Basketball at PK
The undefeated Paul Kane Blues can make it 12 wins in a row tonight in high school men’s basketball.The metro Edmonton division two match against the Salisbury Sabres (2-0) tips off at 5 p.m. at Paul Kane.
The Blues are 3-0 in league play after Monday’s 86-68 decision against defending champion Spruce Grove Panthers (2-1) on the road.
The winning streak for the Blues includes a pair of division two play-in/ability games plus tournaments hosted by the Queen Elizabeth Knights and Strathcona Lords.
The second tournament triumph in as many weekends was at Strathcona as the Blues posted victories of 78-29 over the John Maland Wildcats of Devon, 78-72 against the Lords and 80-70 against the Edmonton Christian Lions in the final.
Jack MacPherson, the Queen Elizabeth tournament MVP, poured in 26 points and grabbed 20 rebounds and Ryan Holmes recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds against the Lions, a metro division one team along with the Lords.
Last season the Blues missed the division two playoffs with three wins.
Skyhawks results
Fourth place was the order of finish for the St. Albert Skyhawks at the 37th annual REB Invitational at Jasper Place High School.The Skyhawks fell behind early in the third-place match and were unable to catch the host Jasper Place Rebels in the 66-52 loss.
The Skyhawks trailed 16-12 at the end of the first quarter, 29-22 at halftime and 42-34 after three quarters.
The Rebels nailed five of their eight three-pointers in the second half.
Dani Nadeau deposited three of the three-balls as the team’s tournament all-star finished 21 points.
Izzy Valerio led the Skyhawks with 13 points on the strength of three three-pointers and Mimi Sigue added 11.
“We played really hard, but we didn’t hit our open shots,” said Valerio, a Grade 10 forward. “It all comes down to our defence, too.”
The Skyhawks, who beat the Rebels three times in 25 days in March that included the metro Edmonton division one final and bronze-medal playoff at the 4A provincials, looked like a team struggling to shake off the previous night’s 79-75 hangover from the double overtime loss to the Paul Kane Blues.
“We were missing three of our key players which is tough, but we did step up and we definitely could’ve beat them if our shots were hitting,” said Valerio of Teå DeMong, Annacy Palmer and Morgan Harris attending the women’s national age-group assessment camps in Toronto.
The Skyhawks let Paul Kane back into the tightly contested game too many times as the fourth quarter ended tied at 55 and after the first five-minute OT period it was deadlocked at 64.
Kamryn DeKlerk, a tournament all-star, and Sigue did the heavy lifting offensively as the semifinal wound down while finishing with 18 and 21 points, respectively,
“The first half we needed to play stronger and a lot better defence,” Valerio said. “The second half we stepped up and played better defence but it wasn’t enough.”
The Skyhawks started off the REB with the 74-46 result against the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Clippers.
“It was a really fun tournament. It was a great learning experience and I’m glad we know that if we miss three of our key players we can still play really hard and well,” said Valerio, 15.
The Skyhawks are 8-5 overall after their second league win, 87-41 over the host Spruce Grove Panthers (0-2) Monday.
Tonight in their home gym, the Skyhawks play the Bev Facey Falcons (2-1) at 6:30 p.m. after the metro division two men’s Skyhawks (1-2) entertain the Millwoods Christian Royals (0-2) at 5 p.m.
Wolves repeat
The Morinville Wolves successfully defended their Green & Gold Classic tournament title last weekend at Louis St. Laurent High School.In the final, the lady Wolves fell behind by 16 points as the Wetaskiwin Sabres hit five three-points in the opening quarter before closing the gap to 10 at halftime.
Led by Grade 12 guards Laura Stalzer and Jenna McKinney, the Wolves pulled to within five points after three quarters and eventually grabbed the lead for the first time on consecutive three-pointers by Leanne Van Brabant and Makayla Attfield.
A late three-pointer by the Sabres before the buzzer closed out the 59-56 victory by the Wolves.
The tournament opener was 64-24 against the host team’s lineup of mostly Grade 10s and the next game was 71-33 against the Beaverlodge Royals.
The 2018 North Central zone champions and sixth-place finishers at 3A provincials host their annual tournament Feb. 1-2.
Bulldogs at home
The Bellerose Bulldogs host the Bev Facey Falcons today in the metro Edmonton division two men’s league.Tipoff is 5:30 p.m. between the 1-2 teams.
Bellerose, the 2018 metro division two finalist, is coming off Monday’s 90-80 loss to the Memorial Marauders (1-1) in Stony Plain.
Meanwhile, the lady Bulldogs entered the Christmas break with a 2-1 record in the metro division three standings after Monday’s 55-38 setback to the Lillian Osborne Legends (2-1) in Edmonton.
