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St. Albert Skyhawks 31-1 overall as playoff champions in women's basketball

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THE DOMINATORS – The St. Albert Skyhawks continued their season of excellence with a three-peat performance in the metro Edmonton division one playoffs. The Skyhawks are 31-1 overall after blowing away the Jasper Place Rebels 84-48 in Saturday's final at Ross Sheppard High School. The win was the 25th in a row in league and tournament action as the Skyhawks finished 14-0 in division one. The Skyhawks are the first women's basketball team to celebrate three consecutive division one championships since the 2002-05 O’Leary Spartans won four-straight premier conference (now division one) finals before the merger of the metro and Edmonton public leagues in the 2013/14 season. JEFF HANSEN/St. Albert Gazette

Ross Sheppard – St. Albert’s version of the greatest show on earth pulled off another awestruck performance in high school women’s basketball.

The Skyhawks brought down the house in Saturday’s 84-48 decisive beatdown of the Jasper Place Rebels in the metro Edmonton division one final while confirming their reputation as the overwhelming favourites to repeat as provincial champions.

“It solidifies us as the team that we think we are,” declared Grade 12 playmaker Kamryn DeKlerk during a chaotic post-game celebration involving players, fans and parents in the corner of the gymnasium while organizers tried in vain to shoo everybody away so the next metro league final could commence.

The 31-1 Skyhawks were firing on all cylinders in the last tune-up before the 4A provincials start March 19 in Lethbridge.

“Everybody is so pumped. We’re so ready to go do it,” DeKlerk said. “We can do whatever we put our minds to. If we want it that bad we can go get it.”

The only St. Albert women’s basketball team to capture the 4A provincial crown is determined to do it again.

“Of course we can. We’re the only ones that can make us lose,” Mimi Sigue, a commanding Grade 12 post presence, said with a reassuring smile. “It’s all on us to play our best game and we’ll win it for sure.”

Teá DeMong, the razor-sharp Grade 12 Skyhawk who led all scorers in the final with 16 points, was equally as confident as her teammates.

“We can do it. We come ready we’re going to do it,” said DeMong, her voice crackling with emotion while clutching the Grads Memorial Trophy after the division one three-peat.

“It’s crazy. There’s literally no words for it, from being the underdogs when we started this to where we are now,” said DeMong, who was joined by DeKlerk and Sigue to receive the championship banner as the only third-year Skyhawks on the team.

“It’s crazy. We never thought we would be here and to here three times now is unreal,” DeKlerk added.

The previous finals were also victories against the Rebels by scores of 69-49 last year at Ross Sheppard and 68-58 in 2018 at Jasper Place.

“This is about making an impression on Edmonton. We’re St. Albert and we wanted to three-peat,” Sigue said.

Honour roll

The Skyhawks are in select company as the first women’s basketball team to string together three division one championships in a row since the 2002-05 O’Leary Spartans won four-straight premier conference (now division one) finals before the merger of the metro and Edmonton public leagues in the fall of 2013.

In year seven at the 4A provincial level after a record breaking four-straight 3A provincial championships, the Skyhawks continued the tradition of greatness for the St. Albert Catholic High School women’s basketball program in the ninth final in 11 years and the previous banner seasons were 2010, 2012 and 2013. The Skyhawks also finished second best in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

The last non-final was 2017 as division one semifinalists and 4A provincial consolation winners.

The Skyhawks were also the 4A bronze medallists in 2014 and 2018 before going 30-5 as last year’s gold medallists.

This year’s Skyhawks have been virtually unbeatable – 14-0 in division one and 17-1 in six tournaments – and the only hiccup was 76-68 against the No. 2-ranked 4A Western Canada Redhawks of Calgary in the Dec. 13 semifinal at the REB Invitational at Jasper Place to end a 28-game winning streak that included 22 straight last season.

“That’s a pretty decent record. I’d like it to be 32-0, but whatever,” DeMong said.

The Skyhawks thrive on the intensive pressure of living up to the lofty expectations as the team to beat.

“Oh, for sure we do. Even having people cheer against us just fires us up,” DeMong said.

Domination

The 25th consecutive victory for the Skyhawks was the slam-dunk statement game against the No. 4-ranked Rebels, 26-5 overall with 12 returnees, including Grade 12 starter Haley Fedick who didn’t play last season because of a lower-body injury, from the 24-9 lineup of no Grade 12s, eight Grade 11s and four Grade 10s.

“We wanted to play harder and be the best team out there. That’s the mentality we came out here with and we did that,” said Sigue, 17, who is committed to the Victoria Vikes next season.

The last two finals were against the Rebels: 65-40 in the Feb. 19 first-place showdown at Jasper Place and 73-41 in last year’s 4A provincial semifinal at Jasper Place.

The third final was a forgone conclusion during a 16-point romp to make it 20-1 with under three minutes left in the first quarter and the majority of the points were scored off turnovers as the Skyhawks battened down the hatches defensively.

“I think we surprised them a little bit. We tried to play fast paced because we knew they had bigger players than we did so we just tried to win the race down the court,” DeMong said.

Six players contributed offensively during the 25-8 runaway in the first quarter, highlighted by three-pointers from DeKlerk and Maya Flindall, a rookie Skyhawk who was responsible for seven points in the 10-minute frame and 14 in total on the strength of three three-balls.

DeMong’s layup off her own steal 27 seconds into the next quarter triggered another scoring spree in the opening three minutes as Isabella Valerio sank a three, DeMong finished off a slick pass by DeKlerk and Dakota Wedman worked the ball inside for a basket before the Rebels replied with a free throw.

Done deal

The Skyhawks continued to lower the boom on the Rebels to seal the deal at 42-19 at halftime.

However, the second half wasn’t up to the Skyhawks’ lofty standards as the Rebels managed to produced 20 points in the third quarter for a somewhat respectable 66-39 score with one period to go.

“It was pretty rough. We weren’t scoring at all, well we were scoring, but we weren’t scoring in the ways we wanted,” said DeMong, who registered seven points in the third quarter for 10 overall in the first half. “They had scouted us really well and it showed.”

Annacy Palmer’s 13 points were boosted by two threes, Sigue tacked up six of her 10 points in the first quarter and Rory Vandermeer added six.

The remarkable prime-time display of stellar shot making, highlight-reel passes and hardcore defence – the Skyhawks intercepted more passes than the school’s football team picked off last year – left the Rebels looking like deer in the headlights.

“We just played our game. We showed who we are,” said DeKlerk, who wound up with two threes and eight points, plus a whole bunch of assists in the final. “The difference really was our physicality They’re very tall so we came out and played physical and we didn’t let them get anything easy.”

DeKlerk, 17, credited the Rebels for making it difficult on the Skyhawks despite the 36-point margin of victory.

“They came out and played a really tough game. It was scrappy and it was good all the way to the end, even though the score was that big,” said the future Calgary Dino in university basketball.

The Skyhawks, with eight returnees from  their championship roster, have four games to win at provincials to duplicate last year’s extraordinary success.

“It’s exciting, especially for the seniors. It’s huge for us,” said DeMong, a prized recruit by the Canadian university champion Saskatchewan Huskies.

DeMong, 17, is also one of two Albertans out of 24 females from across the country selected to play in the sixth annual BioSteel All-Canadian high school game March 29 at Toronto.

DeKlerk and Sigue were among the original 153 females who were either Canadian born or enrolled in a Canadian institution nominated for the showcase event.

WEB SPORTS 1103 sky-14 featureFORCING THE ISSUE – Teá DeMong of the St. Albert Skyhawks harasses Haley Fedick of the Jasper Place Rebels in the metro Edmonton division one final Saturday at Ross Sheppard High School. DeMong sank a game-high 16 points in the 84-48 conquest as the Skyhawks three-peated to finish 14-0 in division one. The 25th consecutive victory in league and tournament action was also the 31st in 32 games for the defending 4A provincial champions. JOHN LUCAS/St. Albert Gazette
1103 sky-12 featureSKY HIGH – Kamryn DeKlerk of the St. Albert Skyhawks takes flight to distribute the ball against Jenna Karach's defensive coverage in Saturday's 84-48 triumph against the Jasper Place Rebels in the metro Edmonton division one final at Ross Sheppard High School. The No. 1-ranked 4A team in Alberta is 31-1 overall after three-peating as division one champions. JOHN LUCAS/St. Albert Gazette
WEB SPORTS 1103 sky feature-8DEFENSIVE ADVANTAGE – Mimi Sigue of the St. Albert Skyhawks is all over Jenna Rinsky of the Jasper Place Rebels in the metro Edmonton division one final Saturday at Ross Sheppard High School. Sigue scored 10 points in the 84-48 victory as the Skyhawks (14-0, 31-1 overall) three-peated as playoff champions. Rinsky led the Rebels (12-2, 26-5 overall) in scoring with nine points.JOHN LUCAS/St. Albert Gazette
1103 sky-15 featureREJECTION – Morgan Harris of the St. Albert Skyhawks denies Jenna Rinsky's scoring attempt for the Jasper Place Rebels in Saturday's metro Edmonton division one final. The Skyhawks three-peated by a score of 84-48 at Ross Sheppard High School. At halftime it was 42-19. In the 4A provincial rankings, the 31-1 Skyhawks are No. 1 and the 26-5 Rebels are No. 4.JOHN LUCAS/St. Albert Gazette
WEB SPORTS 1104 sky captains JH featureSENIOR SKYHAWKS – Grade 12 co-captains, from left, Kamryn DeKlerk, Teá DeMong and Mimi Sigue of the St. Albert Skyhawks display the championship banner and Grads Memorial Trophy as the metro Edmonton division one playoff winners during Saturday's post-game ceremony at Ross Sheppard High School. The Skyhawks are 14-0 in league play and 31-1 overall after the 84-48 victory against the Jasper Place Rebels. It's the third year in a row the Skyhawks beat the Rebels in the division one final as the trio contributed to the three-peat as well as the team's bronze medal in 2018 and gold medal in 2019 at 4A provincials.JEFF HANSEN/St. Albert Gazette
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