Skyhawks results
The St. Albert Skyhawks won two and then lost two in the first tournament of the season for the 2018 4A provincial bronze medallists.The metro Edmonton division one women’s champions competed at the District Four Invitational last weekend in Calgary and the scores were 92-16 against Notre Dame of Calgary and 88-32 against Mount Baker of Cranbrook before losses of 64-54 in the semifinal against Semiahmoo of South Surrey and 64-42 in the third-place game against the Bishop Carroll Cardinals of Calgary.
Semiahmoo is coached by Alison McNeill, the former national women’s team coach who oversees the practices but doesn’t travel. The team roster included a by a six-foot-four player committed to Florida State and four players off the U15 B.C. team that won nationals.
The Skyhawks were up by nine at the half but had to sit Grade 11 post Mimi Sigue with four fouls for the third quarter and first three minutes of the last period. Without the U17 Team Alberta player on the floor, as well as some missed open shots, the Skyhawks trailed by 10 after three quarters.
Semiahmoo went on to defeat the Jasper Place Rebels 78-40 in the final.
The Cardinals, the 4A silver medallists who beat the Skyhawks in the provincial semifinals, were led by U17 national team player Yvonne Ejim.
Some open looks also didn’t drop for the Skyhawks.
The Cardinals were coming off a 50-41 loss to Jasper Place, the metro division one finalist and fourth-place finisher at 4A provincials.
Teå DeMong, a 2018 Metro Athletics all-star and second-team All Canadian at the U17 nationals with Team Alberta, was named a tournament all-star.
Kamryn DeKlerk, another U17 provincial team player, was also a strong presence throughout the tournament.
The next tournament for the Skyhawks is this weekend in Victoria. The first game is against Britannia of east Vancouver and a win would set up a game against Langley’s Walnut Grove, the top preseason team in B.C.
Meanwhile, the Skyhawks’ men suffered a pair of losses to Calgary teams at the District Four Invitational: 93-32 to the Western Canada Redhawks and 75-63 to the E.P. Scarlett Lancers.
PK at Mike Dea
The Paul Kane Blues closed out the 21st annual Mike Dea Classic with Saturday’s 61-54 loss to the St. Joseph Guardians of Saskatoon in the third-place game at St. Francis Xavier Sports Centre.The halftime score was 29-21 for St. Joseph.
Raeesa Cherniwchan was Paul Kane’s player of the game with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Paul Kane, last year’s finalist and 2016 champion, tipped off its season-opening tournament with a 71-58 win against the Strathcona Lords followed by the 85-56 semifinal loss to the LeBoldus Golden Suns of Regina.
Ella Stanley, a U17 Team Alberta player along with Kaitlyn Kluttig, was Paul Kane’s leading scorer in the tournament with 51 points overall, plus 28 rebounds and six blocks.
Stanley is the only returning starter for the metro Edmonton division one semifinalists and 4A provincial consolation champions. Kluttig, the first player off the bench last season, joins Bella Gaulden as the team’s backcourt spark.
Cherniwchan, Kayleena Garda, Thandi Phillips and Chelsea Marko will also see an increase in minutes in their Grade 11 season.
Jules Froment leads all rookies with about 17 minutes per game while displaying impressive shooting and intelligent play.
Bailey Guppy, another rookie, saw her minutes increase during the weekend.
Gracie Reschke, who played junior the last two seasons, also contributed quality minutes in the tournament.
Senior team newcomers Paisley Reschke and Ashley Dennis are also learning to transition into the senior level basketball.
The next tournament is the 37th REB Invitational at Jasper Place High School and the first game for the 2017 champions is next Thursday against the Harry Ainlay Titans at 2 p.m. The St. Albert Skyhawks are on the same side of the draw as Paul Kane.
Spirits Rise Up
The Sturgeon Spirits are hooping it up as the Rise Up tournament hosts.The eight-team women’s draw starts Thursday at 12 noon with Sturgeon, the 2018 metro Edmonton division two champion and 10th-place team at 3A provincials, playing the Bellerose Bulldogs.
The first game for the Morinville Wolves, the sixth-place team at 3A provincials, is 11:45 a.m. Friday against the Holy Rosary Raiders of Lloydminster.
The eight-team men’s draw includes Sturgeon versus the Parkland Immanuel Christian Penguins at 2 p.m. Thursday, and on Friday it’s Morinville, the 10th-place team at 3A provincials, versus the Spruce Grove Panthers at 10 a.m. and Bellerose versus the Memorial Marauders at 11:45 a.m.
Saturday the consolation finals are 10 a.m. for the men and 11:45 a.m. for the women, the third-place games are 1:30 p.m. for the men and women, and the finals are 3:15 p.m. for the women and 5 p.m. for the men.
Bellerose hoops
The Bellerose Bulldogs rattled the rim at the 21st annual Mike Dea Classic.In the 16-team men’s draw, Bellerose lost 101-44 to the host St. Francis Xavier Rams, beat St. Francis of Calgary 82-60 and lost 93-68 to the O’Leary Spartans and 70-58 to the Holy Trinity Trojans.
The Rams, Spartans and Trojans played in the metro Edmonton division one league last season.
Bellerose has three returning players from the 2018 metro division two finalist.
Results for the lady Bulldogs in their 12-team draw were losses of 76-25 to the Rams and 40-33 to the Spartans and the 57-44 win over the Beaumont Bandits.
The lady Bulldogs, the metro division three finalists the last two seasons, have four players back.
