Cornerstone Crashes Central's Season Finale
Story and Photos by Robert Thomas
The last time they met in regular season play the Central Cyclones junior girls and Cornerstone\Riverview Falcons JV girls played a three overtime period thriller.
But on Tuesday evening in Moose Jaw high school regular league play it was the Falcons running up a major lead in the first half and then hanging on in the second half to record a 50 - 34 victory.
The Cyclones came out flat in the First Quarter and the Falcons dove in at the opportunity.
The score at the end of the first quarter was Falcons 15 and the Cyclones 3.
The Second Quarter of play had the Falcons continuing to race down court and applying pressure on the Cyclones.
The score at Halftime was Falcons 26 and Cyclones 10.
The Third Quarter saw the Falcons continuing to dive on Cyclones missteps in a night where it seemed Central could not catch a break.
The score after the third quarter was Falcons 44 and Cyclones 15.
The Fourth Quarter saw the Cyclones catch a breeze and they mounted a comeback attempt.
However despite outscoring the Falcons in the fourth quarter the final score was Falcons 50 and Cyclones 34.
High Scorers for Cornerstone
Jorja Seida - 15 points
Jenna Adams - 13 points
Madison Smith - 10 points
High Scorers for Central
Shaylan Constable - 9 points
Autumn Johnson - 8 points
Payton Krukoff - 6 points
Coaches’ Comments
For Cornerstone head coach Al Block grabbing the teams second regular season win of the year was the result the Falcons had been hoping for.
Regulation time or triple overtime the Falcons have had the Cyclones in their talons this season.
“I was surprised they came out really cold for Central. They couldn't buy a basket in the first half and so we got a big lead and you know we just rode the momentum a bit after that,” Block said.
Asked about how it felt to coaching a longer bench than his opponents for the first time this Block said it was a welcome change.
“It was kind of nice to have a few more subs and coaches (than Central). It was good. The girls played hard they seemed a little bit more rested than other games and we played harder today,” he said.
On Tuesday evening the Falcons had eight players on the bench versus Central's seven.
The Cyclones have been hit with illness and injuries this week which has affected the senior high school basketball league forcing canceling two Valentine's Day evening games.
Block said the Cyclones had “a lot of tough luck tonight they just couldn’t buy a basket so we took advantage of that.”
Asked how he felt about the Falcons winning both of their games against the one time league leading Central he said it simply happened.
“I don’t know why we have their number it seems but I'll take it…it doesn’t make sense but that's sports.”
Block said pulling off a big win heading into the playoffs was nice.
“It gives us a bit of confidence, a little bit of momentum going in. So we will see what happens.”
For Central Cyclones head coach Todd Johnson it was a case of two different games.
The Cyclones came out flat and the Falcons swooped in and racked up a big lead in the first half.
“We play good defense but it’s hard to play good defense with only seven players.”
In the other game the Cyclones started to tornado around the court but simply couldn’t put in enough points to catch up.
“It wasn’t our best game but it was a game,” Johnson said when asked what he thought of the game.
Asked if it was the flu bug that caused the Cyclones to come out flat he said injuries have cut into the roster.
“We have quite a few injuries so we played with seven girls. That is just the way it is this time of year (with injuries and illness).”
A ‘flu bug’ has been circulating in the community since at least the last week of January.
Asked about how the Cyclones had a shorter bench than the Falcons who struggle with player numbers he said the season has taken its toll.
“At this time of year you don’t try and predict (who is healthy) you just play with who comes to play.”
Asked if he had noticed the Cyclones seemingly having the bounces go the other way Johnson said he had.
“It seemed there was a lid on that top but the girls are trying hard and that’s all you can ask for.”
About the loss Johnson was philosophical as the team was just “looking for minutes (playing time) and that’s exactly what the girls got tonight. A nice little scrimmage.”
Asked if it was “worrisome to have a loss going into playoffs” John’s replied “we play with whomever is here. I’m not worried about this game because we have got lots left in the tankard we will play with whoever we have on the bench.”
Johnson encouraged people to come out and watch the games as it was exciting action.
“I just come out and hope people come out watch the rest of the season. This is some exciting basketball.”
Both the Cyclones and Falcons regular seasons are over. Both teams do not play again until the playoffs set to kickoff for junior girls on March 1st.
