Leduc Composite cracks province's top 10 in basketball

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Basketball is finally back at Leduc Composite High School after a cancelled 2020-21 season, and the teams are making the most of it with hot starts.

Senior Boys

The senior boys team is leading the pack with a 3-1 record, good for fourth place in Division 1 of the Metro Edmonton High School Athletics (MEAHS) league. In addition, thanks to top-three tournament finishes at Ross Sheppard (first), St. Francis Xavier (second) and Red Deer (third), the senior boys are ranked eighth in the province.

The boys have quite a hectic schedule to finish the season, with 10 games in the next four weeks due to a Black Gold School Division two-week no-game period that put a temporary pause to the season. However, if the team keeps winning over that stretch, its provincial ranking will only increase.

“A big chunk of this group has played together since they were 11. Last year threw a wrench in things with a full year off, but basketball is the thing for these kids. This is a strong year for our boys program, and it’s been a while since they were ranked this high,” said athletic director Mike Shipley.

Most recently, the boys beat Salisbury 72-53 on Jan. 31.

Junior Girls

For the junior girls, things could not be going any better. The team is undefeated to start the season, with a 3-0 record in Division 2 of the MEAHS league, and two tournament championships so far this year (at Percy Page and Holy Trinity, in Edmonton).

The sky is the limit for the first team, with all players playing their first year of high school basketball thanks to the missed season, and it could mean good things for the senior girls team in years to come.

Senior Girls

Unfortunately, this year’s senior girls team is having a tough go of things, currently sitting ninth in Division 1 with an 0-5 record.

“The year off affected the girls program a lot more than it did the boys program. They are off to a tougher start for sure in our league, first tournament,” Shipley said. “In their first tournament, they played the top ranked team in the province to start, and lost on the consolation side. They did finish third at the Red Deer tournament, which was good.”

Shipley said injuries and COVID-19 cases have taken a toll on the girls team. Last weekend was the first time all season the senior girls had 10 players on the bench.

Junior Boys

Rounding out things are the junior boys, who are fifth in Division 2 with a 3-2 record.

“The junior boys are a young team, and have started to really come together. They are 3-2 in their league and are looking like they’ll be a playoff team this year,” Shipley said.

For schedules and scores for each team, go to http://metroathletics.ca/index.php.