All four Hazelton Secondary school basketball teams competed in their respective zones this past weekend and while three narrowly missed out, the junior girls came through earning a berth at the Provincials in a few weeks.Teacher sponsor Barb Janze said the battle for the Zone title was a close one with Smithers Secondary.“We played two games against Smithers B and the games were really close,” she said. “Our Junior team also consisted of Grade 8 and 9 students and one Grade 10 and they all played really hard. It was a bit scary in the beginning but they really pulled it together and we are really proud of them.”The Junior girls edged the Gryphons 34-32 in the first game and took the second by four with a 32-28 victory.The Spartan top scorers were Marilyn Bowden, Kylie Johnson, Savanna Wilson, who were also named as the All Stars.The Senior Girls went in to the Zones seated fourth which meant they faced the number one team in the zones, Houston Christian, who are also rated number one in the province.“They have some real skilled players and have worked hard to get where they are,” teacher sponsor Mary Charlebois said. “They play a lot of games out of their zones but it was really inspiring for our players to watch them and play them.”The Spartans fell 74-20 to HCS and on Saturday morning they took on Bulkley Valley Christian but fell 58-40. However, HSS player Reegan Yee was named as the tournament All Star.“The girls have not had a lot of games this season with weather and road conditions,” Charlebois explained. “These games were our ninth and tenth so it’s hard when you don’t get a lot of play time. However there is lots of promise for next year and a lot of girls were inspired by what they saw and they want to keep practicing. There are three grade 12s who will be leaving but we are keeping the core which is really great.”The Junior Boys team played one of the best games of their season teacher sponsor Jan Thorburn said, against the first place team, Charles Hayes. While the Spartans lost 50-35, Thorburn said it was a really solid performance. In their second game Hazelton fell by 20 to Houston Christian and they did pick up one win, however it was by default when Nisga’a didn’t show up.The Senior Boys went in seated fourth which like the other two teams saw them take on the first place team Houston Christian which they lost 73-58. Yet they bounced back to win their second game against GM Dawson from Masset 97-40 and finished third out of four.“Overall they showed a lot of improvement,” teacher sponsor Scott Swift said. “Their defence got stronger and Travis Smith was our strongest offensive player. Tait Chandler and Karl Wyssen came a long way on defence this year and as a whole they really improved.”