SFX Sports Centre – The Paul Kane Blues are poised to do serious damage in high school women’s basketball.
Thursday’s 63-38 lid-lifter against the O’Leary Spartans sets the stage for a stronger season than the previously successful 22-14 campaign for the Blues.
“It’s a good way to start with a W,” said captain Allie Hunder after the Blues unveiled their winning lineup at the 19th annual Mike Dea Classic.
“The atmosphere this year is really great. I’m so excited for the season,” added Hunder, the only Grade 12 on the roster. “We only lost two players (to graduation) so we take our great foundation that we have already and just keep improving and keep working hard and have a great season.”
The Blues showed flashes of potential against O’Leary with a lineup of seven returning players and three Grade 10s.
“We played really good. We worked really hard as a team,” said Hunder, a stellar guard who scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half. “It’s a great start to our season.”
The 2016 Blues finished 10-4 in the metro Edmonton league as division one semifinalists and 1-2 at the 4A provincials with seven Grade 10s.
“We’ve definitely improved our shooting. Our driving has got a lot better. Our posts inside have been working really hard and they’re getting us buckets down there,” Hunder said.
The Blues rolled to period leads of 14-6 after the first, 31-10 at halftime and 42-19 after the third against a O’Leary, a non-playoff division one team last season they beat by 18 points in league play.
Hunder, 17, opened the scoring for the Blues with the first of her two three-points as the Blues poured in six three-balls overall.
Anika Steele and Alesha Stanley tacked up 13 points apiece. Stanley’s last bucket was a three-pointer late in the contest
Steele, a powerful figure in the paint, pumped in 12 points in the second half, including a six-point run in the last quarter.
Ella Stanley sank two threes and 10 points in total.
Teagan MacKinnon’s six points included a three to put the Blues up 40-15 with 4:12 to go in the third quarter.
The Blues were slotted in the round of eight in the 12-team and O’Leary was coming off a 61-45 win over the Lumsden (Sask.) Angels earlier in the day.
Friday the Blues played the Hunting Hills Lightning of Red Deer in the semifinals but the score was unavailable at press time.
The Lightning edged the Beaumont Bandits, a metro division two pool A team, 40-39 Thursday.
Depending on Friday’s result, the Blues will hoop it up today in the 2 p.m. third-place game or the 6 p.m. final against the division two pool A Holy Trinity Trojans or the Bishop O’Byrne Bobcats of Calgary at St. Francis Xavier High School.
The Blue are using the Mike Dea tournament as a springboard into league play.
“It’s quite important. It’s a great start and a great foundation for us,” Hunder said. “We need to focus on our league games because that’s what really counts.”
Hunder, 17, has embraced her role as captain with open arms and it showed in her performance against O’Leary.
“As the only Grade 12 my main thing is leadership and just being there for the girls, trying to put up points and trying to get assists so all the girls can really work together,” she said. “It’s going to be great to finally have my senior year and just get a great season out of this. I’m looking forward to my last season being my best.”
