The St. Albert Skyhawks refuse to lose.
Undefeated in 14 games, the No. 1-ranked 4A high school women’s basketball team in the province is a super strong 22-5 overall with a maximum of eight games remaining in its quest for Hoop Dreams.
“What an opportunity we have as a team, but we have to take it game by game,” said Kaya Vandermeer, a Grade 12 forward with the championship contenders. “Every game counts. We can’t assume that just because we’re number one that we’re going to finish number one. We have to play for it like any other team.”
Last year’s metro Edmonton division one winners are 9-0 in league play as the regular season wraps up tonight against the Paul Kane Blues at 6:30 p.m. at the SkyDome.
The outcome will determine where the top three teams – Skyhawks, Paul Kane (8-1) and Jasper Place Rebels (7-1) – are slotted in the standings with the quarter-finals on tap Monday. The final is March 2 at 5 p.m. at Ross Sheppard.
Provincials for the 2018 4A bronze medallists start March 14 at Jasper Place.
“We definitely have to play harder and stronger. We’ve got to be playing our game and not anybody else’s game,” Vandermeer said.
The Skyhawks maintained their lofty status as the team to beat in the second of three Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association ranking periods. The last rankings come out Feb. 28.
The Skyhawks and the No. 6 Rebels are the only metro Edmonton teams in the top 10.
“Honestly, it’s amazing. Absolutely,” Vandermeer said of the team’s second-straight No. 1 ranking. “But we can’t let it run our game. We’ve got to keep our heads focused.”
The Bishop Carroll Cardinals are No. 2 and the Centennial Coyotes are No. 3. Both teams are from Calgary and last year Centennial defeated Bishop Carroll by seven points in the provincial final.
The Skyhawks and Bishop Carroll split two games this season after the Cardinals knocked off the St. Albert Catholic High School squad by 11 points in the 2018 provincial semifinals.
Of course, there is no bigger game for the Skyhawks than the Battle of St. Albert against Paul Kane, 17-7 overall as a 4A honourable mention. Tonight’s showdown is shaping up to be a doozy after the Skyhawks rocked Paul Kane’s world 84-40 in the Jan. 12 final of the Paul Kane Invitational.
The first of two losses in a row for the Skyhawks was 79-75 in double overtime against Paul Kane in the semifinals of the 37th annual REB Invitational Dec. 14 at Jasper Place. The next day, the Skyhawks fell to the Rebels 66-52 in the third-place game, which was also the team’s last loss.
The Skyhawks were missing three major players – Teá DeMong, Annacy Palmer and Morgan Harris – during the REB tournament because of commitments with the women’s national age-group assessment camps in Toronto.
The pressure is on the Skyhawks and Paul Kane to rise to the challenge tonight in front of what is projected to be the largest turnout of fans for any high school basketball or football game in St. Albert this season.
The Skyhawks have to keep proving they are the real deal while Paul Kane is seeking revenge for its disappointing performance in the 44-point tournament loss.
“Because it’s our last game (before playoffs) I think we’re all a little bit nervous. This is a big one,” Vandermeer said. “Obviously, PK is good competition year-round. They’ve been practising to beat us and we’ve been practising to beat them so it’s zero-zero and we’ll see who it goes to.”
Mimi Sigue, an imposing Grade 11 post, is a game-time decision after missing the last few games with an undisclosed injury.
Last weekend the Skyhawks hosted their No Frills tournament with no brackets and every team knew who they were playing.
The first game for the Skyhawks was 84-44 against the Medicine Hat Kwahommies, a 4A honourable mention.
Period scores were 20-10, 36-25 and 70-33.
A sketchy-looking score sheet listed DeMong and with 19 points, followed by 17 for Kamryn DeKlerk, 12 for Palmer and 10 for Bella Cuciz.
The last contest was 89-31 over the Lindsay Thurber Raiders of Red Deer as the Skyhawks posted leads of 26-9 after the first quarter, 54-17 at halftime and 75-27 after three quarters.
DeMong wired five three-points for 20 points in total. Palmer also netted 20 and Harris added 10 as the Skyhawks continued their winning ways for the 14th game in a row.
“I don’t look at it like a winning streak. I think it’s just us working hard for what we want. We’re meshing well, we’re getting everything done and doing what needs to be done. Obviously, our team has very skilled players and sometimes skill and team bonding is something that separates teams so having skill and having a good team dynamic actually improves any team as whole,” said Vandermeer, who is joined by Cuciz and Kyleigh Kornak as the only Grade 12s on the roster that includes five returning players – Cuciz didn’t play last season because of an injury – and six Grade 10s.
“We all get along super well and we all mesh well on the court together. We also go hard in practice, too. We work for it,” said Vandermeer, 17, an underrated glue player coming off the bench with strong leadership skills.
FREE THROWS: Setting the stage for tonight’s female rivalry game is the 5 p.m. division two men’s tilt between the Skyhawks (4-5) and Paul Kane (10-0).
The Skyhawks are tied for sixth in the standings and the last game before the playoffs is Thursday against the Memorial Marauders (2-6) at 6:30 p.m. in Stony Plain.
Paul Kane is 18-2 overall after losing two out of three games at the recent Western Canada tournament in Calgary.
The quarter-finals tip off Monday and the final is March 1 at 8 p.m. at Ross Sheppard.
