The St. Mary Sharks senior girls basketball team earned a fourth place finish, while the R.F. Staples junior varsity girls took home the consolation trophy at the 2016 Cathy Mitchell Cup played Feb. 19-20 at the Rotary Spirit Centre.
The St. Mary squad fell short in the bronze-medal game, while the T-Birds rebounded after an opening-game loss.
After falling to Hay Lakes in the semifinals, the Sharks were narrowly edged by Sherwood Park’s Archbishop Jordan Catholic High School in the bronze-medal game.
Coach Peter Molesky said despite the result, the team showed improvement.
“We have certainly gone beyond what our capabilities were at the beginning of the year. We’re playing much better than we were, we have more confidence and certainly with a lot more ability,” Molesky said.
“We’re not the best yet, but we’re moving along there.”
The Sharks opened the tourney with a 35-17 win over Fort Saskatchewan High School to move to championship bracket.
In the semifinals, the girls faced a Hay Lakes School squad and lost 52-25.
“This was the third time this year we’ve played Hay Lakes,” Molesky said.
“In the first game … the game was theirs in the first quarter. [Their coach] was playing her second-stringers at will.
“In this game, I felt we played against a team that wasn’t taking any liberties with us. They had to work hard … I think it’s evidence we’ve improved.”
In the bronze-medal game, the girls put up a valiant effort, but fell just short to Archbishop Jordan 43-34.
Molesky said it was a game that could have went either way.
“When you get over on the winning side, it’s a little harder to come out with a win [but] we did play well,” he said.
“There’s a difference between just playing and actually competing. When you feel like you’ve got something that you can offer in the game.”
The JV Thunderbirds posted a 2-1 record over the weekend that culminated with a win in the consolation title game.
Coach Debbie Gregoire said she was pleased with the team’s play and improvement.
“We’re happy. Our progress, we were doing all kinds of new things,” she said. “The girls were growing on the court, right before our eyes.”
In their opening match the Thunderbirds were silenced 55-21 by Rimbey Junior-Senior High School which sent them to the relegation bracket.
From there, the team responded with a 50-21 win over Redwater School.
Gregoire said the Thunderbirds responded well on Saturday after the tough loss to Rimbey on Friday night.
“They played good. [Saturday] I think we really shined. Our pressure, our defence, and our rebounding was great,” Gregoire said.
“We had some girls step up and make some three-pointers, that was really good.”
In the consolation finals, the girls posted a 37-28 win over Fort Saskatchewan.
