KSS girls make history

Photo: Contributed

It was a historic week for the Lady Owls basketball program.

The Owls captured a first ever AAA girls provincial basketball title on the weekend, knocking off top ranked Walnut Grove 67-61 in the final.

There may have been a little redemption for the school after the Walnut Grove boys upended KSS in the AAAA boys title game in 2017.

The win by the girls came just two years after the boys program won its first ever provincial title.

KSS, which lost the final of the Top 10 Shoot-Out Tournament to the same Walnut Grove squad, came from behind to win the title that mattered going away.

The Owls trailed by as many as 12 in the second quarter, but 10-minute charge turned the deficit into a 13-point lead.

The Gators were able to get to within four in the fourth, but no closer.

Head coach Darren Semeniuk credited much of the win to assistant coach Quentin Thiessen, who had been pushing for more pressure on the ball.

"He's been in my ear about it, and it obviously paid off in the end. The girls started getting really good at it. Their quickness improved and  they started to understand the rotation really well," said Semeniuk.

"Walnut Grove had never seen it form us before because we were always playing safe against them, because they were the best team in the province. We weren't sure that we wouldn't get exposed if we put ourselves out there. It really paid off. It was definitely the difference in the final."

Kennedy Dickie led the Owls with 21 points in the title game while tournament MVP Taya Hanson had 19.

Hanson was a force throughout the tournament, leading the Owls in scoring throughout the four games.

Hanson left the school a year ago to play prep ball back east. A move head coach Darren Semeniuk says paid off for.

"It really paid off for her because she signed her scholarship with Arizona State. Then she could come home in her Grade 12 year and relax knowing her future was set for her," said Semeniuk.