The new Columneetza Falcons girls basketball team played their first ever game on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022.
The team was made up mostly of Grade 7 girls, with a handful of Grades 8 and 9 as well.
Due to the pandemic, there had not been a team for two years so the players were learning as they went.
“They improved so much in that short little time,” said one of the team’s coaches, Frances McCoubrey.
She said most of the girls had not played a game since probably Grade 5, one player telling her it had been since Grade 4, and she emphasized how brave of them it was to face off against the older Quesnel Junior Secondary School girls’ team.
“I thought they did so well,” she added.
The Quesnel team, coached by Doug Watson is a much more experienced team and older, made up of Grade 9 students.
The Quesnel team was very sportsmanlike with the smaller and less experienced team and gave the younger girls an opportunity to develop some plays.
After playing five friendly quarters, the girls wanted to keep playing while everyone waited for some pizza to arrive to feed the athletes and adults.
The Columneetza team is also coached by Marina Campsell whose father Al Campsell was giving a hand as well. The game was refereed by volunteer refs Calvin Williams and Steve Dickens.
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ruth.lloyd@wltribune.com
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