It will be standing room only inside the compact Paul Kane gymnasium Monday, when the Battle of St. Albert tips off at 5 p.m. between the St. Albert Skyhawks and the host lady Blues.
Both teams share second spot at 6-1 in the metro Edmonton division one standings.
The defending champion Spruce Grove Panthers are 7-0.
The Blues have not beat the Skyhawks since the 2011 metro premier conference semifinal, 75-66 at the SkyDome. The post-game celebration by the Blues was a Youtube hit, much to the chagrin of the Skyhawks.
Last season, the Skyhawks defeated the Blues 61-36 in the Skyhawks Invitational final, 69-31 in league play and 56-39 in the semifinals.
In the second Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association 4A rankings, the Skyhawks fell from first to fourth and the Blues went from ninth to an honourable mention.
The Skyhawks are 17-2 overall after Wednesday’s 74-29 rout of the Archbishop Jordan Scots (2-4) at the SkyDome.
Jessa Ivicak was the top scorer with 17 points, followed by Brielle Wise with 15 and Riki Steward with 13 for the 2014 4A provincial bronze medallists and division one finalists.
This is the Skyhawks’ second season at the 4A level after winning a record four-straight 3A provincial championships.
The Blues are 13-6 overall after Wednesday’s 68-27 blowout of the O’Leary Spartans (1-7) at Paul Kane.
Last weekend, the Blues finished third at the Rose Tournament, hosted by the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs of Calgary, and the Skyhawks four-peated at their home tournament for the team’s third triumph in four tournaments this season.
The Skyhawks and Blues are also seeded on opposite sides of the draw at the Titans Tri-Prov, starting Thursday at the Harry Ainlay and Louis St. Laurent high schools. The Blues battle the Peacock Tornadoes of Moose Jaw at 3 p.m. at Harry Ainlay and the Skyhawks play the Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds at 5 p.m. at Louis St. Laurent.
Visit http://triprov.ainlay.ca/ for the schedule and results.
The 13th win in 14 games for Lorne Akins Gators was against Riverbend in the junior high girls’ final at the Titans Tri-Prov last weekend at Harry Ainlay High School.
Tournament all-star Lily Armstrong drained a team-high 21 points and player of the game Ella Stanley added nine points and grabbed five rebounds in the 58-45 victory.
The Gators broke open the close contest by outscoring Riverbend 18-5 in the fourth quarter.
The Gators opened the tournament with a decisive 81-14 result against Avalon. Kaitlyn Kluttig sank 17 points and Alesha Stanley, the player of the game and tournament MVP, chipped in with 16.
Alesha also racked up 27 points in the 71-22 semifinal drubbing of Vernon Barford. Player of the game Madi Sadlowski recorded 10 points, five rebounds and four steals.
The tournament title was the second in three finals for the Gators. The team’s only loss was 33-32 to the defending SAPEC Tier 1 city champion Vincent J. Maloney Marauders at the Spruce Grove Power of 3 tournament.
The Gators are competing at the Riverbend tournament this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Lorne Akins boys lost the Tri-Prov consolation final 57-41 to Ottewell. They dropped the opener 67-53 to D.S. MacKenzie before rebounding with a resounding 97-33 decision against McKernan.
The junior men’s and women’s teams at St. Albert Catholic High School are hooping it up at the Titans Tri-Prov this weekend.
The lady Skyhawks played the Jasper Place Rebels Thursday and the men’s team hooked up with Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds. Scores were unavailable at press time.
Visit http://triprov.ainlay.ca/ for schedules and results.
In the metro Edmonton junior league, the lady Skyhawks are 3-1 as two-time defending division one champions and the men’s division two pool B team is 0-4.
The St. Albert Skyhawks host their annual men’s tournament next weekend at the SkyDome.
The first game for the Skyhawks is 5:15 p.m. Friday against the Cochrane Cobras.
The Skyhawks are 3-3 in metro Edmonton division two pool B action.
The Edmonton Christian Lions, Spruce Grove Panthers, St. Peter The Apostle Spartans, Archbishop Jordan Scots, Strathcona Christian Academy Eagles and West Central of Rocky Mountain House are also entered.
The 3A rankings list the Eagles at No. 4, Cochrane is No. 5, the Spartans are No. 6 and the Lions are No. 10.
In league play, the Spartans are 4-5 in division one, the Eagles are 4-0 in division two pool A and the Panthers are 5-0 in division two pool B.
