The St. Paul Regional Saints won the seniors girls SPAA basketball final last night after defeating rivals Ashmont 74 – 68 in a thrilling game from start to finish.
The Saints got off to a great start and took an early lead before the Falcons clawed its way back into the contest, which happened several times throughout the game.
Leading 19 – 10 at the end of the first quarter, St. Paul took its foot off the gas pedal in the second quarter. Thanks to some physical play by the home side, Ashmont tied the game and then took a 33 – 31 lead as the buzzer sounded to end the first half.
Unlike the previous quarter, Ashmont came out flat in the third and the Saints regained control of the game. Not to be outdone, the Falcons battled back once again to cut the gap to three going into the fourth quarter.
The game's frantic pace continued in the fourth quarter as the teams battled for SPAA supremacy. St. Paul showed a little bit more patience with the ball in the fourth and eventually won the game 74 – 68.
“Against Glendon it was a horrible start," Saints coach Sasha Levasseur said, referring to the semifinal, which the Saints won 57-44. “The press tonight was really good. I think they were pumped up."
“Ashmont is a fantastic team. The players are very hungry so it could have went either way tonight," she added.
The St. Paul coach said trying to incorporate her team's bench too much proved costly, especially during several of Ashmont's comebacks, but at the end of the game her team held it together.
St. Paul will head to the provincial zones tournament this weekend in Cold Lake. Check next week's edition of the Journal to find out how the team did.
