Speedy Creek couldn’t quite keep up with the Falcons at the Sheep River.
The Foothills Falcons fought off a second half surge from the Swift Current Ardens to claim bronze at their home tournament, the Sheep River Shootout, in a 72-70 thriller Saturday night in Okotoks.
“There was tons of energy, a lot of adrenaline in the gym,” said Falcons girls head coach Jordan Britton. “The girls have been excited to play in front of their home fans for months now because of our schedule and not being in league, we don't get home games as much as we used to.
“To have these games in front of their fans is huge for them and they went out and gave a show as we saw in that last one.”
In the third place match, the Falcons took a 45-37 lead into the half with relentless defence leading to fast break points.
The visitors rallied in the second half with their size in the paint paying dividends.
“They had some great interior presence and we had a really tough time slowing them down for the rest of the game,” Britton said. “When it got towards the end of the quarter, we really stepped and were able to totally take away what she was trying to do.
“Kudos to our girls for putting on the hardhat and doing the dirty work.”
Adison Lybbert hit a sky hook with 24 seconds left to give the Comp the lead, Swift Current scored on an inbound play and had the opportunity to take the lead on the free throw to complete a three-point play.
The shot rimmed out, the Falcons got the rebound and point guard Dior Sellars took a hard foul, hitting the second of two free throws in what held up as the game-winning shot with eight seconds remaining.
“It was just, ‘I need to make these,’” said Sellars.
“That’s a game where it shows how our teamwork really pushes us through that and just keeping that energy up. Even the girls on the bench were keeping that energy up and that’s what we need in all of our tournaments.”
On the other end of the court, the coach was mostly impressed with his team’s poise in such an intense game.
“Adrenaline and emotions are pumping so it’s important to remain poised as a team and on the bench in those situations,” he said. “We executed, we made the right calls and it gave us that position to be in the lead towards the end of the game.”
Foothills opened the tournament with an 80-20 triumph over Medicine Hat’s McCoy and then downed Calgary’s Centennial Coyotes by a 77-55 count on day one of the competition.
“It was super fun with all of the energy in the gym,” said Sellars, of the opportunity to play at home. “It definitely brought a lot more excitement to the game.”
From there, a semifinal versus the high-powered Magrath Zeniths went the way of the visitors 76-55 to shuffle the Comp into the bronze medal match.
“They’re always tough,” the coach added. “Big respect to what they were able to do out there this weekend because anything you’re able to do against them is earned, they make you work for every single basket and that’s what ended up being the difference.
“We had to work significantly harder for our baskets than they did.”
The Holy Trinity Academy Knights also had a strong showing in their hometown at the 12-team tournament.
Following a 58-48 defeat to Swift Current, the Knights rallied for a 58-56 loss to Medicine Hat High and closed the competition by taking the C-bracket title at the expense of Mt. Baker by a 64-53 score.
Magrath won gold and Notre Dame claimed silver. For the Falcons, it’s their third trip to the podium in tournament play this season.
“It’s good validation for the girls to see that their hard work and effort from practice and games is getting them tangible results,” Britton said. “They put on a show for their friends and family and were extremely fired up for this weekend.
“They’re a great basketball team, they’re great kids and they earned everything they got.”
