While there wasn’t a COSSA championshipwinning celebration when the final buzzer sounded on the Haliburton Highlands Secondary School (HHSS) Red Hawks junior girls’ basketball season Nov. 13, coach Mike Rieger said he felt like a winner.
The young team fell to a semi-final defeat at the Central Ontario Secondary School Association finals, in Norwood, losing to the Central Hastings Centurions 45-30.
“We were probably one of the favourite heading in, so it was a tough loss. It was one of those where, I think if we played it over a bunch of times, we probably win more than we lose. But it just wasn’t our day, which happens sometimes,” Rieger said.
Playing against a team that has faced superior competition all season – Rieger said the Bay of Quinte division is much stronger than the Kawarthas – the coach believed the Centurions managed the game, and the occasion, better than his young charges.
“We had the edge in terms of individual talent, but you could tell Central Hastings had much more experience playing together as a team. There was a lot of pressure from them. They were able to keep it up for 32 minutes, building a lead on us that, ultimately, the girls were not able to overcome,” Rieger added.
Despite losing its last game, the coach believes the season was a success. The girls finished in second place in Kawartha Division B with a 4-2 record, earning regular season wins over Fenelon Falls, LCVI from Lindsay, and the Kenner Rams (twice), while losing to Holy Cross and Crestwood.
The eight-player squad earned a second successive Kawartha A championship Nov. 7, defeating the Rams 72-6 in a blowout win.
“We had some great moments. It’s another year of progress for the basketball program at HHSS,” Rieger said.
With a nine-player senior team also playing a full season, Rieger said this was the first year in a while the school has boasted two teams. There was a junior outfit in 2023 and a varsity squad, comprised of junior and senior players, in 2022.
He noted four members of the junior team will be moving up to senior next year, meaning he’ll be relying on some new talent coming in to replace them. Rieger said his goal is to build a program that can be competitive at all levels – even when facing larger schools.
“Women’s basketball is exploding right now – who knows what the next couple of years will look like. The visibility of college basketball and the WNBA, it shows girls what’s out there. It helps to generate interest,” Rieger said. “Most of these girls are still learning the sport, so to have had the success we have is great – but we also know there’s room to improve, which is exciting.”
He said the team stayed to watch the senior squads duking it out for COSSA gold, which was an eye-opener.
“It’s high-level basketball, the next step up in terms of pressure and execution. Seeing that gave the girls a hunger, I think, to get there one day. To be able to compete,” Rieger added.
