The Melfort Comets junior boys and girls both came out with top four finishes at the Melfort Junior Invitational Tournament (MJIIT) hosted at MUCC on Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13. The junior clinched the title on their home court, while the junior boys finished third. Junior girls Comets coach Kelly Linnell attributed the teams victory to solid fundamental basketball. The girls played well, we are a very young team, but our skills are very strong, our fundamental skills are very strong, Linnell said. We have strong fundamental basketball skills and the girls play really well. The girls play as a team they pass the ball and they play together and help out on defense, she explained. The Comets starting lineup is composed of two Grade 9 players and three Grade 8 players. The junior girls Comets clinched the title with a 39-28 victory over the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders on Saturday evening. Rachel Linnell scored 18 points to lead the Comets. Alexa Hangs added 10 points. In the semi-final on Saturday afternoon the Comets defeated the Birch Hills Marauders. Hangs led the Comets with 14 points. Rachel Linnell added eight points. The junior girls opened with a 52-9 victory over St. Brieux on Friday afternoon. Hangs led the Comets with 12 points, while Linnell added 10 points. The junior boys Comets placed third after defeating Birch Hills 56-46 on Saturday afternoon. Nathan Wehrkamp and Kris Daryl Remonde each had nine points scored with three field goals from beyond the three point arc. Ralp Bagsit and Levi Wright each added seven points in the victory. In the semi-final game the Comets lost 40-34 to St. Brieux to drop to the third place game. Remonde led the Comets with 15 points. The junior boys opened with a 47-29 victory over Osler on Friday afternoon. The Comets had balanced scoring with Daniel Laosebikan scoring six points, Geland Malaggay scoring five points and Matthew Degerness adding four points. The title on the junior boys side was claimed by Meadow Lake who defeated St. Brieux 52-45 on Saturday evening. Prince Albert Carlton earned the B side title with a 44-42 victory over Osler. Claiming third on the girls side was Birch Hills who defeated Meadow Lake on Saturday afternoon. michael.oleksyn@sunmedia.ca @melfortjournal

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Comets girls claim title at MJIT