While one March Madness is just beginning, the local version has come to an end.

The finals for the Yukon Grade 11/12 basketball championships were held at Vanier Catholic Secondary School Wednesday night, and the host Crusaders walked away with both the boy's and girls' titles to end their successful seasons.

In the girls' final, it was the surprising Crusaders taking on the Porter Creek Rams. Up until their Super Hoops win earlier this month, Vanier wasn't considered a threat to take the title it was supposed to be P.C. and F.H. Collins in the final. But the Crusaders have been picking up speed, and while it was a close battle Wednesday, they pulled off another victory, 47-43.

Jana Tait led the Crusaders with 15 points while her sister Roslyn added 12. Naomi Gladish responded for the Rams with 16 points while Lynn Burrel had 14.

'We knew we had the skills, we just had to put it all together as a team,' said Jana, who was named MVP of the girls' tournament. 'One night we started clicking and went from there.

'It was an awesome end to the season. Everybody stepped up to play and everybody was scoring tonight.'

Jana said the Rams played a very tough defence, and there were times when Vanier just about lost it, but they always regrouped.

After receiving the MVP honours, she said she was somewhat surprised, although it's always an honour.

'There are so many awesome players in Whitehorse, like Amanda (Brown, from F.H. Collins). She's amazing. And Naomi (Gladish) and Lynn (Burrel) from P.C., and even on my own team.

'My sister Roslyn, I love playing with her. She always calms me down and she plays so well. Kim Carter, she was a new girl to our school this year. She was a huge asset to the team.

'And Mary Musisi, I don't think she gets enough credit. She's our starting point guard and she handles the ball very well. It's awesome playing with Mary.'

Jana must know talent when she sees it as well, since Brown, Gladish, Burrel, Carter and Musisi were all named to the All-Star team for the girls.

On the boy's side, it was much the same story, with Vanier downing Porter Creek 95-69, in a game where it seemed every shot the Crusaders took went in. On the flip side, the Rams were having a hard time getting past the rim.

Vanier was led by Johnny King, who drained 17 points, while Jared Hougen tacked on 15. For the Rams, it was Rob Driscoll-McKinnon picking up 23 points and Justin Hendrie adding 12.

Crusaders coach Sean McCarron said the team has been pretty consistent throughout the year and continues to improve.

'Our semifinal game, when we almost lost to Porter Creek (the final score was 81-79), was the best thing that's happened to us all year,' said McCarron.

'We came back from 12 down in the fourth quarter to beat them. That was probably the highlight of the year.'

McCarron said Wednesday's final was probably the best game he's ever seen a high school team play in his fifth year at Vanier, although P.C. gave them a bigger challenge than the score suggests.

'Their (P.C.'s) strength is their toughness and intensity, as well as their speed. They're a very fast team. But we had size.

' I knew going in our size would be our advantage. But also, the balance I have on this team, with shooting, passing, defence and just smarts.'

McCarron also had complete faith in the boys on his bench that they could step in at any given time and play any position, which they were called upon to do a few times due to injury.

'It's about finding out how to win.'

While the coach was impressed all year with the leadership of his senior players Mitch Anderson, Ben Chief and Johnny King ñ� he was also happy with his two Grade 11 point guards, Aaron McKenzie and Eric Gray.

'Point guard is the most important, high-pressure position on the floor,' said McCarron. 'And those two guys played really well.'

McCarron said his players were their own biggest competition this year, as sometimes their confidence played a huge factor in the outcome of games.

In the final, their main competition was Driscoll-McKinnon, who is nearly impossible to keep off the scoreboard.

'We shut Robert down. Robert is a phenomenal player. We basically played 14 players against him, trying to shut him down. And that's what they did.'

Chief and King were given the main assignments of covering Driscoll-McKinnon, who still managed 23 points in the loss and was named MVP of the tournament.

'I was surprised, because there's lots of kids that deserve it tonight,' said Driscoll-McKinnon of his award.

The Grade 11 athlete said he had a lot of injuries this year he also got a bit banged up toward the end of the final but for the most part, felt he played well.

'Everyone played awesome this year. If it wasn't for the coaches, we wouldn't be here. We just had some bad luck tonight. We just didn't step it up as much as we needed to. Vanier played a good game.'

Driscoll-McKinnon's fellow Ram Tim Beaver also picked up accolades after the final, as he was one of five players named to the boy's All-Star team. Vanier's Hougen, McKenzie and Chief, as well as F.H.'s Sean McGinnis, were also named to the team.

Next year's championships will feature a lot of the same faces, as the Vanier girls' and boy's squads will each only lose a few Grade 12's. Driscoll-McKinnon will also be returning for another season with the Rams and Beaver has two more years.

'We found what worked this year, so we'll just be adding a few things,' said Jana about the girls.

McCarron hopes to make a trip down south with his senior team next year, as well as travel to some higher-calibre tournaments in Alaska.

'I'm just going to continue to push these guys to be athletes. I'd like to improve our team speed for next year, I'd like to improve our overall outside shooting, even though we shot pretty well tonight, and I want every single player on the floor to be able to play every position.

'F.H. and P.C. will be tough next year too, so it should be fun.'

Here are scores from previous games at the Grade 11/12 basketball championships:

Tuesday

Boys

P.C. 78, F.H. 67

Girls

F.H. 55, P.C. 49

Monday

Boys

Vanier 81, P.C. 79

F.H. 63, Watson Lake 52

Girls

P.C. 59, Vanier 42