by Morinville News Staff
Some fourth-quarter three-pointer connections gave Morinville Community High School’s Sr. Girls a third-place finish in the SPA Tournament over the weekend.
MCHS defeated Oscar Romero 68-35 Friday afternoon. Coach Kent Lessard told Morinville News that Makayla Attfield with 18points and 16 rebounds and Hayley Deveau with 13 points led the way offensively.
The Lady Wolves moved on to the semi-final Saturday, taking on host team St Peter the Apostle, 2019 Provincial Bronze medalists.
“The game went back and forth until the last 4 minutes of the 2nd quarter where SPA went on an 8-0 run to lead by 11 at halftime,” Lessard said, adding that although the Lady Wolves played a determined 2nd half losing by a final score of 50-42, SPA forced the girls into too many turnovers. “You have to give them credit. Leanne VanBrabant played a strong game for the Lady Wolves, grabbing 15 rebounds and playing outstanding defence.”
With a loss in the semi-final, the Wolves entered the bronze contest against the Sturgeon Spirits. In that game, the Wolves trailed for the majority of the game.
“[The] team continued to battle, and late in the 4th quarter, some of our shots started to fall as key three-pointers by Hayley Deveau, and Abby Davies gave the Lady Wolves a three-point lead in the last minute,” Lessard said. “Jordan Hessel with 11 points and 21 rebounds picked up her 5th foul with two minutes left, and the girls rallied for the win. Every game MCHS and Sturgeon play is a close hard-fought contest.”
Ranking for the tournament was 1. SPA, 2. Wetaskiwin, 3. Morinville, 4. Sturgeon, 5. Beaumont, 6. Romero, 7. Devon, and 8. Westlock.
MCHS host their home tournament on Friday, Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1.