Saskatoon Road Trip Day 2

The girls played the first game at noon.

They won 61 - 21. They only had 14 points at half time. (actually 16, but the official scorer only had 14 - but we found why in the second half. We watched her and saw that she was texting on her phone and not even watching the game.

(Good thing it wasn't close)

In the entire season the most they ever scored in a half was 30 points. They blew that record out of the water with 47 points in the second half of this game.

Jamie & Jenelle discussing strategy

Jamie with the ball

Jenelle driving - notice how much bigger they are then she is.

Winning put us in the championship game.

Between games we went to visit Mike and Petrea and they fed us.

Thanks Mike and Petrea - It was oishii!

Iron Chef

While we were there Candi called

We headed back the gold medal game. It was against the Saskatoon City Champions. They came out with matching bandanas and war paint on their faces. They seemed very confident.

The gold medal game - notice the face paint and bandana.

There was great fan support

Mike brought his camera and took some pictures so I didn't take to many. I won't get those from him until tomorrow. I'll add some later.

The game had some really interesting officiating. We had 3 girls foul out and one that had 7 or 8 fouls but was still in the game because the score sheet didn't have all her fouls.

Jamie "Takahacki" fouled out again. She probably only had 2 real fouls. Her 5th called foul was one of those plays I wish I had on video. A girl had a breakaway and Jamie caught up to her and just after she released the ball on the layup Jamie swatted the ball away and slammed it against the backboard. All Ball and she wasn't even close to the player - oh well. It was one of those games where it was the ref's game and not the player's game. Our team couldn't breath on the other girls without getting called. But unless they tackled one of our players they wouldn't get called. We had one girl with a goose egg on her forehead from an elbow. Another had a bloody nose from an elbow. Another got an elbow in the jaw and bit her tongue. Another got 2 hand pushed and rolled her ankle and so on and so on. No calls on any of them. Ironically it changed in the second half of the 4th quarter and they started calling fouls on the other team. Their best 2 players got fouled out.

Emily and Jamie were the first two to foul out but were still right there encouraging their teammates.

They were great cheerleaders. Brittney (sitting on the bench) was also fouled out. Jenelle was on the bench for this picture - she hadn't fouled out.

They held on to win the championship game

The Championship Team

Our Champions

End of Day 2 for me.

The girls are still having fun in one of the other rooms. They are doing facial masks and watching "Twilight"

Tomorrow we will go the church with Mike and Petrea and then start the long trek home.

Saskatoon Road Trip

Here I am sitting in the Riviera Motor Inn in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Jenelle's basketball team had a basketball tournament. In Saskatchewan the age groups are a bit different than in Calgary. The teams here are a year older. So Jamie and one of her friends were invited to fill in for a couple of the girls who were away for spring break - they played for this coach last year.

We left around 7:30 this morning - Jamie, Jenelle, Judy and me plus two other players Emily and Kim.

We were told it was about a 7 hour drive but its really just over 6.

The girls watched first watch High School Musical 3 (thanks to Candi for letting us borrow her laptop).

But most of the trip the girls were like this

We did make a couple stops. One was to get gas and stop for a bio break. The other was to get bottles of water out of the back of the van.

Ironically we stopped to get the water in this ismall town that had an Old Railroad Water Tower museum. Its where trains stopped to get water.

We all arrived safely and went to the school to scout the teams the girls would be playing.

Here's the team (less one girl who was visiting her uncle)

This was a day of firsts.

The first time most of us had been in Saskatchewan.

(I've been here before but have never driven)

It was the first time 2 of my daughters have played on the same team at the same time.

It was the first time 2 of my daughters started in the same game.

Here are Jamie and Jenelle right after the opening tipoff.

(Notice the great position both Jamie and Jenelle have on their checks - too bad the ball was tipped the other way)

Here's proof - Jamie (45) and Jenelle (35) on the court at the same time.

I wish I had some action shots of them playing but there wasn't enough light for my camera.

The game was close until the 3rd quarter when our team took off. They had only scored 15 points by half time. They came to life in the 3rd quarter and scored 19 points.

Another first - two Takahashi's fouled out of the same game.

Jamie fouled out in the 3rd quarter (second time in her life)

Jenelle fouled out in the 4th quarter (second time in her life - first was last week)

There was one call where Jamie actually did foul a player (she says that only 2 were "real" fouls) but the ref gave the foul to Jenelle. So Jamie got some extra playing time - but Jenelle got fouled out with 4 "real" fouls. I wonder if was because they looked alike and they had similar numbers (35 and 45). It reminds me of when Sheila and Sharon played basketball. I remember one game when one was #12 and the other was #21. Sharon was running down the court by the bench saying she had 6 fouls - but the score sheet only said 4. But the scoresheet said Sheila had 2 when she had none. There are rumors that one would take all the foulshots because she was a better freethrow shooter and no one ever caught on.

The fouled out players don't look too upset.

I guess it helps to be 15 points ahead with only a couple minutes left.

After the game - they are now known as the "Takahacki's"

There were family from Saskatoon that came to the game as well.

They came late but in time to see Jamie get her fifth foul.

Michael and Petrea came over to our hotel for a brief visit after the game. We enjoyed visiting with them.

The two hacks

End of Day 1 in Saskatoon.

They play again tomorrow at noon.