The Paul Kane Blues sung a positive tune after losing their tournament final to the team to beat in high school women’s basketball.
“I don’t think it was a disappointment. We played really well,” said Alesha Stanley of the Blues after Saturday’s 64-41 result against the Jasper Place Rebels at the Paul Kane Classic.
“I’m really proud of my team. It was a great game.”
The Rebels are viewed as the No. 1 4A team in Alberta and the Blues are working their way towards the top.
“We wanted to come ready to play against them. We’ve been getting better, we’ve been getting over injuries and we felt we were ready to take them and I think the next time we’ll be able to take off some more points and get to where they are,” Stanley said.
Last year the Rebels finished 15-0 as metro Edmonton division one champions and at provincials were silver medallists with no Grade 12s and eight Grade 11s on their 12-player roster.
The current lineup features eight Grade 12s and four Grade 11s, while the Blues are going with three Grade 10s, six Grade 11s, one Grade 12 and seven returnees overall from last year’s division one semifinalists and 1-2 provincial showing.
“We knew going into it it was going to be a battle. We know how JP plays and what their defence is like and their offence is really good,” Stanley said.
The Blues were hooped in the second quarter while outscored 24-7 to trail 39-20 at break. The Rebels closed out the quarter with nine consecutive points, including the third three-pointer of the half by Sarah Rinsky, who tossed in 10 of her 13 first-half points in the 10-minute period.
After three quarters the Rebels led 53-30 and their sixth and last three-ball of the contest made it 58-32.
Stanley summed up the difference between the two teams.
“It’s off the defence a little bit more that’s really separating us,” said the five-foot-11 Grade 11 guard/forward who knocked down a pair of threes in the loss. “They’re really a defensive transition team. They really talk a lot, they know what they’re doing all the time and we’re still trying to play at that level.”
Grade 12 captain Allie Hunder led the Blues in scoring with 12 points. Anika Steele, the team’s player of the game, tacked up 10 points and Bronwen Barter, a tournament all-star, added nine.
The Blues tipped off the eight-team competition in Friday's 85-51 victory over the Bishop Grandin Ghosts of Calgary.
Stanley dropped in 18 points, Hunder drained 16 and Steele and Barter wired 12 apiece as the Blues rolled up sizeable leads of 38-19 at halftime and 62-36 after the third quarter.
Saturday the Blues shot the lights out in the 81-71 semifinal against the Catholic Central Cougars of Lethbridge. After the opening 10 minutes the Blues were in total control at 31-11 on the strength of five three-balls.
At the break it was 49-23, and in the second half the Cougars clawed back to cut the deficit to 61-52 before the Blues rattled off an eight-point run to lead by 17 with 7:51 to play.
Barter was on fire in the first half with 18 points, including 11 in the second quarter, for a team-high 22.
Hunder recorded 14 points and Kaitlyn Kluttig’s 13-point effort featured a pair of threes in the first quarter.
“We were really consistent in that game. We played a four quarter game. We sprinted all the time, we were talking and we were really alert,” said Stanley who chipped in with 10 points.
“It was a really good tournament for us. We had a lot of fun,” Stanley added. “We were really consistent and we’re getting more consistent with offence, defence and transition and as the tournament went on we got better and we learned more things from each other. We started to build chemistry with each other and it helped our team a lot.”
The Blues are now 12-5 overall, including a 3-1 mark in division one, with five league games and two more tournaments before the start of the metro playoffs and provincials.
“We’re still not at our peak yet. We still have a lot more to build on and more practice time to get ready for the next upcoming competitions,” Stanley said. “If we keep building on everything that we’ve learned from each other we’re going to get to our higher peak.”
Stanley, 16, was recognized for her contributions in the tournament as the team's MVP.
“I was actually kind of shocked. I thought my captain Allie would get it just because she’s been playing so well lately. She’s been scoring and playing really good defence.”
Stanley’s younger sister, Ella, is another prominent player for the Blues and last month the six-foot-one Grade 10 guard/forward attended a national U16 cadet identification camp in Edmonton.
“It was really honouring,” said Ella, 15, one of about a dozen cadet prospects at the camp. “It does boost your confidence a lot but it still means you have to come ready to play every game.”
It was also an eye-opening experience for the 2016 northern Alberta junior high player of the year.
“It was really interesting how it all works,” Ella said. “We had a lot of mental sessions, like how to calm yourself down during a game and just breathing techniques.
“The basketball was really competitive. I went in there the first day and I wasn’t sure what to expect and it just kind of caught me off guard but then you kind of get into it and get used to the girls and how they play that way.
“At the end of the session the coach talked to me about some of the things she would like me to work on. Finishing with my right hand would be one and finishing strong inside is another.”
