Auroras right in the middle of the action

Times Photos submitted by Carolyn Siemens Achievements: The St. Mary’s JV Storm basketball teams wrapped up their season over the weekend at their COLJHAA league championships. The girls earned a third place finish and the boys placed second.

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The St. Mary’s Auroras went 3-1 in a busy week of hoops. On Jan. 30 the team played a league game in Vauxhall. Assistant coach Carolyn Siemens said, “We haven’t been able to take a win from Vauxhall in a long time, but we succeeded with a close 58-54 win.  It was a tight game the entire time, as the teams exchanged the lead throughout the game.” Haylie Peters led the scoring with 18 points and Logan Meier added 13. Peters led in rebounds with 19 and Kennedy Planger snagged 13.

Over the weekend the Auroras played in the Roger Vander Linden Memorial Tournament in Coalhurst. Their first game on Friday was against St. Mike’s Pincher Creek, with whom St. Mary’s had a close game in their home tournament. “Since we had played them a couple weeks ago, we knew we had to key on their key player and shut her down,” Siemens said.  “With some great defense from both McKenzie Siemens and Lexi Stolk, we were able to keep her scoring down and leave her frustrated. We took the lead from the start and we were able to maintain it throughout the game.”  In the 75-44 win, Meier led the team in points with 25 and Savannah Schmitt added 21 of her own. Peters rebounded 12 and Planger eight. Stolk earned player of the game.

On Saturday morning the competition continued against J.T. Foster in the semi-final game. “We knew they would be a tough team as they are currently ranked by the ASAA. They are a team that plays a really fast paced game and they run the floor well. We had a great first half against them, and were able to keep up with them. In the second half we just ran out of steam against the fast running team and we ended up losing 48-74,” the coach said. Siemens led the scoring with 18, Nyla DeBoer added 14 and Meier hit 12. DeBoer had 8 rebounds and Meier had 7.  DeBoer earned player of the game. Siemens said, “She hit some great shots and really started crashing the boards in the second half of the game.”

The loss in the semi-final game put the team into the bronze medal game Saturday night against F.P. Walshe. St. Mary’s cruised to a 56-33 win against Walshe to clinch third place. Meier led the scoring with 15 and Peters added 14. Both Deboer and Siemens grabbed 12 rebounds and Meiers had 11. Siemens earned the player of the game.

This week the team heads to Calgary for the Rundle College Tournament beginning on Thursday.