Spartans show strong in Airdrie tourney
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Doug Taylor Photo
The Spartans returned from the three-day Bert Church tournament with the bronze medal.
“It’s great to see a result like this early in the season,” said Spartans Head Coach Kyle Larson. “Coming into the season we knew we would be a young team so we knew it would take some time to build the consistency, but we had it working this weekend.”
In the bronze medal game Dec. 16, the Spartans downed the Bishop McNally High School Timberwolves 74-61 at Bert Church High School in Airdrie.
A pair of seniors led the Spartans all weekend, as Allie Davidson scored 22 and Sydney Boyd chipped in with 19 in the finale. Boyd made good on 9-of-19 baskets and helped out with four rebounds.
“Sydney had been sick the first weekend we played, but she looked great this weekend. She is one of the Grade 12s we have, and we will need them to carry us this season,” said Larson.
Another senior, Kaylin Larson, played well against the T-Wolves, chalking up 16 points. She also drained four triples, which tied her with Davidson for the team lead from beyond the arc.
The Spartans were issued into the bronze medal game after losing 75-58 Dec. 15 to the Brooks Composite High School Buffalos.
It was Davidson and Boyd at the helm once again for the Spartans, as they both shot over 40 per cent. Davidson recorded 23 points and five rebounds, as Boyd was right behind her with 22 points and five rebounds.
In the opener Dec. 14, the Spartans smoked the W.H. Croxford Cavaliers 68-52. Natalie Funk factored into the scoring as she tied Boyd for the team lead with 15 points, while also hauling down five boards.
The bonus takeaway from this weekend is that the Spartans got a glimpse and had some success at teams they will see later in the season when the South Central Zone championships arrive.
“Right now it looks like Brooks is one of the top teams in our zone, but we haven’t seen everyone yet,” said Larson. “When we played them this weekend, I thought we were in it for the first half, but then the game got away from us in the second half. It’s always good to get a gauge on the competition.”
The Spartans hosted the Canmore Collegiate High School Crusaders Dec. 18 in an exhibition game at the Strathmore High School gym as a way to get a feel for another team within their zone. The Spartans edged out the Crusaders 58-50.
The Spartans are now off for the holidays and will resume action Jan. 10 when they travel to Cochrane to take on the Cochrane High School Cobras in an exhibition game. The following weekend, the Spartans will be in Brooks for a tournament at the Composite High School beginning on Jan. 12. The Spartans first home game of the new year will take place Jan. 17 when they host the Cobras.
The senior boys were also at the tournament in Airdrie and won the consolation final.
Matt Laslo’s crew opened the weekend with a 68-52 loss to the Lacombe Composite High School Rams. Reid Jensen and Ryan Edwards were the only players in double figures for the Spartans, finishing with 12 and 10 points respectively.
On the left side of the bracket, the Spartans knocked off the W.H. Croxford Cavaliers 97-92 and wrapped up the weekend with a solid 71-50 victory over the Chestermere High School Lakers.
Freshman Daniel Mulder led the Spartans with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting and Josh Filipionek contributed 17 points in his best game of the tournament.
Similar to the girls program, the guys also hosted an exhibition game with the Canmore Crusaders Dec. 18, but lost 88-64.
The Spartans are off for the holiday season now, but resume play one weekend before the girls, as they take part in the Claresholm tournament Jan. 5 and 6. Their first home game of 2018 goes Jan. 17 when they host the Cochrane Cobras.