The George McDougall Mustangs girls’ varsity basketball team had a memorable past two weeks.
The club won its eighth straight game, and its second consecutive tournament title, with a 63-50 victory over the Camrose Crusaders in the championship game of the 16th annual Hoop Classic at home on Feb. 4.
The Lady Mustangs won all four of its games – 74-35 over Canmore in the opener on Feb. 3, 76-41 over Lester B. Pearson of Calgary later the same day, and 68-26 over Strathmore on Feb. 4.
The Mustangs’ Kylee Lebedeff was named tournament MVP, while teammates Stephanie Beerda, Tori Zabel and Amanda Kerr were all named tournament all-stars.
“If we had to pick one of our non-divisional zone tournaments to win, it would be our own,” said Mustangs’ head coach Joe McLaughlin. “We take a lot of importance and pride in winning it. It’s a very important one for us. They wanted to do everything they could to win this tournament and they came up big in every game. It’s huge.”
Although George Mac, which won the Olds tournament a week earlier, cruised through its first three games, McLaughlin said he was impressed with how his team played in the final, as Camrose is ranked No. 5 in Alberta in 3A basketball.
“We dominated everyone in the first three games and then had a nice tough one in the final, which is the way it should be,” he said. “That was a game they really had to be up for and they jumped out to a quick lead and managed to hold it all the way through.”
In the opening game on Feb. 3, which was held during the school’s lunch hour in order to fill the stands, fan support was a significant factor, McLaughlin said.
“It was amazing,” he said. “The girls were so nervous for that one, as the place was packed. We have a pretty good fan base that comes to all of our games at our school, or when they’re close by. Our parents are very supportive as well. The girls have played excellent at home.”
George Mac, which plays at the 4A level for girls’ varsity basketball, has a busy schedule upcoming in the next six weeks with tournaments, the Rocky View Sports Association league schedule, divisionals, as well as the potential of zones and provincials.
“This is great because the team can now see that if they play their A-game, they can be in it with anybody they play,” McLaughlin said.
The Mustangs, who will host the divisionals on March 2 and 3, will play for its third consecutive tournament title this weekend in Chestermere. The Lakers and Foothills Composite from Okotoks, the only other 4A girls’ teams in the zone, will be there and McLaughlin said he is looking forward to the challenge.
“That will give us a good idea on the seeding,” he said. “If we can win that tournament, then we’ll probably get to host the zone tournament as well. That would be great to have home court advantage. We’ve had a great record at home in the last year-and-a-half.”
