Raymond teams advance in 4A zone competition

By Garrett Simmons
Westwind Weekly News

It was a classic battle Tuesday night in Raymond.

In the end, the third-ranked Comets downed the sixth-ranked Magrath Zeniths 87-69 to advance to tonight’s 4A South Zone Tournament semifinal against Lethbridge Collegiate Institute. The 9 p.m. game will decide one of this year’s zone finalists, as Medicine Hat and Cardston will battle at 7 p.m. to determine the other finalist.

Losers of tonight’s semifinals tilts will head to Friday’s consolation semifinals, Friday at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. The 4A zone third-place game is set for Saturday at 4 p.m., with the championship game at 8 p.m. All games are at the University of Lethbridge.

In Raymond’s win over Magrath, Jeter Heggie had a game-high 35 points, as Drake Still added 14 and Shae Gibb scored 13 for Raymond.

Garrett Stock paced the Magrath attack with 23, while Colton Finck added 17.

On the girls side of the draw, top-ranked Magrath will take on LCI tonight at 5 p.m. at the U of L, while third-ranked Raymond will take on second-ranked Cardston today at 3 p.m.

The Comets advanced to the zone semifinal after Tuesday night’s 82-41 win over sixth-ranked Catholic Central.

Saige Gibb led Raymond with 30, while Haely Lamontagne had 13 and Kyla Bohne added 11.

Thursday’s semifinals set up the next round of games, as the losers of those contests move to Friday’s consolation semis, set for 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Saturday’s 4A girls zone play wraps up with the third-place game at 2 p.m. and the final at 6 p.m.

But before the zone champs are crowned, the Southern Alberta High School Basketball League regular season wrapped up on the weekend, as Cardston earned bragging right with a 13-1 record. Raymond finished fourth at 10-4, while Magrath ended tied with Chinook High School at 4-10.

The Comets defeated Winston Churchill 132-82 on Friday and dropped a tight 99-97 decision Saturday to Cardston.

Shae Gibb poured in 24 against Winston, as Payson Hill and Brady Baines added 16 each. Boston Harker and Liam Davison both scored 15, while Ryker Davison chipped in with 10.

Gibb had a 32-point outing against Cardston, while Liam Davison added 17, Baines scored 11 and Harker added 10.

Magrath capped off the season with an 81-79 win Friday over Chinook, followed by a 74-72 victory over Catholic Central.

Mason Stock led the Zeniths with 16 against Chinook, as a balanced Magrath attack saw Colton Finck add 15, Cody Tollestrup contribute 13 and Levi Gruninger with 12.

Stock’s 16 led all Magrath scorers against CCH, as Finck added 15 and Gruninger chipped in with 14.

The Magrath Pandas capped off a perfect 14-0 regular season with Saturday’s 78-58 win over W.R. Myers, thanks to a 21-point effort by Montana Berezay. Jenna Taylor added 10 in the win.

Raymond settled for third in the standings with a 9-5 record after a 78-57 win Friday over CCH and Saturday’s 76-60 loss to Cardston.

Haely Lamontagne and Saige Gibb each scored 21 in Raymond’s victory, while Kelby Terry had 11.

Gibb was the only Comet in double figures against Cardston, as she recorded 21 points.

In terms of 1A zones, the top-ranked Stirling Lakers took on ninth-ranked Warner last night in boys play. With a win, the Lakers would advance to Friday’s zone semifinal game at 5 p.m. on Court A at Lethbridge College.

In girls action, the top-ranked Lakers defeated eighth-ranked St. Mike’s 70-33. Sadie Nelson led Stirling with 26 points, as Savannah McKee had 23. Halle Smith poured in 10. The win pushes Stirling into Thursday’s semifinal at 8:30 p.m. on Court A at the college.

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