For the second year in a row, Edwin Parr Composite’s senior girls basketball team emerged as the champions of their home tournament.
The Predators played three games during the tournament, winning them all to earn the big trophy.
The team notched convincing wins over Cold Lake and St. Joseph’s from Edmonton before coming up against zone rival Morinville in the final, a game they won by a tight 37-32 score.
“Morinville is one of the top teams in our zone, and they should be provincially ranked again this year. It was nice to get a chance to see them early,” explained Predators head coach Wade Hicks.
Both teams had to overcome the absence of some key players in the final game, but it was the local girls who made the most of what they had.
“The bench we’ve got is pretty deep. We can roll a few more players than Morinville can, which helps us out in those games,” said the coach.
“I was very impressed with how our girls played. They came out really strong in all three of their games, and put their mark on the games early, which really helps.”
They also enjoyed home court advantage, and all the support that comes with it.
“The fans here are always fantastic. It’s always nice to play in front of them.”
In the tournament final against Morinville, the girls jumped out to the lead and didn’t look back, though the visitors proved to be more of a challenge than the Predators previous opponents. The game came down to the wire with Morinville pushing right to the end, but the local seniors held them off.
“Morinville is a good, solid team. It’s tough to hold them down forever. We hit some very timely shots, and got some good stops on defense.”
The girls are now 5-2 to start the season, with provincial rankings set to come out this week. They will look to improve on their ranking this weekend at a tournament in Spruce Grove.
“It’ll be a good test.”
