The R.F. Staples senior girls’ team struggled with slow starts at an invitational tournament in Athabasca over the Dec. 13-14 weekend.
T-Birds coach Rod Carlyon said they have been going to the Athabasca tournament for many years now, adding that they are guaranteed three games no matter what.
Carlyon said they had a bit of a theme going with their performance at the tournament, wherein they or their opponents would fall behind early in a match and then have a challenge getting back.
He said they started their three games relatively early, first playing and losing to Eastglen High School, a team out of Edmonton, by the very close score of 44-39.
Carlyon said they had a few chances in the final quarter to overtake their opponents but couldn’t capitalize on them. “We had them quite worried,” he noted.
In their second match, the senior girls played Barrhead Composite High School after a one-match break.
Again, the T-Birds fell behind their rivals from down the road and ended up losing 48-45. Westlock also had Barrhead quite worried, though they couldn’t capitalize on their scoring chances.
Carlyon noted they have been trying to play everyone on the roster while figuring out how everyone contributes.
In their third and final match, the T-Birds went against another zone team, Drayton Valley. This time, Drayton Valley fell behind Westlock and were unable to come back, ultimately losing 50-24.
Carlyon said Drayton Valley didn’t handle the ball as well as Westlock did during the match.
Looking ahead, he said they’re quite thankful to have a full roster on hand, noting they are a relatively new team and this was their first tournament of the season.
With Christmas holidays now underway, he said the girls are off now well into the new year.
The R.F. Staples senior boys’ basketball team scored one win and suffered two losses at an Athabasca tournament over the Dec. 13-14 weekend, which was also their first tournament of the year.
T-Birds captain Kirby Kohlsmith said their first game was against Eastglen, out of Edmonton. This was a bigger school with taller players than the R.F. Staples squad and a wider bench, he indicated.
Eastglen jumped out early and “were beating us really bad,” said Kohlsmith, but the T-Birds managed to recover and narrow their lead. Though they couldn’t pull it out at the end, the game ended up being decided by a relatively close score.
Even though they lost, Kohlsmith said that first match with Eastglen showed what the team is really capable of.
“We definitely have a lot of potential this year,” he said. “That first game showed what we can do.”
The T-Birds netted their one victory in their second match versus Edson. Kohlsmith noted that Edson was a zone team, so a win over them was important.
However, the Westlock team finally hit a wall in their third match versus Cold Lake, which ended in a sizeable loss. Kohlsmith admitted they should have won that match, but they made a lot of mental errors.
“We just had a lot of seniors come out not focused. A lot of guys went out the night before,” he said.
Kohlsmith said they worked hard during their next practice to get back to where they should be playing. He noted their rookies got a lot of good minutes during the Athabasca tournament.
This was their first tournament of the year. The R.F. Staples team is now off until 2015, with their first action taking place in Edson during their first week back.
