The Holy Rosary Raiders hosted a senior basketball invitational tournament last weekend (Jan. 10-11).
The Fountain Tire sponsored event brought 16 teams together from across Saskatchewan and Alberta.
It kicked off on Jan. 10 with the senior girl’s Raiders facing their cross-town rivals from Lloydminster Comprehensive High School.
“The Comp and Holy have girls who have played together for years. Some have gone to elementary school together,” said Ashley Fullerton, Raiders’ head coach and athletic director. “It’s nice to give them a chance to play against each other, but at the end of the day, they are all friends, too.”
That sentiment was shared by Barons’ power forward Lindsay Randell.
“I’ve played with a lot of these girls outside of school on the other team and on my team as well. It’s really nice to see the progression of basketball throughout Lloydminster and just through the community as a whole,” said Randell.
Cooper Leckie plays point guard and power forward for the Raiders. She has been playing since she was 8 years old and was happy to be playing at home with her team.
“I like the coaches, I love the team and the spirit around the school,” she said.
When it came to playing their rivals, Leckie said “I’m just excited. It’s our team’s rival and I’m just excited to play them. And it’s nice to have everybody come to see you in your school.”
Fullerton says the tournament helps the team gauge themselves against potential zone opponents. It also helps them when it comes to the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association.
“We usually prioritize playing teams on the Alberta side because it helps our ranking and placement for zones,” said Fullerton. “Once we get to provincials, we hopefully have seen some of those ranked teams already.”
The girls took away gold in the tournament while the boys took silver. The girls won 83-52 in the opener over the Barons.
Meanwhile, the Barons’ senior girls placed fifth in the tournament.
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