Magrath, Raymond and Stirling all set to compete in basketball provincials

By Garrett Simmons

Westwind Weekly News

The road to the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association 4A Provincial Championship will have to go through the Raymond Comets senior girls basketball team.

Raymond is ranked No. 1 for the tournament, which gets underway today at 9 a.m. for the Comets.

Edmonton’s Jasper Place High School will host the tournament, which will see the No. 1 Comets take on No. 16 Grande Prairie in the opener.

A win in that game would set up Raymond for a 6 p.m. game later today, against the winner of No. 8 Foothills and No. 9 Salisbury.

Raymond’s run to the final would then include a potential Friday semifinal at 2 p.m. and a Saturday championship game at 6 p.m.

The semifinal could be an all-south contest, as the No. 4 ranked Magrath Pandas are also in the top half of the draw. Magrath opens competition today at 9 a.m. against No. 13 Paul Kane. A win there would put the Pandas in the 6 p.m. quarterfinal against the winner of No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 12 Cardston.

Southern Alberta’s powerhouse girls programs enter provincials after meeting each other in the 4A south zone tournament final Saturday night inside the First Choice Savings Centre at the University of Lethbridge.

Magrath earned a 67-65 win in the final, to cap off a huge week, which all started with a massive 73-44 win in the quarters over Chinook High School. The Pandas then cruised to a 61-47 win over Lethbridge Collegiate Institute in the semis.

Raymond, the No. 1 seed, earned a first-round bye, and then crushed Cardston 97-42 in the semis.

Magrath also won the 4A boys title, this time a little more convincingly, with a big 95-74 win over Raymond in the final.

That win earned Magrath the No. 3 ranking for provincials, which will also be held at Jasper Place for the boys. The Zeniths open play today at 11 a.m. against No. 14 Foothills. A victory puts Magrath in a quarterfinal game tonight at 8 p.m. against the winner of No. 6 Holy Trinity and No. 11 Sir Winston Churchill.

Magrath’s path to gold would then take the team to Friday’s 8 p.m. semi and a potential spot in the final at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Raymond, ranked No. 5, is on the other side of the draw. The Comets open things up today at 9 a.m. versus No. 12 Centennial. A win in that game sets up a quarterfinal date later today at 6 p.m. against either No. 4 All Saints or No. 13 Jasper Place.

The semifinal on that side of the draw is set for Friday at 4 p.m.

4A zones saw No. 1 Raymond earn a bye in the first round, before a tough 97-88 win over Cardston in the semis.

The Zeniths cruised past Chinook in the opener by a score of 110-60, and then beat up on Medicine Hat 93-75 in the semis.

In JV tournament play, the Comets won the boys title with an 80-77 win on Saturday over Medicine Hat. LCI won the girls title 71-48 over Magrath.

But Magrath and Raymond are not the only local teams off to provincials.

The Stirling Lakers will host 1A provincials, and enter play as the south zone champions, following a 71-44 win in the final over Vauxhall. Stirling opened play with a 73-53 win in the semis over Picture Butte.

The 1A provincial tournament in Stirling begins today at noon and continues with games all weekend. Friday’s semifinals are set for 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., while the final will be played Saturday at 5 p.m.

The Stirling Lakers boys team is also off to provincials, as the 2A championship will be hosted by Glenmary School in Peace River.

Stirling is ranked No. 5 and opens play today at 11 a.m. against Lomont High. A win there would put the Lakers in the Friday 8:30 a.m. game against the winner of No. 8 Heritage Christian and No. 9 Grand Trunk High.

The semi is Friday at 7 p.m. and the final will be contested Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

To make provincials, Stirling needed a big comeback in the zone semifinal against Taber W.R. Myers. Stirling, the No. 2 zone seed, needed a massive 43-point fourth quarter to top No. 3 ranked Myers 96-89.

Stirling fell 103-80 in the final to Coaldale Kate Andrews but advanced to provincials by virtue of the silver medal.

The Lakers also earned a 93-46 win over Claresholm Willow Creek in the zone quarterfinal.

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