NEW WATERFORD, N.S. — Abby MacNeil never gets tired of playing in the New Waterford Coal Bowl Classic.
The New Waterford native has played in three tournaments to date and has enjoyed the opportunity to show her talent in front of family and friends at the event.
This year, MacNeil will once again suit up for the Breton Education Centre Bears, but it will be the final time the Grade 12 student plays in the Coal Bowl Classic.
“It’s going to be emotional, but for now I’m not thinking too much about it,” said MacNeil. “Our team is focused on our games and we want to win them — it’s all we care about.”
Joining the Bears in the tournament will be the Sydney Academy Wildcats and Northumberland Nighthawks of Westville, N.S.
The Bears will begin their two-game series with the Nighthawks Tuesday at 6 p.m., before wrapping up their portion of the tournament Thursday at 1 p.m., with both games at the BEC gym.
As for the Wildcats, they play Northumberland on Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the New Waterford school.
“I expect we’re in for some good competition,” said MacNeil. “We’ve played this team before in an exhibition game, so we know what they have.”
Although the girls teams sometimes get forgotten in the Coal Bowl Classic, they are just as much part of the tournament as the 10 boys teams.
“We like playing, but we also like to support the guys in their games,” said MacNeil. “We don’t play as many games as they do, and we’re fine with that; there’s more to Coal Bowl than just the games.”
The Bears enter the tournament with a 7-1 record and are first overall in the Cape Breton High School Basketball League girls division.
As for the Division 1 Nighthawks, they have an 0-6 record in the Northumberland region league. However, the team is 4-4 in non-league games.
Bears coach Doug MacKinnon believes the tournament is a great experience for his players, especially with the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation provincials just around the corner.
“The girls are really looking forward to the tournament, they’re having a great year so far,” said MacKinnon. “On any given night anybody can give us strong games, so we have a well-balanced team — we don’t really have a starting five, we get them all in the action.”
Along with playing in the games, the girls’ team will also help out with the unified game between the BEC Bears and Sydney Academy Wildcats on Wednesday.
MacKinnon considers the girls to be role models for the younger basketball players in the New Waterford community.
“Most of our girls also help out with the small ball program every Saturday morning and they coach common school basketball as well,” said MacKinnon. “They’re great leaders in our community, for sure.”
Kelsie Neville, a Grade 11 student at BEC, will also play for the Bears in the tournament. She’s looking forward to being able to share the Coal Bowl experience with her teammates.
“We have a great group of girls who love to play basketball and want to win,” said Neville. “We have a good mix of experienced players on the team and we’re ready to get the games started.”
