The Predators are on to provincials.
Edwin Parr Compositeís senior girls basketball team won the zone championships on the weekend in Edson, and their gold medals are also tickets to this weekendís provincial championships in Strathmore.
ìEveryoneís really excited,î said one member of the team, Janaya Reimer.
ìWeíre going in (to provincials) ready and focused.î
The Predators were zone champions last year as well, and made it to provincials only to finish out of the medal round. This year they are determined to do better according to Reimer.
ìWe can definitely do better. We know how highly competitive the games are, and weíve played a lot of the teams that are going, so we know what to expect.î
Reimer and her teammates already proved they belong among the provinceís top teams with their big win at zones.
They started their march to the championship with a 70-27 beating of Barrhead.
ìIt was a good warm-up game for the girls,î noted head coach Wade Hicks.
Their second game, the semi-final, was against Westlockís R.F. Staples, and was closer. But it was still a relatively lopsided victory for the Predators (22 points).
When the teamís top scorers got off to a slow start in that game, the bench players picked up the slack according to the coach.
ìOur second unit kids went in and absolutely dismantled them for a few minutes,î said Hicks. ìItís really nice that we have the benefit of a bench thatís generally a little stronger than most teamís benches.î
For the second year in a row, the Predators met Morinville in the final game, and they defeated them to become zone champions. This time they dropped their rivals by 24 points.
ìThey beat us the last time we played them and dropped us in the provincial rankings a bit. The girls were fairly fired up to play against them,î noted Hicks.
In the final game, the EPC girls pushed the play on both sides of the ball and wrapped up a great weekend with a great effort.
ìThey played a real complete weekend,î said the coach.
The team leaves for provincials on Wednesday, with the goal of improving on last yearís 11th place finish.
They are seeded fifth going into the tournament, so they have a good opportunity to do just that.
ìI think weíre in a good spot for the girls to make a little bit of a push at provincials,î said Hicks. ìItís nice that we have a lot of girls who were already there last year; their nerves wonít be as much of a factor.î
The higher seed means EPC will be playing teams on the lower end of the draw in their first games, but they know that no weak teams make it to provincials so theyíll have to earn every point they get.
With eight Grade 12 girls on the team, itís the last chance for a good portion of the lineup to win a big event.
ìLast year they were just really happy to make it (to provincials). This year they want to do something while weíre there. Weíre more confident than we were last year. Theyíre excited to have a chance to make a push at provincials, and hopefully that excitement carries over to the first couple of games.î
