W.R. Myers Rebels win gold at 3A Provincial Basketball Championships

Times Photo Submitted. CHAMPIONS: The W.R. Myers Rebels are the 2026 SSA 3A Girls Provincial Champions after defeating the Coaldale Prairie Winds Wild 60-22 at the School Sport Alberta (SSA) 3A Basketball Provincial Championships March 19-21.

By Kristine Jean
Southern Alberta Newspapers

The W.R. Myers Rebels are the 2026 SSA 3A Girls Provincial Champions.    

The Rebels defeated the Coaldale Prairie Winds Wild 60-22 in a display of offensive dominance at the School Sport Alberta (SSA) 3A Basketball Provincial Championships March 19-21. 

“This is big. It’s a huge accomplishment for these girls,” said W.R. Myers Rebels head coach Chad McClenaghan, noting his team’s gold medal victory was a full team effort. 

“We play as a team. There’s 10 players, they’re connected, they work together, they move the ball, they trust each other and they trust their coaches,” said McClenaghan. “That’s what we’ve been preaching all year is, next play, next play, doesn’t matter what happened if you scored, go to the next play, if you miss, the next play. We are just so connected as a team,” he added. “I’ve coached for 25 years and this is the most connected team I’ve ever had.”    

The Rebels jumped out to an early lead in the gold medal game on Saturday, and never looked back, taking a strong hold and controlled much of the play through four quarters.   

The gold medal at Provincials capped off an outstanding near-perfect season for the Rebels, that included 34 wins with one loss at a (regular season) tournament. 

“I’m so proud of the girls and the way they played. It’s due to their connectivity,” said McClenaghan, adding that Saturday’s gold medal was only the fifth Provincial Championship title and banner in the schools history. 

This year’s championships took place in Coaldale and was hosted by Coaldale Prairie Winds Secondary School, who welcomed a total of 24 teams from across the province. 

The Prairie Winds girls team finished in second place, earning a silver medal after falling 60-22 to the Rebels, while the Coaldale Christian Titans boys team took gold after a dramatic 80-79 victory over the Brooks Composite Buffalo’s and the Prairie Winds boys team finished in eight place Saturday afternoon after losing 82-74 to Holy Rosary School. 

Prairie Winds Wild Head coach Nicole Hanna said the girls gave it their all Saturday and should be proud of their hard-earned silver medal. 

“This is one of our best showings in a long time so the girls should be really proud at finishing second in the province,” said Hanna, post-game. “It’s no easy feat.” 

She pointed to the girls successful season and provincial tournament.  

“The girls had a really great year. They played two great games (at Provincials), and the ball just didn’t fall in the basket for us today,” she said. “It’s unfortunate it happened in this game, but it happens and they should be really proud of how hard they worked and how they played.”       

The SSA 3A Basketball Provincial Championships organizer Clayton Ressler, said the provincial tournament was a great success.  

“It’s been really awesome. We’ve got a couple of local teams finding a ton of success,” said Ressler. “Overall the tournament’s just been a big success. It’s run really smoothly … so many hours go into this with tons of volunteers. Kudos to our organizing committee and all the people that have made this possible.”   

Ressler noted the huge accomplishment is was just to make it to Provincials.

“You got to win your Zone, you’re the best out of a lot more than just the 24 teams, but at this tournament, you’ve found lots of success as well,” said Ressler. “For every athlete here our goal was to provide a special experience for them …we just wanted this to be a lasting memory for kids so that when they look back on their high school career, it’s a really positive one.”