Taber Christian Lions defeat familiar foe in 2A basketball championship game

By Garrett Simmons
Taber Times

It was a championship weekend for the Taber Christian High Lions at the School Sport Alberta 2026 2A Girls Basketball Championships at Glenmary School.

The tournament played out exactly as scripted, as No. 1 ranked TCS defeated No. 2 ranked Matthew Halton 71-68 in the championship game.

It was a tight battle early, as Halton raced out to a 27-15 lead after one quarter of play.

Taber flexed its defensive muscle in the second quarter, and limited Matthew Halton to 11 points, as the Lions went to the locker room trailing 38-32.

The two teams traded 14 points in the third quarter, as Halton carried a 52-46 lead into the decisive fourth quarter.

From there, Taber came up clutch and took the game over, thanks to a 24-point explosion, as TCS standout Iya Hoekstra scored 17 of her game-high 35 points in the final frame.

Aya Jessen responded with 32 points for Matthew Halton, while Nisha Gelber added 23. Chloe Vanderwekken chipped in with 10 for TCS, while Nyla DeBoer finished with eight points, which included two key three pointers.

 It was a heart-stopping finish for a Lions team that breezed through the first two games of the provincial tournament, as the top seeded earned a first-round bye.

In the quarters, Taber faced No. 9 ranked Webber Academy, and rolled to a 93-33 victory.

The semifinal featured an impressive 80-57 win over Parkland, the No. 5 ranked team in 2A.

Matthew Halton earned similar lopsided wins, which included a 92-39 defeat of Holy Cross and a 76-53 win in the semis over LaCrete.

This year’s version of the Lions featured Madison Wind, Naamiya Hoekstra, Katelyn Bennen, Gabby Miller, Charis Kuyper, Selah Hoekstra, Kassidy Vanderwekken, Isabel Sierra, Irena Kuyper, Chloe Vanderwekken and Nyla DeBoer.

Coaches for the 2025/2026 season included Sam DeBoer, Kelsi Gilbert, Klaas Hoekstra and Jayda Kooiker.

Taber Christian finished 8-4 in the Deep South League regular season, which was good for second place. The Lions also won the 2A south zone tournament with a 92-84 win over Matthew Halton.