The Cochrane High Cobras senior girls basketball team may not have had a Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) league game for 42 days, the last being a 79-40 victory over the Springbank Phoenix on Dec. 19, but that hasn’t stopped the Cobras from balling out.
The team travelled to Okotoks on Jan. 26 and 27 for the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir Invitational Tournament. The Cobras took home the championship with a 59-38 win over the host Spartans in the final.
The Cobras also defeated the Didsbury High School Dragons 80-29 in their first game as well as beating the Calgary Christian Cougars 80-54 in the semi-final game. The tournament format meant a team had to have won all three of its games to be named tournament champions.
Cochrane High head coach Randy Peron was very pleased his team’s performance over the course of the weekend.
“We were missing four players due to diploma prep, the focus on our new defence was exceptional,” Peron said.
“We tend to be a slow team to start the game offensively, but in the finals it was the opposite. Right from the tip off, we had a big lead and were able to maintain it.”
“What was really exciting for us as coaches was the depth of scoring that was shown by the ladies throughout the tournament. We had nine players out of our 11 on the team score for us.”
The Cobras have yet to field a full roster this season due to injuries or other commitments. Peron said he’s looking forward to having all members of the team ready for action in the near future.
“We’ve had two exhibition games prior to this tournament and we still didn’t have everybody due to diploma prep even though everyone is 100 per cent healthy, which was a problem at the start of the season,” Peron said.
“I believe diploma exams are over now so I’m hoping we have a full roster moving forward into the second half of our league. But the kids who have been able to come have just gotten better, have grown as players and are more comfortable with the systems … that really showed this weekend with our team.”
Cochrane High got back into league play on Jan. 30 against the W.H. Croxford Cavaliers and won the game by a score of 97-34 to move their record to 3-1 on the season.
The team’s next game will be on Feb. 6 when they play the cross-town rival Bobcats at Bow Valley High School.
