Foothills has zoned in on a return trip to provincials.
The No. 10 ranked Foothills Falcons are headed back to the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association Provincial Basketball Championships after knocking off a resilient Croxford Cavaliers squad 76-51 to claim the 4A South Central Zone championship on March 11 in Chestermere.
“It was adjusting to the complexion of the game,” said Falcons head coach Jordan Britton. “We saw what they were bringing, they’re a team that battles really hard, plays really physical and really good basketball and we made some key adjustments and that was the difference maker.
“One of our staples is always making sure that we play hard, but when can both play hard and execute really great things happen.”
A game of runs played out in the first half with Foothills taking an early lead and the Airdrie school clawing back to narrow the margin to 36-29 at the half.
The Cavaliers were within three points of the Falcons early in the third quarter before Foothills went on an 18-6 run to make it a 57-42 advantage heading into the fourth.
“We started communication with each other, started passing the ball well, taking good shots and executed our plays in the second half,” said Grade 12 Falcon Skye Chubak. “And I think that’s why we took over.
“In the first half, we were focused on their game more and in the second half we changed and were more focused on our side.”
Foothills didn’t let up over the final 10 minutes, scoring 19 and only allowing nine against, while receiving strong contributions across the board.
“We’re going to go into provincials strong,” Chubak said. “Like our last 10 minutes of this game and how we competed and we’re going to try our hardest and see what happens.”
Foothills had to adjust to a big absence in the lineup with key Grade 12 forward Tia Glazier unable to play due to injury.
“It’s kind of tough for the team to absorb, but in those instances you’ve got to keep on trucking and keep going,” Britton said. “She’s a starter, one of our top performing scorers so losing anyone like that is always going to be a big blow, but we’ll be ready for her if she is able to come back and, either way, she is a big support for us in the locker-room and on the bench.
“When a big-time player like that goes down, I think everybody needs to step up to some degree and I think that’s what we’ve seen. Our girls were ready to step up to the plate and knew there was a job that still needed to be done.”
The four-team tournament featured two sets of semifinals to determine the bronze and gold medal placements.
On Friday, Foothills overpowered Chestermere 88-32 and in the other semifinal the Holy Trinity Academy Knights were clipped 65-52 by Croxford. The Knights went on to earn the bronze medal with an authoritative 68-46 result over Chestermere.
For Britton, in his first year with the Falcons senior squad, it’s an honour to keep the team’s winning tradition going.
“The program is in really good shape,” he said. “For me stepping in, it’s a good position to be in and I want to honour the program by getting back to where they deserve and that’s at that provincial stage.”
Foothills finished 10th at the 2022 event and boast a strong core of returning players.
“It’s really key having experience like that going into such a big exhibition like that, to the big stage that it is,” the coach added. “That’s going to be huge for us having that experience there.”
It was a clean sweep for Falcons basketball on Saturday at zones with both senior and JV squads bringing home the banner.
The 4A ASAA Provincial Basketball Championships run March 16-18 at Edmonton’s Jasper Place High School.
For more information, visit asaa.ca/championships.
