St. Michael's Dragons and Cardston Cougars tops at 2017 Halton Jr Girls basketball tourney

A First Place - St. Michael's Dragons

B First Place - Cardston Cougars

Chris Davis - Last Friday and Saturday the Matthew Halton Gym was the busy site of the 2017 Halton Hawks Junior Girls A and B invitational basketball tournament.  12 teams played in a total of four pools for preliminary games before contesting in A and B final games.

B Second Place - Livingstone Sabres

B Second Place - Halton Hawks

A Third Place - F.P. Walshe Flyers

B Third Place - St. Michael's Dragons

A Consolation - Halton Hawks

Participating A teams included Pincher Creek's Matthew Halton's Hawks (MHHS), Lundbreck's Livingstone Sabres (LHS), Claresholm's Willow Creek Composite High School Cobras (WCCHS), Pincher Creek's St. Michael's Dragons (STM). Crowsnest Pass Pandas, and Fort Macleod's F.P. Walshe Flyers (FPW).

Participating B teams included Matthew Halton's Hawks, Willow Creek's Cobras, two F.P. Walshe Flyers teams, Cardston's Cougars (CARD), and St. Michael's Dragons.

All of the above teams play in the same league except for Cardston's Cougars, who proved to be formidable opponents.

Results (game, team, division, score):

Game 1: LHS A 29, MMHS A 26

This very close tournament opener between two solid local teams was decided in the final quarter, with Livingstone's A Sabres defeating Halton's A Hawks by only three points. Top scorers in the game were Nicole Keeler (10 points, LHS) and Anna Bruder (10 points, MHHS). Players of the Game were Alina Pharis (LHS) and Aubrey Old Crow (MHHS).

Game 2: STM B 37,  FPW2 B 15

F.P. Walshe's Junior B 2 team was probably the youngest team at the tournament, and played their hearts out throughout.  St. Michael's Dragons defeated them by a convincing margin, but the valour of the young Flyers bodes well for their future. McKinney Ettenhofer (11 points, STM) was top scorer of the game and Kylie (8 points, FPW2) was top scorer for the Flyers.  A. Grant (STM) and Cheyenne (FPW2) were Players of the Game.

Game 3: MHHS B defeated FPW1 B by a wide margin

Noah (MHHS) was top scorer with 16 points. Noah was also named Player of the Game, as was Ester (FPW1).

Game 4: STM A defeated CNP A by a wide margin

Top scorer was Grace Zoratti (STM) with 22 points.  L. Rose Prairie Chicken (STM) and Martha Lim (CNP) were named Players of the Game.

Game 5: LHS A 26, WCCHS A 19

Top scorer was Nicole Keeler (LHS) was top scorer with 14 points, and was also named a Player of the Game. Selena (WCCH) was top scorer for the Cobras with 10 points and was also named a Player of the Game.

Game 6: WCCHS B 22, FPW1 B 6

WCCHS Player of the Game was Mya, who was also top scorer with 8 points.  Payton was Player of the Game for FPW.

A preliminaries - FPW Flyers vs CNP Pandas

Game 7: FPW A defeated CNP A by a wide margin

Sheridan was top scorer for FPW with 26 points and was also named as a Player of the Game.  D. Datten scored 10 points and was named CNP's Player of the Game.

Game 8: Cardston B defeated FPW2 B by a wide margin

Cardston's Halle and Lyndee were the top scorers in this game with 8 points each.  Every member of the team made it to the score sheet.  Lyndee was named a Player of the Game, as was FPW2's Geena.

B preliminaries - MHHS Hawks vs WCCHS Cobras

Game 9: MHHS B 29, WCCHS B 21

A strong second quarter went a long way toward ensuring victory for the Hawks in this well-matched game against the Cobras.  Top scorers were Abi (MHHS) and Mya (WCCHS) with 10 points each.  Abi was names a Player of the Game, as was Kaitlyn (WCCHS).

Game 10: STM A 55, FPW A 42

A strong showing from both teams in this contest.  Sheridan (FPW) was top scorer of the game with 18 points.  Top scorers for the Dragons were Maya Citrigno with 17 points and Grace Zoratti with 16 points. Zoratti was named a Player of the Game, as was Esther of the Flyers.

Game 11:  Cardston defeated STM B by a wide margin

Blakely (CARD) was top scorer with 15 points and was also named a Player of the Game.  Player of the Game for STM was Sofia Citrigno.

Game 12: WCCHS A 40, MHHS A 37

Having missed the first game of the tournament, this was the first real barn burner I saw, with the Cobras and Hawks both rising to the challenge.  The Hawks almost came from behind to turn the tables, with Anna Bruder (MHHS) scoring a perfect half-court three-pointer right at the final buzzer to end the game in a very dramatic fashion.  She was named Player of the Game for the Hawks. Let's roll that video one more time:

Aubrey Old Crow (MHHS) was top scorer of the game with 18 points.  Selena was top scorer for WCCHS with 14 points.  Kitty was the WCCHS Player of the Game and scored 12 points.

B Consolation - Flyers 1 vs Flyers 2

Game 13: B Consolation - FPW2 36, FPW1 24

Fort Macleod's two B Girls Flyers teams faced each other in the very entertaining B Consolation Final, with FPW 2 winning it largely based on a strong effort in the first and final quarters. Top scorer was FPW2's Esther with 13 points, just ahead of FPW1's Kanzee with 12 points. Players of the Game were Cheyenne (FPW1) and Kylie (FPW2).

A Consolation - MHHS Hawks vs CNP Pandas

Game 14: A Consolation - MHHS 31, CNP 13

This was the Panda's strongest showing in the tournament, but the Hawks were consistent throughout all four quarters to win it convincingly. Top scorer was Aubrey Old Crow (MHHS) with 9 points. Players of the Game were Hailey McLeod (MHHS) and Maron Lim (CNP).

B for Third Place - STM Dragons vs WCCHS Cobras

Game 15: B for Third Place - STM 19, WCCHS 18

This one turned into quite the contest, with the Dragons ultimately edging out the Cobras by one point to earn third place.  Sofia Citrigno (STM) was top scorer with 11 points.  Capri was top scorer for the Cobras with 9 points and was named a Player of the Game.  Dragons Player of the Game was Vivian Thomson.

A for Third Place - FPW Flyers vs WCCHS Cobras

Game 16: A for Third Place - FPW 36, WCCHS 31

Another very close game, in part decided by the very strong effort of the game's top scorer, Sheridan of the Flyers, who scored 19 points. Kitty was top scorer for the Cobras with 12 points. Bailey (WCCHS) and Dylan (FPW) were named Players of the Game. Third place for F.P. Walshe's Flyers.

B Girls Championship - Cardston Cougars vs MHHS Haw

Game 17: B Championship - Cardston defeats MHHS B by a wide margin

The Cardston Cougars came to town and breezed past all competitors to earn Gold. The Hawks gave it 100% all weekend and earned their second place spot. Top scorer of the game with 12 points and Cardston Player of the Game was Halle. Aman Jot was Player of the Game for the Hawks. First place for the Cougars, Second place for the Hawks.

A Girls Championship - STM Dragons vs LHS Sabres

Game 18: A Championship - Dragons defeat Sabres by a wide margin

The A Dragons were the most mature team of the tournament, and that was obvious during this game against Livingstone's Sabres, who were otherwise quite competitive for the bulk of the tournament.  Maya Citrigno (STM) was top scorer of the game with 13 points and was also named a Player of the Game.  Grace Zoratti scored 11 points for the Dragons.  R. Kuzyk was named Player of the Game for the Sabres.  First place for the Dragons, second place for the Sabres.

Thanks to those who make it happen:

A tip of the hat to all the hardworking officials, coaches, assistants, and parents who helped make the tournament happen, all those who attend, and a special mention for Matthew Halton High School Athletic Director Randy Whitehead for organizing the event and keeping it on track all weekend.