The Foothills Falcons girls’ basketball team was able to disarm a pair of sharpshooters to win the South Central Zone final.
The Foothills Falcons Senior girls advanced to the provincial tournament when they beat Airdrie’s George McDougall Mustangs 75-49 in South Central Zone final March 9 in Okotoks.
Mustangs coach Joe McLaughlin said the Falcons’ defence was able to stymie his two top guns, Kylie Lebedeff and Tori Zabel, in the final.
“We have two exceptional shooters and Foothills just shut them down,” McLaughlin said. “Foothills put full-court pressure on us and tired us out. Give them full credit for the win tonight. They played amazing defence. We couldn’t get open anywhere.”
Falcons first-year guard, Grade 11 student Haley Jensen, was the one in charge of shutting down Lebedeff. Foothills had learned a valuable lesson from a narrow victory over George McDougall earlier in the week.
“Our defence on Tuesday wasn’t as good as tonight,” said Jensen “We were able to close out better and get a hand in their face. We were aware of those two. I was guarding no. 4 (Lebedeff) and Amy Wooldridge and Noelle Reboul were guarding the other girl (Zabel).”
Lebedeff was held to 17 points while Zabel finished with 15.
The Mustangs took an early 12-8 lead in the first quarter, but then the Falcons rattled off nine straight points capped off by a basket from the field and then a foul shot by Angie Minue to make it 17-12 Foothills. The Mustangs would never get closer than five for the remainder of the game.
When the Mustangs closed the gap, a Fox stole their chances. Foothills had a slim 23-18 lead when Falcon Courtney Fox rattled off six straight points, the last being a nifty steal and a lay-up to give the Falcons a 29-18 cushion midway through the second quarter.
“That was huge for us,” Falcons coach Lana Gwilliam said. “Courtney shot the ball with confidence and we have been telling her to do that all year. She is a great shooter who can make her shots from all over the court.”
Fox was the Falcons’ leading scorer with 16 points.
“My head was really into the game tonight and I had my rhythm,” Fox said. “Everything just seemed to be working for me.”
Foothills took a 41-28 lead into the locker room at the half after Falcon Amy Wooldridge hit a three-point shot with 1:02 remaining.
The Falcons didn’t let up in the second half en route to the 26-point victory.
Gwilliam said he didn’t want any let down against the Mustangs.
“I told the girls this is it — if you don’t come out and play for 40 minutes your season is over,” Gwilliam said. “They took that message and ran with it.”
Madie Turbach had 14 points for the Falcons, which included four clutch free throws in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons will play in the 4A provincials in Raymond on March 15-17. It is a homecoming for Gwilliam who was a guard for the Raymond Comets while attending high school.
Foothills will be in tough as they are the 13th seed in the 16-team tournament. They open the tournament against Gwilliam’s alma mater, the Raymond Comets on March 15.
“Our Grade 12 players went last year so that experience will help us,” Gwilliam said. “It’s not going to get any easier. The girls have to remember they only have one more week of basketball. They have to give it their all.”
To follow the tournament go to www.asaa.ca and hit the host website’s link.
