The Paul Kane Blues are a force to be reckoned with in high school women’s basketball.
A balanced scoring attack and contributions throughout the line-up have the 7-5 Blues poised to do some serious damage in league play and 4A provincials.
The Blues are doing it with only two senior Grade 12s – Jenell Desharnais and Ashley Thomas from the 2015 metro Edmonton division one semi-finalists and 4A provincial consolation finalists – and seven Grade 10s
“In terms of outlook and promise, I feel this team is rapidly getting better at a pace that exceeds our expectations,” said coach Rick Stanley. “We felt our youth might really be cause for a slow beginning but over the past week the climb has been incredible. Our learning curve should be extremely high due to the nature of our youth.
“Systematically, there has been some real growth and time needed to smooth things out as many of the girls are learning new systems for the first time. It is hard to imagine what the potential can be because these girls are quickly adjusting and competing with the province’s best.”
The Blues are 1-1 in division one before hosting the Harry Ainlay Titans (2-1) tonight at 6:30 p.m. and 6-4 in tournament play following a solid fourth-place result at the 34th annual REB Invitational at Jasper Place High School and the previous weekend they won the consolation final at the 23rd annual Totem Hoops Classic at Ross Sheppard High School.
“Many of our games have all been against some top provincial teams as we have already played the top four teams in the province five times. Most notably is the improvement as we have closed the gap on some top-ranked squads,” Stanley said.
At the REB, the Blues bounced the Leboldus Golden Suns 70-57, dropped a tight 71-70 decision to the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams in the semifinals and in the third-place game lost 63-46 to the Jasper Place Rebels, arguably the team to beat in division one this season. The Rebels also defeated the Blues 64-30 in the Totem Classic opener, en route to winning the tournament.
LCI went on to lose the REB final 80-66 to the St. Francis Browns of Calgary.
“To beat Leboldus from Regina, lose by one point to top-ranked LCI and close the gap on the Rebels from JP, who should be ranked third in the province, showed incredible results for us from the weekend,” Stanley said. “I would hate for us to read our press clippings too early and think we are better than we are but it is the result of some intense, disciplined and teamwork features that is resulting in the PK Blues growth.
“This is a long season that is more of a marathon than a sprint so we need to take things one day at a time and be patient as we will make your youthful mistakes but learn from them.”
Desharnais (27 total points), Allison Hunder (25 points) and tournament all-star Alesha Stanley (24 points) led the Blues in scoring at the REB. Alesha, a Grade 10 forward, was one of the top rebounders and playmakers on the court.
Thomas (19 points) was another offensive generator and contributions from Bronwen Barter and Deanna Missins supported the way off the bench. Barter also hit two three-pointers against LCI.
The Blues had a spring in their step in the semifinal after beating Leboldus and led most of the way against LCI. They were up by as much as 12 at one time, “but some youthful mistakes and key missed layups prevented the team from closing the door and LCI gained momentum,” Stanley said.
The last minute was a one-point game with the Blues down one with the ball and 30 seconds remaining. A sideline play narrowly missed giving LCI a chance to win. Even with 7.4 ticks on the clock, the Blues had another crack with a sideline play down one but LCI held its ground in the barnburner.
“A spirited affair that showed great intensity for a full game,” Stanley said.
Meanwhile, The SLAM midget A pipeline from the undefeated 2015 Edmonton Youth Basketball Association and provincial championship team under Stanley’s watch has produced four players for the Blues this season.
Stanley’s SLAM team this season is 11-0 in league play and 14-0 overall entering tonight’s contest against second-place Sherwood Park (9-2) at 7:30 p.m. at the Saville Community Sports Centre.
The SLAM has five returnees and the roster includes nine players from the 2014 SLAM bantam A provincial winners.
“An incredible group that has grown up together. They are a hard working group of kids that execute and play for each other. They laugh, giggle and have developed great relationships but when it is court time they become fierce competitors. I am extremely proud of these girls but a long way to go still as we look to win our third provincial title in three years,” Stanley said.
FREE THROWS: Monday’s division one game against the Archbishop Jordan Scots in Sherwood Park was rescheduled because the Scots suffered a rash of injuries that left the team with only six healthy bodies.
The Paul Kane men finished 1-2 at the REB with losses off 134-43 to the JW North Huskies of Riverside, Calif., the tournament champions, and 87-70 to Leboldus, the consolation side winners, before beating the M.E. Lazerte Voyageurs 80-75.
A request for team scoring info was not provided by coach Mitch Buffie at press time.
The consolation finalists at the Totem Classic host Harry Ainlay today at 5 p.m. The Blues are 0-2 in division one.
