When residents looked out of their homes or went to their vehicles on Monday evening, they were treated to some mischief from Old Man Winter. For the girls Dynos basketball team, the prank went too far.
This week the Dynos would have competed to qualify for zone championships. Their first game was on Monday in Cochrane.
Like so many other Albertans that evening, the team saw the road conditions and made the choice to stay home.
“We had to forfeit the game. We couldn’t travel to Cochrane, because of the weather,” said head coach Ryan Hatch. “They were seeded higher than us, so they win the forfeit.”
The choice to forfeit the game was made especially bitter, because now their season is over. The second round of zones began Wednesday evening and the Dynos didn’t have a chance to make up Monday’s game.
“I think we made the right decision, even though some of the girls were disappointed. For a couple, this was their last game,” said Hatch.
The Dynos were in Condor this past weekend for their last tournament of the season. The Dynos lost all three games they played. However, it wasn’t just the other teams that the Dynos had to contend with.
“The other teams were already gearing up for playoffs, but we were just getting back into the swing of things,” said Hatch.
On Friday, the Dynos faced Acme, their league rival and a powerful team. The Dynos couldn’t get a handle on the Acme squad and were defeated. Acme would eventually go on to win the tournament.
“Our game against Acme would have been a really good game, but the calls were a bit suspect. The girls got so frustrated they started to foul.”
The calls were lopsided and, to many observers (including parents from Acme), nonsensical.
The next day, Hatch was warned by the referee that the Dynos were on thin ice.
“The referee didn’t give us much of a chance on the next game, but they played with a lot of dignity,” said Hatch.
The Dynos went up against Rimbey and the host school, David Thompson, the next day.
“They played the next couple of games well,” said Hatch. “It was a tough tournament for the girls.”
Now that the basketball season has ended the girls will be moving on to other sports or finishing up their school year.
“It was a good season. I think people were surprised. We came home with a big win this year and we had some really close games, whereas in years past we didn’t. There were a lot of positives this year.”
Three Dynos will be graduating this year. The remaining girls have expressed interest in continuing and there is room for players coming up and from multiple schools. This year, Dynos included students from both DVSS and St. Anthony’s.
“We came together quite well,” said Hatch. “As long as we have girls from either school wanting to play basketball, we’ll make sure they can play,”
