The St. Albert Skyhawks are the team to beat in premier women's basketball after Monday's playoff preview against the O'Leary Spartans.
"We took it to them today and if we see them again we'll do it again," declared Hilary Annich, a Grade 12 point guard, after the number one ranked 3A team in Alberta toppled the Spartans 77-57 in front of a full house at the SkyDome.
The second victory of the season against O'Leary (10-2), ranked third in 4A, clinched first place for the Skyhawks (11-0). In the metro Edmonton league and tournament play combined the Skyhawks are an impressive 22-5.
"We had a little slump but we're getting back out of it now," said Annich, who poured in 15 points against O'Leary, highlighted by three three-balls in the second half.
The last game for the Skyhawks before the playoffs is tonight against the Paul Kane Blues (2-9) at 6:15 p.m. at the SkyDome.
As the top two premier teams the Skyhawks and O'Leary are guaranteed first round byes. The semifinals are March 3 and the final is March 6 at 5 p.m. at O'Leary High School.
The following week the 3A Edmonton zone playoffs get under way. The winner advances to the March 18 to 20 provincials at Medicine Hat. Unlike previous years there is no wildcard entry for the zone finalist. The Skyhawks are the three-time defending zone champions and have competed at the last five provincial tournaments.
"It looks pretty good for us," Annich said. "We're going to fight hard for provincials and see where it takes us."
It's gold or go home for the Skyhawks, who have never been ranked number one before during their provincial run since moving up into premier from the city conference.
"It gives us confidence but it's also nerve racking to stay number one. You've got to really perform. You have this expectation that you must do really well," said Annich, one of eight returning Skyhawks from last year's winless performance at provincials.
Huge win
By beating O'Leary by a whopping 20 points the Skyhawks proved their first win ever in premier against the rival Spartans – a come-from-behind 61-55 decision Feb. 1 at O'Leary – was no fluke. They also lucked out when Adut Bulgak, a six-foot-three Grade 11 O'Leary post with exceptional skill, sat out Monday's first-place showdown with a separated shoulder.
"We played solid defence in both games and our hustle was up there too so we had good effort in both of them," Annich said. "The difference was definitely Abut. If she was out there today it would make the game harder. She is a good shot blocker and since our shots were going in today that's what helped us."
In early December at the REB tournament at Jasper Place, O'Leary squeezed out a two-point win against the Skyhawks for third place as Bulgak racked up 28 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter.
In the next tilt, the Skyhawks trailed 32-26 at halftime and in the third quarter fell behind by as much as 15 before rebounding with some clutch three-point shooting. In the fourth quarter they outscored O'Leary 20-5 en route to victory.
"The first win was a way bigger one for us," Annich said. "I loved beating them in their home gym and Adut was playing too so it made it a fair game kind of thing with all the players and no injuries."
The vertically challenged Skyhawks enjoyed an even playing field with Bulgak not dressed Monday.
"We kind of expected that she wouldn't play but we didn't underestimate them at all. They're a good team," Annich said. "Overall it was good competition. It was a solid game all the way through. It was really fast paced. It could have been anyone's game really."
Clutch shooting
Down by one after the first quarter the Skyhawks got rolling as Annich and Kendall Lydon tacked up six points apiece as the Skyhawks led by 11 at halftime. A couple of threes by Lydon and offensive rebounding by Shelby Hucul and Stephanie Gartner for buckets in the opening four minutes of the second quarter put the Skyhawks ahead to stay.
The second half started with a crowd-pleasing three by Annich to make it 38-24. With less than two minutes to go before quarter time, Annich and Lydon nailed back-to-back-threes to put the Skyhawks up 53-40.
With only seconds gone in the fourth quarter, Annich fired another three to extend the lead to 15. Lydon, Andrea Heavener and Hucul would later toss in three-balls to make it a rout.
Lydon, a Grade 10 guard/wing, finished the game with 15 points, with nine coming in the first half. She also buried a team-high four threes. Grade 12 gunner Heavener registered 11 points. Hucul, a Grade 11 playmaker, added nine points and Grade 12 forward Tricia McFarlane had eight. Grade 12 post Jenn Larison was a tower of power in the middle while chipping in with seven points.
"We've been working on our shooting because we're not big at all. You either get good shooting or you don't win so we've been working on that and I think it really did make a difference for us today," said Annich, 17, who sat out most of the fourth quarter to rest a wonky ankle she rolled two weeks ago during a controlled scrimmage with the Edmonton Christian Lions.
Last year's team MVP had minimum shifts at last weekend's 4A-calibre tournament, hosted by the St. Mary's Saints of Calgary. She sat out the third-place game against the Spruce Grove Panthers, ranked second in 4A, as the Skyhawks lost 75-61.
In the 77-64 semifinal loss to St. Mary's, the eventual tournament champions, Larison and Grade 10 post Katie Burak suffered concussions against the seventh-ranked 4A team and didn't play against Spruce Grove. Grade 12 post Courtney Gogowich was also unavailable for the tourney as she rounds back into game shape after shoulder and rib injuries.
The Skyhawks tipped off the weekend with a 66-58 decision over the Western Canada Redmen of Calgary.
"We did pretty good coming in fourth. We had a seven player bench sometimes so we were just happy to put in a good effort," Annich said. "We went there to get good competition so we knew it wasn't going to affect our ranking in 3A at all."
