HCC Hawks circling season-opening games

Tyler Lowey
Times Reporter

 

The Holy Cross Collegiate Hawks basketball programs are anxiously waiting for a new season on the hardwood.
The senior girls squad opens the season first as they host their tournament, beginning Dec. 2.
“It’s exciting to see how our girls will do. It’ll be a little nerve racking playing our first games at home, but we are looking forward to hitting the ground running,” said Hawks head coach Bradley Everett. “It’ll be our first good look to see what our strengths and weaknesses are, and then go from there.”
The Hawks take on the Didsbury High School Dragons Dec. 2 at 3 p.m. From there, they will play in the morning Dec. 3; exactly when depends on their result in the opener. They are guaranteed three games, with the championship slated for 6:30 p.m. later that day.
Everett is set to begin his first season as head coach and will start a little shorthanded. Gone are key players from last year’s squad; Mackenzie-Lynn Desjardin and Kendall Russell. Meanwhile, he has a pair of players who will begin the season sidelined with injuries.
“I liked what I’ve seen from these girls so far in practice. We are a smaller team, we are going to play fast and work hard. They have the attitude to do well and work together, and our success will depend on that,” said Everett.
The team is comprised of four seniors, three Grade 11s and six Grade 10s.

 

Senior boys set for tip
Meanwhile, the senior boys wrapped up their tryouts and began installing schemes.
“We’ve got a lot of new players this year and a lot of great athletes. Right now, we are just working on new offensive and defensive systems for our guys,” said Hawks head coach Josh Jalbert.
The boys’ tournament doesn’t kick off until later in the month, but will break ground with a few games before then.
“We got guys who are going to take the ball to the hoop aggressively. We have a couple of shooters too; it’s a good balance,” said Jalbert, who is entering his fourth year behind the bench.