The St. Albert Skyhawks are one win away from matching their historic 2010 season in the metro Edmonton premier conference when they went unbeaten and reigned as champions in high school women’s basketball.
The league final between the Skyhawks, ranked No. 1 in 3A and two-time defending provincial gold medallists, and the fifth-ranked 4A Archbishop Jordan Scots tips off today at 5 p.m. at O’Leary High School. Admission is $3 and children 12 and under get in free.
“We definitely have a target on our backs as the team to beat and we don’t want to be beaten,” said Zoe Downing, co-captain of the 28-6 Skyhawks. “There is definitely a lot of pressure on us to win it and we have to come out and show that we deserve it.”
The Skyhawks are 3-0 against the Scots after posting wins of 64-47 in exhibition, 80-44 in the semifinal of the Mike Dea Classic and last month’s 76-68 overtime thriller in league play in Sherwood Park. It was the only loss for the Scots in premier. The Skyhawks were up by three with less than five seconds remaining when they fouled a player shooting a three-pointer and she hit all three free throws to create a 65-65 tie at 65 and force an extra period.
“It was a great game to win,” Downing said. “When we see them in the final we know they will come out real strong and ready to play us. Hopefully we can do the same and come out on top.”
Downing, 17, power forward Katie Burak and all-star Kendall Lydon are the only Skyhawks remaining from the first St. Albert varsity women’s basketball team to win the premier title. In the final two years ago, Lydon drained two dramatic free throws with 0.1 left on the clock to beat the host O’Leary Spartans 74-72 as the Skyhawks completed an unprecedented 14-0 season in premier.
“We’re just as prepared if not more than we were that year,” Downing said. “As a whole unit we’re really tight and we get along really well and that will definitely help us.”
As great as the Skyhawks have been this season, they suffered two disturbing losses to the McCoy Colts of Medicine Hat in consecutive tournaments: 55-53 in the semifinal at Spruce Grove and 68-66 in the Wetaskiwin final. Lydon, a candidate for MVP honours in premier, suffered a concussion in the second quarter against McCoy in Spruce Grove and didn’t play in Wetaskiwin.
“Both games were roller coasters. There were highs and lows,” Downing said. “The Spruce Grove game we didn’t play as strong as we should have. In Wetaskiwin, even though we lost we did play really well as a team.”
McCoy, ranked second in 3A, lost the 2011 provincial final to the Skyhawks 74-63.
“Obviously we wanted to keep our No. 1 spot going into provincials, but now that we’ve lost it, it makes us more dedicated and more hungry to go out and really show them that they should be No. 2,” Downing said.
In premier the Skyhawks improved to 11-0 after overpowering the Paul Kane Blues 82-43 in Wednesday’s semifinal at the SkyDome. It was 16-0 when the Blues got on the board with a free throw by co-captain Melissa Woolley with 2:32 left in the first quarter. The Skyhawks rolled up commanding leads of 25-2 at quarter time, 42-9 at halftime and 52-28 after three quarters.
“In the first half our defence was fantastic,” Downing said. “In the third quarter we lost it though. We were only up by 19 at one point. In the fourth quarter we really picked it back up and we finished the game winning by 39.”
Haley England led all scorers with 17 points. Burak tossed in 15 and Lydon had 14 in limited playing time. Downing chipped in with 13, including a team-high three three-pointers from her guard position.
The Skyhawks had unfinished business against their city rivals after the Blues pulled off a shocking 75-66 semifinal win last year at the SkyDome.
“I don’t think we were prepared for that game. This year we definitely did a lot of mental stuff and we came out strong and got the victory,” Downing said. “We wanted to prove ourselves and show them that we are a very good team.”
Woolley, 17, sank three of the Blues’ five three-pointers in the second half. The Grade 12 guard also scored 12 of her team-leading 14 points after halftime.
Josee Larson pumped in 10 and Tiana Woyewitka added eight for the 6-5 Blues.
“We didn’t hit very many of our shots in the first half. I don’t think it was nerves, we were just rushing our shots a little bit, but we started hitting them in the second half,” Woolley said. “They’re probably the most physical team in our league and we’ve got to get used to getting hit as we go up to the basket and look to finish better.”
In December the Skyhawks whipped the Blues by 50 points at the SkyDome.
“We played better as a team this game. We were a little more prepared,” Woolley said.
FREE THROWS: The Skyhawks are ranked first in the eight-team Edmonton zone elimination tournament. Their first game is Tuesday against the No. 8 team at the SkyDome.
Two teams will advance to the March 15 to 17 provincials in Camrose. The Skyhawks are shooting for their eighth straight trip to provincials as zone champions for the sixth year in a row.
In 3A men’s draw the Skyhawks are expected to play their first zone game Tuesday at home. The Skyhawks are ranked seventh in 3A as the second-highest Edmonton team listed in the top 10. The Skyhawks finished 6-4 in premier after several seasons in the city conference. In the premier quarter-final the Skyhawks fell 89-47 to the ninth-ranked 4A St. Francis Xavier Rams in Edmonton.
