The defending Foothills Athletic Council senior girls basketball champions are going into the league playoffs on a high note.
The Foothills Falcons held off a third-quarter rally by the Bishop Grandin Ghosts to win the consolation final 77-66 at the Bishop O’Byrne Bobcat Invitational on Feb. 23 in Calgary.
The Falcons jumped out to a slim lead at half-time, however, the Ghosts were able to creep back to take a 42-41 lead four minutes into the third quarter.
Foothills point guard Kennedy Burgess then dished off a pass to Bailey McCarthy, who bulldozed her way in for two points to regain the lead and the Falcons never looked back.
The Falcons would build a 66-55 lead after three quarters.
“We fell behind because we got a bit lazy, but then we started putting our heads together and started working together,” said McCarthy. “If we’re not working together as a team and pumping each other up, we aren’t playing well.”
The Falcons were also pumped up by the shooting of Jenna Thomson who hit a pair of three-point shots in the second half. She had a rare four-point play when she knocked in a free throw after being fouled while canning a three-point shot.
Burgess was named the game’s MVP as she finished with 22 points.
“We settled down and focused on the little things we do best,” Burgess said.
“Jenna made some big shots for us — she’s a terrific shooter and a tremendous asset to this team.”
The Falcons kicked off the tournament by losing to the Henry Wise Wood Warriors 61-48 Friday afternoon.
“We weren’t doing the little things right to win the game,” said Burgess.
Falcons coach Lana Gwilliam agreed.
“We started out okay and then we just went flat for some reason,” Gwilliam said. “This is a weird time of the season because there are so many breaks, maybe that had something to do with it. I don’t know.”
The Falcons suffered due to their loss to Henry Wise Wood with an early morning game Saturday. Their next game was 8 a.m. on Saturday when they played the Louis St. Laurent Barons.
Foothills hung on to beat the Barons 58-57.
“We had the lead at half and they just battled back,” said Burgess, who led the team with 12 points, adding the Falcons kept their cool when the Barons made their run. Foothills then downed the Ghosts.
Gwilliam said her team had a good tournament, especially since it is banged up. Foothills had players who saw limited duty due to injuries including Jessica Lynes who was battling shin splints and Maddi Turbach rolled her ankle against St. Laurent.
The Falcons’ JV girls had similar success as they also won the consolation side at the Bishop O’Byrne tourney.
The Falcons will now focus on the Foothills Athletic Council (FAC) tournament, which they are hosting. Foothills is the top seed on the Senior girls’ side.
Gwilliam stressed although the Falcons have a bye to the semifinals, anything can happen. She said a dark-horse in the tournament is the Oilfields Drillers, who went undefeated in the FAC Tier II.
The Drillers will host the Highwood Mustangs in the quarterfinal on Wednesday Feb. 27 at 5:30 p.m. In the other quarterfinal, the Holy Trinity Academy Knights will play the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir Spartans Feb. 27 at 5:30 p.m at STS.
The Foothills Falcons and the Strathmore Spartans will each host a semifinal game on March 1 at 5:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. respectively.
The FAC Senior girls final will be played at 5 p.m. March 2 at Foothills Composite High School. The Junior Varsity girls final will be played at 9 a.m. on March 2 at Foothills.
In the FAC Senior boys playoffs, the Oilfields Drillers will host the Holy Cross Hawks in one quarterfinal at 7:15 p.m. The Highwood Mustangs will travel to Strathcona-Tweedsmuir to take on the Spartans at 7:15 p.m. on Feb. 27.
The Holy Trinity Academy Knights will host a semifinal on March 1 at 7:15 p.m. with the Falcons hosting the other at 7:15 p.m. the same day. The final is set for 7 p.m. on March 2 at the Comp.
For more information go to foothillsathletics.ca.
