The Eagles Gym at Weyburn Comprehensive School was packed Wednesday night, as the annual McLeod Series between Weyburn Comprehensive and Estevan Comprehensive tipped off. After two intense games, which saw fans from both schools chanting, cheering and stomping, the senior boys game was won by Estevan, and the senior girls game was taken by Weyburn, setting up a tight battle for the final two games of the four-game, total point series next Wednesday.

In the early game, the WCS Eagles found themselves down early, and while they were able to pull within two at times, they couldn’t overcome the lead of Estevan, with the final score ending up 68-53 for the Elecs.

The Eagles were led by Owen Hiltz. The senior put up 12 points, all coming from outside the three-point arc. For the Elecs, Jack McGeough had 22 points in the victory.

“Estevan’s a very good team, and for us to beat them, we gotta make sure that we don’t turn over the ball, and we shoot better than 20 percent,” said Eagles head coach Lars Guenther after the game. “We didn’t do either one of those.”

In the late game, the WCS Eagles senior girls team was lead by Arliss Sidloski. The junior put up a career-high 39 points, helping guide her squad to an 82-70 victory. She was greeted by chants of MVP from the crowd.

“It’s pretty hype,” Sidloski said after the game. “The intensity was awesome, our team did good with all the pressure.”

For the Weyburn squad, experience played a factor, with the Eagles fielding a roster with five seniors, while the Elecs didn’t have a single Grade 12 student in the lineup. The Experience, along with a size difference between the two teams, meant adjustments from head coach Karly Johnson could be implemented quickly.

“We just played them in man for half the game, and that seemed to control their shooters,” said Johnson. “We drove, and they got into foul trouble, and that helped us out a lot.”

With the Elecs winning the senior boys game by 15 points, and the Eagles winning the senior girls game by 12, it gives ECS a three-point advantage as the two teams get set for the second leg of the series. The games will be played in Estevan next Wednesday.