After scoring decisive wins in their first two games at their home tournament, the Lloyd Comp Barons ran into an Alberta powerhouse in the senior varsity girls’ high school basketball final.
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Although they lost 85-45 to the Sturgeon Composite Spirits in the 35th annual Hugh Morrell Border Classic gold-medal game, the Barons say that’s precisely the competition they need to face to prepare for their Saskatchewan playoff run this winter.
“Yeah, it was a really tiring final, but we expected it,” said Lloyd Comp senior Sofia Simpson, who captains the Barons along with Juris Mendoza and Lindsay Randell. “They’re a very strong team. Overall, we learned a lot from the game. But we needed it. We need harder games. Even though we lost, those tough losses are better than winning by 60 points. It’s good to go against more skilled people.”
It’s all part of the process for the Barons as they challenge themselves against high-calibre teams from bigger centres in Alberta.
“One of our first tournaments was at Red Deer, and being in that area and playing Alberta schools definitely challenged our girls and we saw how much potential we had,” Barons’ assistant coach Raff Delfin said Jan. 31 after the eight-team Morrell tourney in Lloydminster.
“This whole tournament (also gave us a challenge). Our first two games, we won by a lot. I wanted a game like this (final) for our girls, moving forward, to prepare us for regionals.”
Fresh from writing first-semester finals, the Barons went to work as the hosts of the two-day staple in the Lloyd basketball calendar. In their preliminary games, they defeated the Kindersley Composite Kobras 60-14 and Cold Lake Assumption Crusaders 82-12.
“Obviously, we do want to win,” Delfin said. “But I tell the girls, ‘This is not the end of the season.’ Our main goal is to go into regionals and win that.
“I’m just very proud of the girls, because they brought their energy and their intensity from the first quarter to the fourth quarter. We told them to do stuff, to fix things, and they listened. That’s why we’re very lucky to have these girls. We have a lot of talent on the team. We have very good players.
“I like challenges, and I know my girls like challenges. Who doesn’t like a challenge?”
One of the girls, Simpson, is confident the Barons are up to the challenge. She said head coach Keyanna Bannerman and the other coaches have instilled a long-term outlook as LCHS fine-tunes its game in readiness for the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association regionals in Warman.
“You always get way more out of playing a team that’s stronger,” Simpson said. “It’s like they say, if you practise or play around more skilled people, you’re eventually going to catch up to them. You’re going to learn more than if you’re playing against teams that you know you’re going to beat.
“This game doesn’t really count toward our standings, because it’s an Alberta opponent, but when we go to (Sask) regionals, having tough games like this is what’s going to help us grow and do better in our finals.”
Sturgeon — the winner of the Lloyd tournament — is rated ninth in the province among 4A girls’ teams recognized in the latest School Sport Alberta rankings.
Since hosting their annual tourney, the Barons lost a close game to Bethlehem Catholic School of Saskatoon.
Delfin, Lucas Lacombe and Danielle Crossley are Bannerman’s assistant coaches with the senior Barons.
Delfin, a part-time firefighter at the Lloyd department, is also a fitness instructor and business consultant. It’s his first season coaching with the Lloyd Comp team.
“Bannerman kind of got me in here and I’m very thankful for that,” he said.
Off this weekend as their spring break begins, the Barons head to Kindersley for another tournament on the Feb. 27-28 weekend.
“We’re taking that tournament (title) home,” Delfin said with a smile. “I’m confident of that.”
Read more: Barons place second in senior girls’ tourney
