hard at it. They want that ball,” Cardinal said.
Once they caught their breath from the exciting finish, a few Glen Avon players weighed in on the contest. Dawn Faichney was happy with the way they played on defence, while Bionca Faichney said that it was fun to play in such a close game.
“It was intense,” added Glen Avon player Coralee Boisclair.
Mackenzie Trottier was the leading scorer for Racette with 15 points, while Tanielle Yacey added 11. Melody Boisclair led the Panthers in scoring with 14 points in the game.
The boys were next to take the court, and the home team Panthers jumped out to an 8-5 lead by the end of the first quarter of play.
“We didn’t play particularly well in the first quarter,” said Raiders’ coach Joy Tremblay after the game. “We certainly have some things to work on.”
Racette was able to battle back, however, and take a 23-16 lead by halftime. They held the lead through most of the second half, and eventually pulled away with a 42-36 win on the day.
“It’s a good rivalry between GA and Racette, and it’s good to see both teams compete at this level,” Tremblay said. “It’s always exciting when the two teams are close.”
Glen Avon’s Ben McPherson had an impressive day on the court, leading all scorers with 19 points.
“He was awesome. He’s an awesome player,” Tremblay said of McPherson, whose disruptive play gave the Raiders trouble all evening. “We need an answer to him defensively.”
Racette was led in scoring by Christian Laramee and Clark Gates, who had 11 points each on the night.
Glen Avon hosts weekend tournament
Glen Avon hosted a basketball tournament on Jan. 16 and 17, with eight teams each battling it out on the girls’ and boys’ sides of the bracket.
Racette finished in third place on the boys’ side, defeating FG Miller to take the bronze position. In the boys’ final it was the host Panthers versus Mallaig, a game that Glen Avon won 33-32 in an exciting finish.
The final on the girls’ side was between Glen Avon and Racette, a rematch of the regular season Jr. SPAA matchup a few days earlier. This time it was the Glen Avon Panthers who came out victorious, winning the game 41-26.
