Portage Collegiate Institute (PCI) had some ups-and-downs on the basketball court last night in Portage la Prairie.

The varsity Trojans had no trouble with Grant Park in West Winnipeg Athletic Conference Tier II basketball, easily winning their fifth straight 69-41.

"I like how we're moving the ball and trying to make the extra pass to run our offence to its entirety," says Trojans head coach Janey Bradford. "We're also trying to do different things without practicing them, so there's going to be hiccups along the way but as long as they can make defensive stops, then I'm pretty happy."

Bradford says they still need to do a better job of reading screens. "Defending them and setting them, and playing off the ball. We're still watching a little when we're tired and fatigued, and we need to keep moving the ball and being active even when we don't have it. Especially if we want to beat the teams higher up."

The varsity Saints lost a gripping battle to St. Mary's at PCI. They fell 62-52 to the Flames.

"We were right in this game," says Saints head coach Bill Marsh. "They're ahead of us, so I was expecting a really tough game, but our girls put up a tough game against them. Our shooting seemed to be right on earlier in the game, not so much a little later, but that was really nice. We played really strong defence against a good team."

"We've made a lot of progress over the last little while," adds Marsh. "We've reduced our turnovers which we were having a little difficulty with. Hopefully, we can take some of these positives with us into our next game after the exam break."

The varsity Saints and Trojans are off until February 5th.

Mustang Victory

MacGregor's junior varsity girls beat Minnedosa 32-12 in Zone 7 high school basketball. "The team really worked well together," says head coach Jen Schroeder. "Most of the team contributed points on the night, which is definitely something you want."

Royals Take The Court

The Westpark's varsity basketball teams resume their Zone 4 season tonight in Portage la Prairie. They host the Elm Creek Cobras. The girls are up first at 6, the boys follow at 7:30.