In the first evening of high school girls basketball, it was a bad night to have home court advantage. Four Airdrie teams were in action, with two winning to start the season.

Croxford Cavaliers at Bert Church Chargers

In a crosstown matchup, the Croxford Cavaliers got their first win of the season on the road against the Bert Church Chargers. In a close game, the Cavaliers senior squad managed to beat the Chargers by five points, with the final tally sitting at 51-46.

Cavalier's coach Aaron Nisbett was impressed with his team's performance.

"Last night's game was a hard fought one. It really could have gone either way.  But the team stuck through it and came out with a win, with every player contributing to the victory."

The Chargers were forced to an eight player rotation due to illness and injury. Despite the loss, coach Andy Kirk was happy with his team's effort in the second half. Kirk said the team will now have to learn from the loss as they prepare for their next game.

"We need to develop fundamentals as well as experience for some of our younger players adapting to the pace of the varsity game. We had flashes of very strong play, but seem to be able to hurt our own momentum with turnovers and mistakes. If we can reduce these, we can be better."

Kirk was impressed by the tenacity of Ali Barfuss and Abby Kirk on both ends of the court, who saw a lot of playing time due to the truncated roster.

The junior Cavaliers also found success in Bert Church's gym, winning decisively in a 68-25 game over the Chargers.

 

Cochrane Cobras at George McDougall Mustangs

The George McDougall Mustangs started the season at home, welcoming the Cochrane Cobras to the Mustang Corral.

In a tough loss, the senior Mustangs fell by 48 points to the Cobras, losing 82-34.

Despite the loss, coach Martin Durocher said he and co-coach Bruce Bunting were happy with what they saw from the team on the court.

"Obviously not the outcome we hoped for, but we admired the effort our young team put forward regardless of the outcome. Cochrane's maybe the strongest team in the Division. We played with heart and will take it as an opportunity to grow our game in the coming weeks. Moving forward, we will need to work on our overall conditioning and deepen our game strategy."

The junior Mustangs suffered a similar fate against the Cobras, falling 60-21 at home.

 

St. Martin de Porres Kodiaks at Forest Lawn Titans

Over in the Calgary Senior High School Athletic Association, the St. Martin de Porres senior girls have already tied last season's divisional record.

Opening the season on the road against the Forest Lawn Titans, the Kodiaks managed to eek out a close 44-42 victory.

Brianna Caouette and Makenzie Savoie-Penton were the Kodiaks' top scorers in the game, with Jaime McKinnon and Makayla Lorenzo making significant contributions in the win as well.

Head Coach Tammy Paulence was happy to get a win early in the season.

"Having our first away game, and playing against the divisional winner of last year, it was definitely a challenge and a nail biting game. We worked together as a team and stayed in control."

 

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