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The Didsbury senior girls basketball team knocked Olds High School out of top spot in a surprise upset last week, earning its first league championship in 12 years.

"It was epic … the best feeling ever," said wing Deena Durstling. "I was jumping up and down in the air, we all were."

The team was trailing behind Olds until halftime, when it was able to pull ahead by one, then two, to lead to a 46-43 win.

The girls have always been a second half team, said coach Lorne Code.

"They don’t usually play the first 20 minutes and that’s where we’ve gotten some losses, but this game they played the full 40. They really gave it their all."

Code said point guard Meg Verbeek was stealing balls and pressuring the opposition, while players like post Amy Leclaire took over the rebounding and boxing out and Deena Durstling helped put the points on the board.

"We definitely came out as a team and it showed, " Leclaire said.

The team is playing in High River for zones March 12-13 against top teams, like St. Joseph Collegiate out of Brooks and Hanna’s JC Charyk School. The Dragons currently sit fifth and are aiming to rank third or fourth by the end of zones.

"We’ve been pretty close to teams in second and third place so if we do what we did against Olds, then I think we could beat them," said Verbeek.

"It won’t be easy. This is a good solid zone, but I think we could have a chance if we keep up our talking and play the whole game."

The senior girls are expected to play against St. Joseph’s Collegiate during the first round of zones, next Friday. If they win, they could be playing Hanna, who is currently ranked fourth in the province by the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association.

Provincials are the following weekend in Hanna – and could allow for a wild card berth.