The Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association released its first basketball rankings of the season Monday and several local teams cracked the top 10 in the women’s and men’s divisions.
The 4A women’s rankings list the St. Albert Skyhawks fourth and the Paul Kane Blues 10th.
The top three teams are St. Francis of Calgary, Western Canada of Calgary and the Jasper Place Rebels.
The Rebels (6-0), Spruce Grove Panthers (6-1), ranked eighth in 4A, Skyhawks (5-1) and Paul Kane (4-1) are the division one leaders in the metro Edmonton league.
Last year the Panthers repeated as division one champions and at provincials were awarded silver. The Skyhawks were division one finalists for the second year in a row and finished 33-5 overall as the fifth-place team at provincials. Paul Kane lost the consolation final in its second-straight trip to provincials and last year it was against Jasper Place.
The Skyhawks host Paul Kane on Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the SkyDome.
The 3A women’s rankings includes the Morinville Lady Wolves at No. 6 as the highest North Central zone team listed and the Sturgeon Spirits are No. 8.
Last year Morinville finished ninth at provincials.
Sturgeon is 3-1 in division two pool B in the metro league.
The 3A men’s rankings have the Skyhawks at No. 6 as the third-highest metro team behind the No. 1 Strathcona Christian Academy Eagles and the No. 5 Oscar Romero Ravens.
The Skyhawks and Ravens are 2-2 in division two pool B and the Eagles are 3-4 in division one.
Metro league action resumes Feb. 1 after the exam break.
The next ASAA rankings are Feb. 19.
The Lorne Akins Gators repeated as the girls division champions at the Boston Pizza Invitational Basketball Tournament hosted by the St. Albert Physical Education Council.
In Saturday’s A division final, the Gators held the Camilla Thunderbirds to five points in the first half, en route to the 45-17 victory at Richard S. Fowler School.
The tournament format for games was four 10-minute quarters of running time, with the last two minutes of the fourth stop time. The SAPEC league is four quarters of nine minutes of stop time.
Ella Stanley led the Gators with 15 points in the final. Kaitlyn Kluttig tossed in nine, Raeesa Cherniwchan added seven and Victoria Ivicak had six.
The Gators tipped off the 16-team draw with a 42-32 win over FR Haythorne of Sherwood Park, followed by scores of 34-29 against St. Peter The Apostle of Spruce Grove and 28-24 against the Fowler Falcons in the semifinals.
The Gators led by 10 at halftime against Fowler before the Falcons tightened their defence to close the gap. Stanley drained 13 points and Kluttig tacked up six.
Fowler defeated the Vincent J. Maloney Marauders in the third-place game and Haythorne knocked off the Sir George Simpson Voyageurs in the B division final.
Stanley and Kluttig are among four Gators back from last year’s SAPEC Tier I city champions that finished 22-2 overall.
The Lorne Akins duo also played on the U14 provincial team last summer, along with Isabella Cuciz and Kenzie Thera of St. Albert and Brooke Froment of Morinville
Stanley, Kluttig and Ivicak also hoop it up for the St. Albert SLAM midget A team that is 14-0 in the Edmonton Youth Basketball Association and 17-0 overall. Last year SLAM finished 20-0 as the midget A EYBA and youth provincial champions.
The Gators lineup also includes players from the SLAM midget B team.
The next SAPEC game for the Gators is against the Marauders today at 5:30 p.m. at VJM.
The highest finish by a St. Albert Physical Education Council team at the Boston Pizza Invitational Basketball Tournament was by the third-place Vincent J. Maloney Marauders.
VJM beat the Sturgeon Heights Eagles 38-32 Saturday in the A division bracket at Lorne Akins School.
The Eagles knocked off the Richard S. Fowler Falcons, winners of the last two Boston Pizza tournaments, 37-30 in the tournament opener.
The Lorne Akins Gators won the B division final with a 47-26 decision over the Sir George Simpson Voyageurs.
Josh Kelly was the top scorer for the Gators with 12 points and Aidan Kelly had six points and seven assists.
The winner of the 16-team tournament was Meridian Heights of Stony Plain, 46-44 over FR Haythorne.
In the semifinals, Meridian Heights downed VJM 31-28 and Haythorne clipped the Eagles 36-17.
Haythorne also pushed past the Gators 31-28 in the tournament opener. It was 17-10 Haythorne at halftime.
The Gators have three players back from last year’s SAPEC Tier I city championship team.
