The Paul Kane Blues salvaged their third league victory and sixth of the season with only seconds to play Wednesday in high school hoops.
Sydney Hurlburt sank the winning basket with 27 ticks on the clock and Jenell Desharnais popped in two free throws before the buzzer as the Blues pulled off a 55-51 decision against the Jasper Place Rebels.
“They came out and had a great game but we worked harder,” said Hurlburt after the metro Edmonton division one tilt at Paul Kane.
Down by four, the Blues pulled even with 2:20 to play on Desharnais’ field goal and Hurlburt’s two free throws.
After several missed shots and turnovers later by both teams during frantic end-to-end action the Blues called a timeout after the Rebels were whistled for travelling in front of the Paul Kane basket.
After the timeout, Hurlburt broke away from a defender to accept the inbound pass, dribbled along the sideline before busting a silky-smooth move for the go-ahead points.
“We set up on offence in the timeout and it just worked,” Hurlburt said. “It’s a pretty amazing feeling to pull it off.”
The Rebels called a timeout following Hurlburt’s clutch bucket. After the inbound play, they turned the ball over at the top of the key and Rachel McIntyre was fouled with 17.8 seconds to go and missed both free throws.
Back on offence, the Rebels launched a desperation three-pointer that missed the mark and Desharnais was fouled with 5.8 left in the game. Her free throws sealed the deal.
The first half ended with the Blues in front 27-26 as the teams threw up enough bricks to build a new gymnasium at Paul Kane.
The fifth of six threes by the Rebels in the game closed out the third quarter to trail by one at 41-40.
Desharnais, a tournament all-star for the third-place Blues at the 22nd annual Totem Hoop Classic at Ross Sheppard High School, finished with one three and a game-high 17 points.
Hurlburt netted 12 points, Britney Hinecker added eight and Serena Lillo had six as the Blues improved to 3-1 in division one and 6-4 overall. The Rebels are 2-2 in league play.
Injuries have prevented the Blues from dressing a full roster on a regular basis. Hurlburt, a consistent scorer, missed the REB Invitational last weekend at Jasper Place High School with an upper body injury that sidelined her for a good chunk of the opening three weeks of the schedule.
“So far it’s been ups and downs,” Hurlburt said of the team’s performance so far, including Monday’s 61-57 loss to the Edmonton Christian Lions (3-1) at Paul Kane. “We’re all fighting stuff so it’s good to get everyone back on the court. That’s what we had today so we tried to work together as a team.”
When healthy and rolling, the Blues can compete with the league’s top teams.
“Our team strength is how aggressive we are. We also really want to win every game so we really show that on the court,” said Hurlburt, 17.
The Grade 12 wing is one of six returnees from the 2014 4A provincial consolation finalists. The team’s metro record was 11-3 as division one semifinalists.
When asked if there is pressure on the Blues to duplicate or exceed last season’s success, Hurlburt shook her head and replied: “There is no pressure. We’ve just got to go out and play every game,” said the co-captain. “I can’t promise you anything. We’ve just got to keep working hard and we’ll see how it pays off.”
The team’s next game is Jan. 8 at the Blues Basketball Classic.
