Rebels girls to 2-1 in tournament in Wetaskiwin 

By Garrett Simmons

For the Times

As the regular season is wrapping up for W.R. Myers Rebels girls basketball, the team had one last opportunity to get in some work before zones.

The Rebels traveled to Wetaskiwin on the weekend for a tournament, and played some high-calibre teams, which began on Friday night with the team’s opening-round game against Morinville.

“They were ranked No. 5 in 3A,” said Rebels coach Doug Bailey. “We managed to squeak out a 48-46 win.”

It was a hard-fought contest, according to the coach, as both teams battled to the bitter end in a game that ended with only a two-point margin.

“It was a very physical game,” said Bailey, who highlighted one player’s key performance. “Everybody contributed. Alyssa (Erick) had the best game I have seen her play. I bet she had 20 rebounds and contributed some points.”

Taber’s work was far from over, as the Rebels went on to earn another win against a familiar foe from Medicine Hat in the first game for W.R. Myers on Saturday.

“We played McCoy and it was another physical game,” said Bailey, whose team took a 46-41 victory over a team that has earned an Honourable Mention in the 3A rankings. “The girls worked hard to get that win. Sadie (Wright) really helped on the defensive end and got a steal and layup in the last minute to seal the game.”

Those first two wins came at a price, however, as the Rebels simply did not have much left in the tank for the final. Myers faced a tough Strathcona Christian team, as Taber was dealt a lopsided double-digit loss, despite a solid start.

“We were only down eight at half but just completely ran out of gas,” said Bailey. “We only had about a three-hour turnaround between games.”

Strathcona Christian represented another quality opponent for Myers, and it turned out the Rebels just didn’t have the energy to keep up.

“They were also a ranked 3A team,” said Bailey. “They came out strong in the second half and we just couldn’t keep up. Overall, it was a good weekend.”