The St. Albert Skyhawks practiced their plays to perfection during Monday’s 66-point margin of victory in Metro Edmonton premier women’s basketball.
In the league opener the two-time defending 3A provincial gold medallists held the Sturgeon Spirits to a single field goal in the second quarter while building up a 54-11 halftime lead that they extended to 75-23 after three quarters and 98-32 by the final whistle.
“It was a good game for us to run our plays. It was especially good for our rookies. They were able to learn them and we were able to help them go through them,” said Grade 11 forward Paige Knull after the blowout in Namao. “We were also able to run against them and push the ball hard so we did pretty much what we wanted to do.”
In a classy move after Knull pulled down her team-leading 16th rebound, the Skyhawks iced the ball in the dying seconds instead of shooting for triple digits on the scoreboard.
“At the end we just passed it around because that was the right thing to do,” said Knull.
The second-year Skyhawk led all scorers with 24 points. She set the tone with several baskets after the opening tip off while draining 14 points in the first half.
All but one Skyhawk on the 11-player roster scored points in the team’s fifth win in six games this season. Kendall Lydon popped in two three-pointers and 18 points overall. Haley England added 16 and Amber Easthope had 10.
“We’ve been gradually getting better and working as a team more. Our communication is better. We know where our place is on the floor now and what our roles on the team are,” said Knull.
This is her first year as a starter after giving the Skyhawks a big boost coming off the bench as a rookie. The five-foot-eight defensive demon has contributed offensively as a reliable scorer.
“It’s definitely great to be able to start because it’s such a high calibre team,” said Knull, 16, who joined the Skyhawks after playing junior high hoops at Meridian Heights School in Stony Plain.
Tonight at 6:15 p.m. the Skyhawks host the Leduc Tigers. The Tigers are coming off a 64-62 loss to the Paul Kane Blues on Monday in Leduc.
Thursday at 2 p.m. the Skyhawks play the Holy Cross Crusaders of Saskatoon at the 30th annual REB Invitational Basketball Tournament at Jasper Place High School. The Skyhawks are on the same side of the draw as 4A powers Harry Ainlay Titans and Western Canada Redmen of Calgary.
“When we have harder competition we push ourselves so it will be good to see how we end up against the other teams in the province,” Knull said.
In their first tournament the Skyhawks lost the final of the Mike Dea Classic by 17 points to the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns of Regina.
“They were a real hard team and it was good to be able to play against them. We realized that we can’t underestimate any team and we have to go in on equal ground and show our game to them,” Knull said.
FREE THROWS: The Skyhawks defeated Sturgeon 74-69 in Monday’s premier men’s lid-lifter in Namao. The next game for the Skyhawks is against Leduc today at 4:45 p.m. at the SkyDome.
The Paul Kane senior men improved to 6-1 after blasting Leduc 102-49 Monday on the road to start the premier schedule. The 2011 premier champions visit the Oscar Romero Ravens today at 4:45 p.m.
