The St. Albert Skyhawks did more with less to finish fourth at the Paul Kane Classic.
The team's eight-player rotation for the tournament was taxed with three games over a 25-hour span.
“We played pretty good for the subs that we had and for the injuries we had,” said Mimi Sigue, a Grade 10 post, after Saturday's 65-61 loss to the Chestermere Lakers in the third-place playoff.
The Skyhawks ran out of gas against the Lakers after leading 33-20 at halftime.
“Most of our players were injured so the subs that we do have they were limited,” said Sigue, who spent time on the bench in the second quarter after getting poked in the eye.
The Lakers swarmed the fatigued-looking Skyhawks during a third-quarter 25-10 comeback run for a two-point advantage to start the last 10-minute period.
The Skyhawks rebounded with six consecutive points to regain the lead and the Lakers answered with a 12-in-a-row. The big basket was the three-pointer before the shot clock expired to make it 55-49 with 3:25 remaining.
The Skyhawks lacked consistency, dropping the ball through the hoop in stretches as the game wound down but still managed to pull within two of the Lakers twice in the last 20 seconds on field goals by Teá DeMong.
“We turned up our intensity. We realized we’ve got to get into that mind-set,” said Sigue, a six-foot Skyhawk with a long reach who drained eight of her 16 points in the fourth quarter for 14 in total in the second half.
“I really wanted to win. It was really important to me and our team,” said the junior high product of the Vincent J. Maloney Marauders.
An 8-4 pushback on two Sigue field goals, including an offensive rebound, and two free throws, followed by a pair by Kamryn DeKlerk and DeMong’s bucket left the Lakers holding on at 61-59.
With time running out, the Skyhawks were forced to foul and the Lakers didn’t miss on two trips to the free throw line and DeMong’s field goal in between the foul shots.
DeMong, a tournament all-star, posted 11 points overall, DeKlerk scored a team-high 20 and Jordan Hessell provided quality minutes at both ends of the court. The trio are Grade 10 contributors.
Falling short against a team the Skyhawks should beat was a disappointment despite the lack of bodies with two players not in the lineup,
“Very. We had a lead and we just lost it,” Sigue said. “Our defence wasn’t as good as it was before this game and we were messing up on our switches.”
The 59-54 semifinal loss to the Jasper Place Rebels, the 2017 4A provincial champions, was a tournament bright spot for the Skyhawks.
DeMong racked up 26 points, including 10 in a row for the team to start off the afternoon contest.
“We worked hard against Jasper Place. We were down by 20 but we came back so we were resilient. It was good overall,” Sigue said. “We worked together and passed more. We made the extra pass.”
The Rebels are expected to be the No. 1-ranked 4A team in the province when the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association releases its first rankings of the season after the winners of back-to-back metro Edmonton division one championships defeated the Paul Kane Blues 59-52 in the final.
“It was a learning experience for us. They’re going to be classed number one or two in the province so it was good for us to see where we’re at and what we have to work on,” said Sigue, 15.
The Skyhawks tipped off the tournament Friday night by downing the Medicine Hat Kwahommies 80-42. Sigue led the way with 17 points and DeMong added 15. Aine Murphy wired three three-pointers to finish with 11 points and DeKlerk had 10.
Medicine Hat won the consolation final 76-34 over the Spruce Grove Panthers.
FREE THROWS: The result against the Lakers might affect the Skyhawks’ 4A ranking. Last year’s provincial consolation champions, with four returnees this season, were slotted No. 7 in the unofficial top-10 rankings before the weekend and the Lakers were among five honourable mention teams.
The Skyhawks were 4-0 in the metro division one league before playing the Strathcona Lords (1-4) Monday but the score was unavailable at press time. It was the last game before the exam break.
Abby Morrison, a prime-time Grade 12 guard and U17 Team Alberta player at the 2017 Canada Summer Games, is expected to sign with the Alberta Pandas next weekend. A lower-body injury has sidelined Morrison all season but she was expected to see action against the Lords.
