It has been a great season for the Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School varsity girls basketball team, whose third tournament title of the 2019-2020 season came the second weekend of January in Middleton, where the Vikings posted wins over South Colchester, Middleton and Shelburne to place first.
The Yarmouth squad came out of the tournament with an overall season record of 16 wins and four losses.
The Vikings are a young team, with only two players in Grade 12 and one in Grade 11. The Yarmouth roster has five Grade 10 students and four in Grade 9.
“It has been an outstanding season,” said Brent Schwan, head coach of the YCMHS team. He and fellow coaches Andrew Hiltz and Brian Lyons are in their second year with the Yarmouth high school girls team after a successful run with the Maple Grove junior girls, with whom they won two straight district championships.
Aside from their latest tournament title in Middleton, this season’s Vikings also won a tournament in Shelburne and were triumphant in their own event (the Steve Brewer memorial tournament).
Meanwhile, Schwan cites Yarmouth wins over tough opponents in Springhill High School, Sackville, Prince Andrew, the Horton JV team and Avon View.
“They do make young mistakes, but the team really bonds well,” Schwan said of this season’s Vikings.
The team has benefited, he said, from the Yarmouth Kia Comets Basketball Nova Scotia program, which has players from grades 4 to 10.
“This program has been running for six years, as the initial girls are all now in Grade 10,” he said. “This has allowed them to develop skills and cohesiveness. Over the (holiday) break, the U16 girls won the Slam Basketball Classic in Halifax.”
As for the Vikings, the team had league games scheduled for Jan. 15 at Avon View and Jan. 21 at Park View. The Yarmouth squad isn’t scheduled to play at home again until Feb. 13 against Barrington.
“It has been a great rebuild,” Schwan said, “and truly we are ahead of schedule, thanks to the commitment of the players, parents and coaches.”
MIDDLETON TOURNAMENT
The following is a summary of Yarmouth’s games in the Middleton tournament, which was held on the weekend of Jan. 11:
Yarmouth 55 – South Colchester 38. Emma Corporon, Janaya Hiltz, Ellie Hiltz all had 10 points. Yarmouth’s player of the game (POG): Ellie Hiltz. Yarmouth hustle award recipient: Kailyn Cosman.
Yarmouth 52 – Middleton 40. Emma Corporon (14 pts.), Janaya Hiltz (12 pts.). POG: Zayna Eissa. Hustle: Cassy Oakley.
Yarmouth 55 – Shelburne 34. Emma Corporon (24 pts.), Ellie Hiltz (13 pts.) POG: Corporon. Hustle: Ali Surette.
