The 88th edition of the McLeod Series tipped off in the Eagles Gym at Weyburn Comprehensive School Tuesday night. The defending champion Estevan Elecs were looking to win for the second year in a row, while the Weyburn Eagles were looking to win for the 48th time in the history of the event.
The senior boys would be the first to take to the floor. WCS came out strong, outscoring Estevan 25-8 in the first quarter. The Elecs responded in the second quarter, going on a 18-2 run to pull within a point before Weyburn opened the lead again in the latter stages of the quarter. The two teams headed into the break with Weyburn nursing a 33-30 lead.
The third quarter saw a jolt of energy from the Elecs, as they tried to keep the potentially explosive offense of the Eagles grounded. They would really to take a slim lead, going up 43-41 before the quarter was half over.
Estevan expanded the lead to 48-41 before Weyburn rallied back to close the gap to 1. A pair of free throws, though, would put Estevan up 50-47 heading into the 4th quarter.
The Elecs would open up a seven point lead before Weyburn came rallying back. A 10-0 run, capped off with a 3-pointer from Jarrett Hayward put Weyburn up 61-58 with just under seven minutes on the clock. The Eagles would add five more points before Estevan got a bucket, extending the lead to 68-60 with 4:00 remaining.
The final four minutes would see the two teams combine for 27 points, with Estevan closing the gap to two before Weyburn opened up, taking advantage of free throws to hold on for a 80-75 victory.
Hayward would finish the game with 28 points, and Wyatt Kott had 22 for Weyburn. The leading scorers for the Elecs were B Andrist, who had 30 points, and V Zepeda, who had 13.
Elecs take second of the night
In the second game of the night the senior girls took to the court. The Elecs would come out hot, taking a 9-0 lead early, and extending it to a 16-6 lead by the halfway mark of the quarter.
Over the next three minutes the teams exchanged chances and possession but neither could score a basket thanks to sturdy defence until Weyburn put in a bucket to close the gap to eight points. The basket gave the Eagles some momentum but they were unable to capitalize. The Elecs would get a few chances themselves but were unable to score and the quarter ended with Estevan up 16-8.
In the second quarter the Elecs put up another run, this time 8-2, to go up 24-10 in the first four minutes. They would continue to match Weyburn basket for basket, holding the lead at 14 points for much of the rest of the quarter. A late basket would add two more, and the teams went to the locker rooms at halftime with Estevan up 34-18.
The Eagles would gain the momentum in the third quarter, controlling possession and narrowing what had become a 16-point deficit to 12, forcing the Elecs to call a timeout to settle things down before the quarter was four minutes old.
Estevan would settle down, and regain the momentum, opening up a 47-29 lead with three minutes left in the quarter. Much of the momentum came through the fast break, with Jordyn Tarnes the one on the receiving end of most of the long passes.
The Elecs continued to pull away in the fourth quarter, opening the lead to 52-31 before 90 seconds were off the clock in the final frame. The lead would grow to 26 with 5:54 to left, putting Weyburn well behind in the game, and the series.
Weyburn would try to close the gap, but Estevan proved to be too much, as they went on to a 72-44 victory.
Tarnes would finish the game with 24 points, with teammate Sadie Aspinall also racking up 24. The top scorer for Weyburn was Mya Sanderson with 15 points.
With the win, the Elecs now lead the series by 23 points. Weyburn will look to close the gap, or win both games, in the second leg of the series, scheduled for February 26th in Estevan.