Joe McLaughlin has seen a few similar games in his time as a head coach.
But the George McDougall senior girls’ basketball head coach was still amazed at what he saw from his team on Feb. 11 in Chestermere.
The Mustangs opened the gold medal game of the Chestermere Invitational Tournament with a 25-0 run on Calgary’s Central Memorial Rams, ultimately winning the game 69-36 – and claiming its 12th straight victory and third consecutive tournament title.
“It was a pretty good way to start a game,” McLaughlin said. “We played such good defence and hit such a high percentage of our shots. The girls did everything that we’ve worked on in practice.”
Kylie Lebedeff, McDougall’s player of the game, had 22 points, while Tori Zabel had 19 points, including six threes. Stephanie Beerda added 18 rebounds.
Zabel was George Mac’s player of the game in its 72-54 semifinal win over Eagle Butte, from Dunmore, the ninth-ranked 3A girls’ team in Alberta, on Feb. 10. She had 21 points, six rebounds and six steals, while Beerda had 17 rebounds.
“They (Eagle Butte) are a really good team and play a fast breaking style,” McLaughlin said. “It was their first game of the day, and we had already played one, so they went up on us early. But we pulled away as the game went on.”
McDougall’s opening game of the tournament, also on Feb. 10, was against its 4A zone-rival Foothills Composite from Okotoks. The Mustangs, the Foothills Falcons and the Chestermere Lakers are the only 4A teams in the South Central Zone.
Lebedeff scored the winning basket on a layup with only 30 seconds remaining, while Mady Kerr made a last-second free throw, to secure the 59-57 victory.
“The girls really stepped up in that one,” McLaughlin said. “The game was intense from start to finish.”
Beerda was named player of the game for her 17 rebounds and eight steals. Lebedeff led the team with 21 points, with Kerr contributing 11 points.
The Mustangs, which sits in first place in the Rocky View Sports Association standings, played the second-place Bow Valley Bobcats after City View press time on Feb. 15. George Mac had only lost one league game, while Bow Valley had only lost two, so McLaughlin said it was an important league matchup.
“It’s a battle for first, and the top two teams get bye in the first round of divisionals, so we want to try and finish there,” he said
The team’s next home game is on Feb. 22 when it hosts the Springbank Phoenix. Game time is 7:45 p.m.
McLaughlin said the 12-game win streak hasn’t become a distraction and the Mustangs aren’t feeling any added pressure.
“We have a really young team this year, with only two Grade 12 players. But they’ve continually proved themselves this season,” he said. “They’re just getting better and better every game, which from a coaching standpoint is great.”
