Regular seasons winding down for Rebels basketball teams

Posted on February 16, 2023 by Taber Times

By Garrett Simmons

For the Times

The W.R. Myers Rebels senior boys team is one win away from a spot in the Deep South Basketball League championship game.

The No. 4 ranked Rebels took out the No. 5 ranked Winston Churchill High School Bulldogs last Wednesday in the first round of the playoffs.

Taber’s 71-64 win was the result of a strong second half, after the Rebels struggled to get things going in the first and second quarters.

Churchill clamped down in the first half and held a 32-25 lead at the break.

“We started slow against a hard-working Winston Churchill team who were energetic, in their own gym, and shooting very well,” said Rebels head coach Dale Nielsen. “But we managed to hang with them until the third quarter, when we found our game again.”

Myers poured in 20 third-quarter points and exploded for 26 in the fourth quarter to cruise home with a victory.

“We were led by our seniors, Colby Torrie (20 points) and Logan Porter (10 points) as well as one of our most improved players, Kade Hansen, with 17 points,” said Nielsen.

The Rebels are now preparing for a big game tonight, as Myers will host top-ranked Kate Andrews in the league semi-final, with a spot in the March 1 championship game on the line.

“They are No. 1 in our league and a very veteran group,” said Nielsen. “We are excited to play them again.”

On the JV side of things, the Rebels also emerged victorious last week in Lethbridge, as Myers earned a 63-56 win over WCHS. Benson Leischman scored 32 and Dane Jensen added 15 in the win.

Last Tuesday, the W.R. Myers Rebels senior girls team defeated Kate Andrews by a score of 51-49.

“We had a good start against Kate Andrews and starting shooting really well,” said Rebels head coach Doug Bailey. “Unfortunately, our shooting went cold.”

Myers also ran into a bit of foul trouble, as Jenna Bailey fouled out and Natalee Porter played with four fouls for most of the second half.

The JV contest went to Kate Andrews, however, as Coaldale went on to win 56-36.

The Rebels are now preparing for the stretch run of the regular season, as Myers will host a pair of games on Thursday. The senior team will take on Picture Butte and the junior team will play Kate Andrews.

“We are looking forward to Senior’s Night, with four Grade 12s,” said Bailey. “Hopefully it will be a good game to head into Reading Week.”

But before Senior’s Night, the Rebels had a game to play Monday night

in Taber. Myers fell 60-53 to WCHS. The Rebels led 34-26 at the break, but the offence went cold in the second half, as Myers could only muster six points in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth.

Porter finished the game with 27 for Myers, while Belinda Rios had 13. Myers won the JV game 60-38. Jayla Hudson had 17 for the Rebels and Morgan McClenahan had 16. Katie Guimond chipped in with 11.

Myers will travel to Lethbridge to play WCHS on Feb. 28 to finish the regular season.

As it stands now, the senior girls team is 3-4 in the league standings, while the JV teams sits at 1-5.