The Stettler Wildcats senior boys’ and girls’ basketball teams hosted tournaments at William E. Hay this weekend, topping out in their divisions to make a shot for first place.
In boys’ action, the Wildcats faced Old Scona first, triumphing 92-63. Though they lost in a close game to Wainwright with a score of 50-47, the loss didn’t count against them as Wainwright had defaulted.
“They had some injuries and some players who couldn’t make it,” said boys’ coach Warren Aspenes. To allow Wainwright to play, Stettler loaned some players to fill in the roster, so even though the final score didn’t count, the Wainwright students had a chance to play – which ultimately was the point, Aspenes said.
This put Stettler in first in the green pool. In the gold pool, the Coldhurst Trojans crushed Daysland and trounced FFCA to lead to the first-place match against Stettler.
“The game was very competitive throughout, with both teams playing at a very intense level,” Aspenes said. Despite playing their best, though, the Wildcats netted a second-place finish with a 72-50 loss.
“I think we had a slightly easier pool,” Aspenes admitted, but noted that the Trojans are also ranked third in provincial 1A play.
“We were in a good position going into the final as that was our only game on Saturday,” Aspenes noted. “We were definitely rested.... but we just didn’t hit the shots we should have.”
Kyle Poapst and Jordan Lane were stars of that final game, scoring 20 points and 11 points respectively, Aspenes noted.
The girls’ senior team faced Innisfail first, winning 66-64, and then Ryley, where they won 58-54, putting them at the head of their pool for the playoffs. This matched them against Pigeon Lake, who defeated Daysland and Old Scona handily to advance.
The girls battled it out to a 50-33 loss against Pigeon Lake.
The final match against Pigeon Lake was a hard one, with the Wildcats trying to claw their way up from an early deficit.
“We came back within eight points but we could never close the gap,” girls’ team coach Charisse McDonald said. “Pigeon Lake is a solid team.”
The boys’ and girls’ junior teams also played this weekend, though not as part of the tournament.
Both teams played against Notre Dame last week. The girls lost 67-25 to the Notre Dame girls’ team, but the boys’ triumphed, winning 86-23 against the Notre Dame boys’ team.