O'Leary High School – Saturday's sweet repeat by the Paul Kane Blues was the second metro Edmonton basketball championship in school history for the premier junior girls.
"They're both amazing," exclaimed Grade 11 forward Devon Beaulieu. "All championships take heart and both teams definitely had heart."
Led by Beaulieu's 20 points, the Blues overpowered the Salisbury Sabres 73-40 for the premier crown.
"I didn't know it was possible to win championships two years in a row with different teams because it's really unlikely," Beaulieu said. "I've seen teams go from the top to the bottom within two years so for us to keep it steady is amazing, especially for Paul Kane. Now we're the only two teams to hold two titles in our school."
The outcome was never in doubt as the Blues bolted into leads of 20-9 after the first quarter, 38-16 at halftime and 59-28 after three quarters.
"It means everything to us to keep the tradition going. This is what we've worked for these five months," said Melissa Woolley, a spunky Grade 10 guard who drained 13 points in the final. "It especially means a lot to the Grade 11s. It's great to help them get the repeat."
Beaulieu, 16, and Grade 11 energy player Annika Nelson are holdovers from last year's 13-1 Blues in premier.
"It's like two different teams. You can't even compare them," Beaulieu said.
This year's squad suffered only two losses — the final of the Scona Junior Classic against the Centennial Coyotes of Calgary and in league play against the O'Leary Spartans 39-31 Jan. 5.
"Everything that has happened to us, even our losses, have helped us win," Beaulieu said. "We've stayed strong and we worked past things. We've had a whole bunch of injuries but we just kept working together and we surmounted every other team in the league."
The Blues equalled last year's record against the third-place Sabres (8-4), who upset the second-place Spartans (10-2) by 24 points for a berth in the final.
In league play the Blues defeated the Sabres 58-45 Dec. 15 at Paul Kane and 50-34 Feb. 25 at Sherwood Park.
"We knew it would be a hard game because they beat O'Leary, who we lost to in the regular season, but it wasn't hanging over us too strongly," Woolley said. "When we play as a team we know we can beat anyone."
The Blues whipped up 12 consecutive points in the second quarter to lead the rattled Sabres by 21.
"We were fired up. We really wanted it," said Beaulieu, the team's top scorer in the first half with eight.
A well-balanced attack featured six different scorers in the first quarter. Nine Blues finished the game with points.
"Everyone is strong on our team. There is not a single weak player. Everyone does their part," said Woolley, the MVP at the REB Invitational at Jasper Place in December for the tournament-winning Blues. "A lot of it comes from our captains helping us realize that we can't take a day off. We have to keep playing our game and we can't sink to anyone else's game."
Nelson, a tenacious guard with speed to burn, wired a three-pointer early in the game and closed out the win with another three-ball for 10 points.
Stephanie Grice added seven and Brooke Bell had eight for the champs.
"We have so many really great shooters," said Woolley, 15, a bundle of energy who made plays all over the court. "I was extremely pumped today. I wanted to do really well for my team."
Leading up the playoffs the Blues were victorious at the St. Francis Xavier High School tournament. It was the second title in three tourneys for the juniors.
"The girls had an awesome season," said coach Natasha Hutchinson. "We were short in stature but made up for it in speed. There was a lot of depth on the team and all my players received close to equal playing time. I felt confident in all my players, which made it hard to pick a starting line-up because any of them could have been in it.
"The whole team had a tremendous work ethic and it was a pleasure to coach these girls."
Premier boys
For the fourth year in a row, Paul Kane's junior boys lost the metro league's premier final.
The 63-52 score flattered the Blues. They trailed the O'Leary Spartans 17-11 after the first quarter, 28-23 at halftime and 45-34 after three quarters at O'Leary High School.
The Spartans scored the last eight points in the opening period and closed out the half with a three-ball to go up by five. In the third quarter they racked up 10 unanswered points in two minutes and 37 seconds, including back-to-back threes that pretty much sealed Paul Kane's fate.
Hyrum Sutton was the top scorer for Paul Kane with 13 points, including a team-high seven in the first half. Big man Adam Sturgess added 10 points. Kyle Watkins came off the bench to tack up seven points in the fourth quarter.
The Blues also lost the 2007 and 2008 finals to the Spartans. In last year's final the Christ The King Chargers upset the Blues 58-49.
In league play in pool B the Spartans placed first at 7-0 and the Blues were second at 6-1. Paul Kane's only loss was against the Spartans, 60-49 Jan. 5 at O'Leary.
In the semifinals the Blues knocked off the Bev Facey Falcons, the top team in pool A at 8-1, by a score of 61-53 at Sherwood Park.
