WESTLOCK —The R.F. Staples Thunderbirds Invitational on Dec. 15-16 proved to be a mostly successful weekend for the two home teams, as the girls finished in second while the boys earned third place.
The two-day basketball tournament hosted at R.F. Staples School also featured St. Mary School, Barrhead Composite High School, Pembina North Community School, Neerlandia Public Christian School, Edson, Onoway and a St. Albert team.
R.F. Staples Division 1 girls’ team coach Rilayna Pidsadowski said she was proud of how the girls were coming together as a team.
“The (Grade) 8s and 9s have been working hard together to learn a lot of new things and try some new things in their games,” she said. “They have a really good team spirit and I really appreciate that as a coach.”
The Thunderbirds started out the weekend by defeating the St. Mary girls on Dec. 15, followed by a victory over Barrhead on the morning of Dec. 16.
In the championship final that afternoon, they faced Edson, who ended up winning 61-34.
Pidsadowski indicated this match marked the R.F. Staples girls’ first time this year going up against a full-court press outside of practice.
“That put us behind right at the beginning, and it was tough to try and fight back. But I was very proud that the girls were playing much stronger defence by the end of the game. We were holding them to fewer baskets, and we had gotten back to the way we had wanted to play.”
This was not the girls' first tournament of the year; they also played at a tournament in Morinville on Dec. 8-9, which ended with them earning a silver medal.
Boys bronze
Meanwhile, the R.F. Staples Division 1 (black) team started out the weekend with a victory over St. Mary School on Friday, but went up against stiff competition in their second match with the Barrhead Gryphons on Saturday and ultimately lost.
They finished out the weekend with a bronze medal match against Onoway, who they beat fairly handily.
Coach Jessica Stevens said the boys were playing well but they have to work on their teamwork.
"We’ve got lots to learn; we have to work on our offence and passing the ball and recognizing that we’re a team,” she said.
She said half of the team played together last year while the rest are new, though a lot of them play volleyball together.
“We’ve got to keep working hard and working together. Hopefully we will have a successful season as we continue,” she said.
Both the boys and girls are off for the Christmas holidays and the first couple weeks of the new year, but will resume action with a basketball tournament at Barrhead on Jan. 19-20.
