The St. Anthony’s girls Sabres were back in action after returning from the holidays.
    Although they lost, they showed they were growing as a team, especially during their tournament over the weekend.
    On Wednesday, January 9, the Sabres hosted the Trochu Blue Jays, and suffered a tough 49-15 defeat.
    Trochu took the lead quickly in the first quarter and kept a firm hold throughout. The Sabres had difficulty with turnovers and rebounds throughout the game.
    The Sabres began to rally late in the fourth and were able to generate some offensive opportunities. However, Trochu held on for the win.
    “We have been working a lot on rebounding, as we do not have a lot of height on our team, and we have lost two power forwards to injuries. This has meant that we have had to move around some of our players into new positions, where they have had to adjust to quickly,” said head coach Chloe Grant.
    The Sabres then hosted their own tournament on the weekend of January 11 and 12 at St. Anthony’s School.
    Their first game was against Morrin, who played an aggressive game against the young Sabres squad.
    “We had a small bench of only seven players, two of which had recently joined our team and had little knowledge of our plays, so we had to really simplify our offense,” said Grant.
    Their second game was against Forestburg, who eventually went on to place first in the tournament overall. Forestburg only had five players, but moved the ball and knew how to take advantage of the Sabres’ small size.
    “They would often pull up their power forward to the high post, and either do a give and go with the point guard, or their power forward would drive to the hoop,” said Grant.
    The Sabres final and best game was against Bassano. Unfortunately they lost, but they showed considerable growth as a team.
    “Their communication with each other on the floor was much better, and the captain of our team, Bailey Faubion, had a definite presence on the court. Her energy and encouragement to the rest of the team kept the girl’s intensity levels high throughout the whole game. Our defense was also very strong in this game, and our offense improved dramatically,” said Grant.
    The Sabres returned to the court on January 16 to face a strong Three Hills squad. The Sabres were severely outmanned, only having a six player team, which was enough for only one sub when players got tired.
    The Three Hills teams, in contrast, had enough players to fill two full lines.
    In the end, the tired Sabres couldn’t keep up with the comparatively well-rested Three Hills team and lost 66-15.
    The Sabres have a break this week due to provincial exams and will return to the court on January 30 when they host Prairie Christian Academy. The game starts at 5:15 p.m. in the St. Anthony’s School gymnasium.

    The St. Anthony’s Senior Boys Sabres went away from their home tournament with two wins, a hard fought loss and a second place finish.
    The Sabres hosted the annual Tournament on January 11 and 12. The team invited Morrin, Forestburg and Bassano to the round robin tourney.
    The Sabres began Friday afternoon versus their neighbours to the north, Morrin.  Tanner Borowicz had a monster game with 37 points and 16 rebounds.  Travis Dietrich put up 18 points and 13 boards and Jakub St. Jean has 13 points and eight assists as they won 100-31.
    Their second game saw the Sabres take on Forestburg. The visiting team jumped out to an early lead, ending first quarter 21-9, but the Sabres cut the lead to five at the half. Forestburg firmed up their lead in the third but the game was still in reach for the Sabres.  St. Anthony’s outscored Forestburg 21-16 in the final quarter but were not able to make up the difference, and lost 64-55.
    This time St. Jean was leading scorer with 15 points and four assists and Nathan Comstock picked up the pace with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
    The Sabres’ final game on Saturday afternoon saw them take on Bassano. Bassano jumped out to a five-point lead after one.  But the Sabres held on and won 65-60. Borowicz was back in form with 33 points and 17 rebounds. St. Jean had 13 points and Comstock had 11 points and 15 rebounds.
    This was enough for the team to claim silver. The final tournament of the season before the post season is in Forestburg, February 1 and 2.