A total of five teams from the area will be off to Moose Jaw Friday for HOOPLA 2016, with four of them coming from the Horizon Central Athletics Association.
For the fourth straight year, the St. Brieux Crusaders boys team is off to the provincial championship. They defeated Loon Lake 127-53 in the regional semi-final in St. Brieux before punching their ticket with a 94-72 victory over Balcarres.
The Crusaders have won two provincial titles in their past three HOOPLA trips, and are the defending 2A provincial champions after defeating Ecole Canadienne in the final. A re-match is potentially on the radar, with both teams in Moose Jaw.
Up first for St. Brieux will be Regina Harvest City, who is the fifth seed.
Perennial contenders in the 1A division, the Middle Lake Avengers girls are back in the show after they took down Turtleford 67-21 in the semi-final and then defeated Herbert 61-38 to earn their bid.
The Avengers are staring down a threepeat as they enter Moose Jaw as two-time defending champions. A rivalry has budded over the past three years between Middle Lake and Kenaston, as the two sides have met in the past three championship games with Middle Lake taking the last two, and Kenaston earning gold in 2013.
A fourth straight championship game is possible, as Kenaston is the top seed, with Middle Lake entering right behind as the second. The Avengers will meet last year's bronze medal winners from Asquith on Friday.
The HCI Mohawks Senior Girls earned a return to the provincial championship after defeating Assiniboia 59-29 in the regional final. They also knocked off Unity with a 71-41 in the semis.
It is their first appearance at HOOPLA in four years. They won the bronze in 2012, defeating Moose Jaw Peacock.
As the fourth seed, the Mohawks draw the toughest test to start the provincial semi-finals when they play the top-seeded Lumsden Devils.
READ MORE: Mohawks Senior Girls HOOPLA bound after win over Assiniboia
The Wynyard Bears girls team will defend their championship in Moose Jaw after downing Rosthern 89-37 to mark their return to HOOPLA.
Wynyard has appeared in the provincial final the past three years, winning twice - a 83-52 win over Foam Lake in 2015, and a 73-60 victory over Meath Park in 2013. They fell 66-56 to Foam Lake in 2014 to finish in second.
The Bears will meet Kinistino in Friday's semi-final.
Also appearing in Moose Jaw is Clavet's girls team, who will look to finish climbing the ladder and return to the top of the podium.
Last season, the Cougars lost by one point to Caronport in the championship game, and in 2014, they earned a third place finish.
Entering as the second seed, Clavet will battle Indian Head in the semis, with the winner meeting Lumsden or Humboldt in the 3A final.
Game times for Friday's semi-final games and Saturday's championship contests will be announced Monday.
Fri, Apr 19, 5:00 PM
Full-time, Hourly, Labour
