WESTLOCK – R.F. Staples School’s (RFS) junior varsity girls basketball team mined silver at their three-team home tournament, falling to the Parkland Pacers from Edson in the Saturday-night final.
The two-day event hosted at RFS Feb. 3-4 saw the home team square off against the Pacers and the Hilltop Chargers from Whitecourt, while a fourth team, Holy Rosary School from Edmonton, did not attend.
The T-Birds started Friday afternoon with a tough, four-point loss to Chargers, 36-32, then dropped a 36-15 decision to the Pacers later that night. The girls rebounded Saturday, beating the Chargers 31-19 before falling 46-27 in the gold medal game to the Pacers.
Head coach Lane Ramey said it was “a good weekend” and told his team to “walk out with your heads high.”
“We’re obviously coming in looking for gold, especially at home with the parents in the stands. It’s a tough loss but I think we’re definitely getting better,” said Ramey. “I think that silver proves how much better we’re getting better.”
Ramey noted several positives from the event that speak to both his team’s performance on the court and their progress this season.
“I think we were the best defensive team in the gym in all of our games, and that’s something we’ve really spent a lot of time working on this year, was our defence,” he said. “We came into the season very flat-footed, pretty slow on our feet and that’s something I’m really proud of the girls for turning around this weekend.”
While there are still areas to work on at the other end of the floor, Ramey said “game experience is the best way to get better.”
“Every time they get on the court, they get better so really at this point in the season we’re just trying to get them on the court as much as we can,” he said.
The girls will participate in two more tournaments to close out their season then head to Red Deer in early March to compete for the zone title.
