The St. Albert Skyhawks host today’s metro Edmonton women’s basketball doubleheader at the SkyDome.
The semifinal times are 5 p.m. against the Spruce Grove Panthers in division one seniors and 6:30 p.m. against the Fort Saskatchewan Sting in division three juniors.
The senior Skyhawks are 12-1 in league play and 25-8 overall after Monday’s 62-28 playoff win over the Edmonton Christian Lions (5-8) at the SkyDome.
The Panthers are 11-2 and one of the losses was the 58-55 barnburner against the Skyhawks Jan. 4 in St. Albert.
The Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association mid-February 4A rankings list the Panthers sixth and the Skyhawks eighth.
The final is 5 p.m. Saturday at Jasper Place High School.
The last two years the Panthers beat the Skyhawks for the division one championship.
The junior Skyhawks are 8-1 after Monday’s 40-17 decision against the Edmonton Islamic Academy (2-7) at the SkyDome and the Sting are 7-2.
The Skyhawks downed the Sting 35-31 Feb. 3 in the Fort.
The final is 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Jasper Place.
The Paul Kane Blues are the underdogs against the team to beat in the metro Edmonton division one women’s basketball playoffs.
Today’s semifinal between the Blues and Jasper Place Rebels tips off at 5 p.m. at Jasper Place High School.
The final is 5 p.m. Saturday at Jasper Place.
The Rebels are second and the Blues are ninth in the 4A provincial rankings.
The Blues are 0-3 against the Rebels this season, with losses of 64-30 and 63-46 in tournament action in December and 64-48 Feb. 17 at Paul Kane.
The Rebels also knocked off the Blues in last year’s consolation final at provincials at Jasper Place.
The Rebels are 13-0 in league play after throttling the Archbishop Jordan Scots (5-8) by 37 points in Monday’s quarter-finals. It was 26-0 after the first quarter.
The Blues are 10-3 in league play and 21-11 overall after prevailing 71-65 against the Leduc Tigers (7-6) in Monday’s playoff at Paul Kane.
The Blues were down by 15 at one point against the fired-up Tigers, but support off the bench turned things around as the home team avoided foul trouble.
The starters regrouped in the second half, as the Blues pulled ahead by 11 points before the Tigers closed the gap to make it a two-point game. With under two minutes to go, the Blues regained the lead at 70-63. The Tigers converted a steal to trail by five and the Blues closed out the victory by hitting one of two free throws.
Captain Jenell Desharnais led the Blues with 16 points and Brit Mildenberger drained 13.
Meanwhile, the Paul Kane junior men (4-4) played the Oscar Romero Ravens (2-6) Monday in the division three quarter-finals at Paul Kane and the lady Blues (1-7) visited the Rebels (7-1) Tuesday in the division one junior quarter-finals but scores were unavailable at press time.
The following St. Albert SLAM teams are competing for medals in the Edmonton Youth Basketball Association playoffs this week.
Mini-girls Malchuk: gold/silver final.
Mini-girls Greven: gold/silver final.
Mini-boys Wangler: gold/silver final.
Mini-boys Fischer: gold/silver final.
Bantam girls Salcedo: bronze final.
Bantam girls Rivet: bronze final.
Bantam girls Steele: bronze game final.
Bantam boys Jeffrey: gold/silver final.
Midget girls Attfield: bronze game final.
Midget boys Perry: bronze final.
Midget boys Marano: gold/silver.
Midget girls Perlett: bronze final
Bantam A boys: gold/silver final.
Midget A girls: gold/silver final.
Visit www.edmontonyouthbasketball.com or www.stalbertslam.com for more information.
Meanwhile, the SLAM midget A girls are 19-0 in league play and 22-0 overall after beating SW Mrazik 43-23 in last week’s semifinal.
Tonight’s final against SBA Caldwell tips off at 7:30 p.m. at the Saville Community Sports Centre. The SLAM are 4-0 against SBA this season.
Both teams will represent EYBA at the Youth Provincial Championships, March 11 to 13 at the Saville Centre.
Last year the SLAM finished 20-0 overall as the EYBA and provincial champions.
The SLAM roster features six players competing for their third provincial title and third undefeated season as graduates of the 2014 SLAM bantam A provincial gold medallists. The SLAM are 60-0 during that span.
The junior high basketball playoffs are underway in the St. Albert Physical Education Council league.
The quarter-final winners in the girls’ and boys’ divisions advance to the Tier 1 semifinals and the remaining teams compete for Tier II honours.
The Tier II final is March 9 at a school to be determined and the Tier I final is March 10 at the SkyDome.
The Lorne Akins Gators are the defending Tier I girls’ and boys’ champions.
The top two teams in the final standings this season were the Gators (7-0) and Vincent J. Maloney Marauders (6-1) for the boys and Richard S. Fowler Falcons (6-0) and Gators (5-1) for the girls.
The first loss overall in league and tournaments for the lady Gators this season was 42-38 to Fowler at Lorne Akins on Feb. 23 in the last game before the playoffs.
The SAPEC standings are listed in Scoreboard on page 49.
