The Paul Kane Classic is a mid-season test the lady Blues hope to pass with honour marks.
“It’s really good for us. It’s going to prepare us for more of the tougher games in the season because there are teams here that are quite tough,” said Grade 11 forward Ashley Thomas after the Blues improved to 7-4 overall in Thursday’s 94-24 slaughter of the Bishop O’Byrne Bobcats of Calgary in the tournament opener.
Friday the Blues played the Catholic Central Cougars of Lethbridge in the semifinals but the score was unavailable at press time.
In the first 4A rankings of the season the Blues are ninth and the Cougars received an honourable mention.
The Cougars were coming off a 62-46 win over the Sturgeon Spirits on Thursday in Namao.
The finals in the eight-team women’s draw tip-off today at noon in the consolation bracket, 3:30 p.m. for third place and 7 p.m. for the championship trophy.
“We want to push hard and do the best that we can,” Thomas said. “We really want to work on our defence in this tournament because we haven’t really done too well defensively.”
Last month the Blues placed third at the Totem Hoop Classic at Ross Sheppard High School and finished 1-2 at the REB Invitational at Jasper Place High School.
The Blues are also 3-1 in metro Edmonton division one.
“It’s really exciting for us right now because we’re doing well,” Thomas said. “We’re going to work harder this year so we’re higher in the rankings.”
Last year the Blues reached the division one semifinals and at provincials they lost the consolation final by 20 points to the Medicine Hat Kwahommies in what was billed as the fifth/sixth game for positioning in the 16-team tournament.
The Kwahommies, ranked sixth in 4A, and the E.P. Scarlett Lancers of Calgary, an honourable mention team, are also competing at the Paul Kane Classic.
Thomas, 16, is one of six players back from the 26-11 Blues that finished 11-3 in division one.
“This year we’re working really hard together and working more as a team,” said the reliable two-way hoopster. “We’re just closer together as a team. Our relationships together are better.”
The Blues bonded as a team while carving up the over-matched Bobcats with 10 three-pointers, including four in the last quarter while trying to reach triple digits on the scoreboard.
Grade 12 standout Sydney Hurlburt led all scorers with 21 points, including three three-pointers.
Brit Mildenberger, a Grade 10 guard, wired four three-pointers to finish with 16 points overall.
Rachel McIntyre tossed in 14 points and Allison Hunder added 10 as nine Blues on the 11-player roster scored four or more points.
The Blues cruised to leads of 19-10 at the end of the first quarter, 47-17 at halftime and 68-21 after three quarters.
“We’ve been working real hard in practice so we were more prepared,” said Thomas, who sank the team’s first three-pointer of the match. “We pressed really hard at the beginning to intimidate them and get our score higher.”
The next league game is Monday at the Strathcona Lords (2-1) at 5 p.m.
Also looming large is the Battle of St. Albert against the St. Albert Skyhawks (3-1 in metro and 9-1 overall) Feb. 9 at Paul Kane. The Skyhawks, last year’s 4A provincial bronze medallists and division one finalists, are ranked No. 1 but suffered a surprising 61-46 loss to the host Jasper Place Rebels (3-3) Wednesday against the same team the Blues beat 55-51 before the Christmas break.
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.
