Note: this story has been amended to reflect the cancellations of sporting events in Alberta, as well as gatherings of more than 250 people, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The W.H. Croxford senior girls’ basketball team earned its first-ever Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) banner March 7, overcoming the Bow Valley Bobcats 69-60 in the championship game.
“There was screaming, loud cheering, tears – it was really cool,” said Taylor Grant, a Cavs coach. “The players really supported each other on the bench. When the players weren’t on the court, they were really loud. We had a huge fan base at the game – there were a lot of people there to support Croxford.”
League Champs!! Go @WHCroxford Cavs pic.twitter.com/tNdqvfqWSH
— Jeff Smith (@Jeffery_A_Smith) March 8, 2020
The team entered the post-season as the RVSA’s second seed with a 5-1 record. After easily beating the Springbank Phoenix 71-30 in the quarterfinals, Croxford booked its berth in the gold-medal game March 5 with a 57-53 victory over the Chestermere Lakers.
Under normal circumstances, the Cavaliers would have followed up the RVSA schedule by competing in the South Central Zones 3A playdowns, which acts as the qualifier for the Alberta Schools Athletic Association (ASAA) 3A provincial championships. However, on March 12, the ASAA announced on its Twitter that all provincial high-school basketball championships would be "postponed indefinitely" due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19.
Following an emergency meeting of the ASAA Executive Committee, it has been determined that the 2020 ASAA Basketball Provincials will be postponed indefinitely. pic.twitter.com/K7oiRWhooO
— ASAA (@ASAA) March 13, 2020
On the senior boys’ side, the Cavaliers and the Bert Church Chargers both bowed out of championship contention in the RVSA semi-finals. The Chargers lost 84-73 to the defending champion Cochrane Cobras and the Cavs lost to the Lakers (71-66 ) in an energetic, back-and-forth encounter on March 5.
It’s 35-33 for the @whcroxford Cavaliers over the @ChestermereHigh Lakers in the @rvsed senior boys’ 🏀 semifinal at the half. The winner plays for the division 🏆 on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/XNPUIIcS5P
— Scott Strasser (@scottstrasser19) March 6, 2020
“I live for those games,” said Cavaliers senior shooting guard Emmanuel Fajite. “They’re the most fun games, ever. Regular season, yeah, you’re playing, but in the playoffs, that’s when you really come to play. It’s do or don’t, and I just live for it.”
Croxford also fared well in the RVSA junior varsity (JV) divisions – the Cavaliers earned silver in both the JV girls' and boys' divisions.
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
