Saints start season with showing at DQ Tournament

The 2016 Dairy Queen Classic Basketball Tournament was held on December 9 and 10. Games were split between two schools, with the girls at Percy Baxter and the boys at Hilltop High.

There were eight boys’ teams and five girls’ teams. Since there was a difference in the number of teams between the two sides, the girls played in round robin format to make up for it. The St. Joseph Saints played at Percy Baxter and had a good tournament experience which included playing a couple of top teams that practice together all year long. The Saints defeated Hilltop by two points and had another close match-up against Mayerthorpe, falling by two.

Saints Coach Dan Hein said this was the first tournament of the season for the Saints Senior Girls, “We are a very young team with a lot of potential.”  The team will continue practicing leading up to its next games and the other four tournaments they have coming up this season. Strengthening their passing and dribbling skills as well as basket drills will be focused on, helping to grow them into a solid group.

The girls’ side of the tournament was won by Edson, and Oscar Ramaro from Edmonton earned second place. “Though Edson and Oscar Ramaro were too much for the Mayerthorpe and Hilltop teams, the games were very competitive,” said Coach Hein. Next action for the Saints comes on December 19 after school at Hilltop High against Swan Hills. The community is invited to come out and cheer them on.