Raymond Comets win 4A girls provincial title in dominating fashion

By Garrett Simmons

Westwind Weekly News

Once again, the Raymond Comets are on top of the basketball world. 

Raymond’s senior girls swept through the 4A provincial championships in dominating fashion and won the championship with a 91-60 victory over No. 2 Jasper Place. 

The host team from Edmonton was no match for the top-ranked Comets, as Raymond steamrolled the top competition Alberta had to offer. 

It all started last Thursday with a 103-26 dismantling of No. 16 Grande Prairie in the first round of competition.  

Things did not get much tougher for the southern Alberta powerhouse in the quarterfinals, as Raymond rolled to a huge 94-54 win over No. 9 ranked Salisbury. 

In the semifinals, it was more of the same, as the Comets took out No. 5 Notre Dame with another big offensive display, this time in a 98-65 victory. 

And while Raymond breezed through the tournament, No. 5 Magrath, who went in on a high after a zone championship, fell in the quarters. 

Magrath started off strong with a 69-50 win over No. 13 Paul Kane in the first round. 

But the Pandas offence came up cold in the second round, as Magrath dropped a 51-33 decision to Notre Dame, which denied southern Alberta basketball fans a Magrath-Raymond semifinal. 

Magrath then earned the consolation title with a 70-44 win over Salisbury and a 66-48 victory over Lethbridge Collegiate Institute. 

Strathcona took the 4A boys crown, as Magrath fell in the semis and Raymond was upset in the opening round. 

The Zeniths cruised past the opening round, as No. 3 Magrath defeated No. 14 Foothills 81-62.  

Magrath then beat No. 11 Sir Winston Churchill by a huge 95-57 margin in the quarters. 

But the Zeniths would advance no further, as No. 2 St. Mary’s handed Magrath a 96-84 loss in the semis. 

Magrath rebounded to take bronze, with a 106-84 win over Centennial. 

Things did not go as smoothly for Raymond, as the No. 5 Comets fell 97-92 to No. 12 Centennial in the opening round. 

That pushed Raymond to the consolation side of the draw, as the Comets defeated No. 13 Jasper Place 110-83 and took out No. 9 Leduc 94-90, to set up a consolation final with Cardston. 

Raymond’s winning streak came to an end, however, as Cardston emerged with a 105-87 win. 

In 1A girls competition, the host Stirling Lakers entered provincials ranked No. 1, but could not get past a scrappy Vauxhall team in the semis. 

Vauxhall escaped with a 68-65 win, despite a 27-point performance from Paisley Sillito. Maysa Nelson and Claire Smith each scored 16 points for Stirling but it was not enough, as Olivia Edlund’s 28 points propelled Vauxhall to victory. 

Stirling got off to a strong start with an 81-30 win over St. Thomas More. Sillito had 30 to lead the way for Stirling, while Courtney McKee had 14 and Maysa Nelson added 12. 

In the bronze-medal game, Stirling returned to its dominant form and defeated Bawlf 95-51. McKee had 34, Sillito added 21 and Tycee Nelson finished with 11. 

Stirling’s 2A boys team saw its provincial hopes fade in the quarterfinals, thanks to an 88-72 loss to St. Joseph Collegiate. 

Stirling, ranked No. 5 going into provincials, started strong with a 90-63 victory over Lamont High. 

After the quarterfinal loss, the Lakers rebounded well and won two straight games to claim the consolation championship. 

Stirling’s offence fired on all cylinders in the first game of consolations, a 97-74 victory over Grand Trunk.  

The Lakers then wasted little time putting the consolation final away, with a decisive 81-57 win over La Crete Public.

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