WESTLOCK – Second-place finishes were in the cards for both R.F. Staples School’s senior boys and girls basketball teams at the 3A North Central Zone championships, March 11-13.
R.F. Staples School hosted the seven-team girls tournament, which saw the T-Birds go undefeated with wins over Whitecourt and Barrhead until the final, which they dropped 60-58 to the Morinville Wolves. The boys, meanwhile, were on the road in Athabasca and suffered a similar fate after running to a 2-0 mark with wins over Drayton Valley and Parkland before falling in the final to Morinville 64-43.
“I thought we did a really good job yesterday of staying engaged in the game because we got down early and we were fighting back all game,” said senior girls coach Wade Hicks. “The girls could have easily given up at any time during that game, but they just kept playing and kept going.”
Despite being down, the girls kept the score close, especially in the last quarter. As the clock ticked down, the T-Birds took control and managed to net a couple of baskets, including a couple of free throws to bring the game to within two points.
“We finally started making plays in that last quarter and managed to bring that game back where we had a chance to tie or win,” said Hicks, noting the girls got the ball back with just two seconds remaining in the game. “We gave ourselves a chance to come back and take that game. I was really impressed with their resilience.”
The senior boys also fought their way to the zone finals, where they too faced Morinville Community High School in the gold medal matchup.
”Morinville plays a really tough game, they press hard,” said boys coach Jay MacIntyre. “Our boys played their hearts out. We just had some open looks that we missed and didn’t finish when we could have. We were right with them – the score didn’t tell the game for sure, and we just missed some open looks that we needed to hit.”
MacIntyre noted his club’s development throughout the year, adding they ranked second in zone after the regular season.
“It was a good season. We went to a few tournaments… played some teams in the Top 10 for all of Alberta for 3A schools and faired pretty well,” said MacIntyre. “We played some tough competition. It was a good learning curve for the boys for sure.”
Hicks said the senior girls were disappointed with their loss after battling all year to earn a spot at provincials — at one point in the year the club was ranked fourth in the province.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. The last three games that we played with Morinville were decided by five points — it was two points, one point and two points in our last three games,” he said, adding that despite the loss, they have much to be proud of. “I’m hoping that they also feel very proud of what they’ve accomplished… I’ve been in the zone for 20 years and this has been the first year that R.F. Staples has ever been a provincially-ranked team.”
Both coaches are looking forward to next season, although they will have different outlooks for each team, with more veterans and more experience for the girls, while the boys will focus on rebuilding.
“Ten of them were in Grade 12, so it was a little bit of a devasting loss for some of the Grade 12s because that’s the end of their (high school) basketball career,” said MacIntyre.
Added Hicks: “We’ve got some very, very solid basketball players that are coming back next year and we’ll be in the mix again next year for sure. It really does help, the fact that the players got to experience the level that they played at this year. I think that will be huge for them moving forward.”
