Golden Suns shine once again at LIT
The Luther Invitational Tournament, like three other weekend basketball events this season, was Sun-swept.
The Leboldus Golden Suns completed a sweep of their 2018-19 senior girls basketball tournament schedule Saturday by defeating the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Clippers 70-57 to capture a championship at the 67th LIT.
“We’re really proud we won this, because we’ve worked so hard this season,” the Golden Suns’ Jade Belmore said at Luther College High School after registering 22 points, nine rebounds, eight steals, four assists and three blocked shots in the final.
The Golden Suns had previously won the Crosstown Classic (which was co-hosted by Dr. Martin Leboldus Catholic High School and Winston Knoll Collegiate), the Mike Dea Classic (held in Edmonton) and the Campbell Invitational Tournament.
“LIT is such a big tournament and it has been going on for such a long time,” Kelsey Starchuck marvelled after her 21-point, 13-rebound performance for Leboldus.
“The senior girls part (of LIT) only came in a few years ago and to be one of the first teams to win it is unreal.”
LIT introduced a senior girls component in 2012, when the first of four two-team Challenge Cups was held. A four-team format was used in 2016 and 2017.
In 2018, LIT featured eight senior girls teams — to go with the traditional eight senior boys teams — for the first time. The Leboldus senior girls won the consolation (fifth-place) final at that event.
“Our team really wanted to win this, because last year we didn’t have the outcome we wanted,” Belmore said.
The 2017-18 Golden Suns rebounded from a disappointing LIT by winning the city and provincial 4A girls championships.
This season, Leboldus is undefeated (at 10-0) while outscoring the opposition 894-333 in the Regina Intercollegiate Basketball League’s senior girls tier 1 division.
Cohesion and familiarity are two keys to the team’s repeated successes.
“We’ve all been playing together for so long,” Starchuck said. “We know each other very well and we know how each other thinks. We’re a close team and we work together.”
In the senior boys final, the Winnipeg Sturgeon Heights Huskies defeated the Saskatoon St. Joseph Guardians 85-72 at the Semple Gymnasium.
Mason Kraus had 33 points, six steals, seven assists and three rebounds for Sturgeon Heights, which got 18 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots from Jesse Fedak.
Sturgeon Heights set a tournament record for three-pointers (43), including 14 by Kraus.
Kraus (senior boys) and Belmore (senior girls) earned most-valuable player honours. Belmore was a tournament all-star in 2018.
This year’s senior girls all-star team consisted of Starchuck, Berkley Heggie (Lethbridge), Naomi Kent (Kelowna Christian School Knights), Mackenna Klotz (O’neill Titans) and Anna Kernaghan (Sturgeon Heights).
Fedak, Mason Hoffman (Leboldus), Andy Vanderhooft (Luther Lions), Toks Ajayi (Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs) and Kyshawn Ramnauth (Winnipeg John Taylor Pipers) were the senior boys all-stars.
Hustle Awards were presented to Mason Dirham of St. Joseph (senior boys) and Ella Farthing of Leboldus (senior girls).
Sir Winston Churchill (senior boys) and Sturgeon Heights (senior girls) were named the most sportsmanlike teams.
Vanderhooft on Saturday ■ became the tournament’s all-time leading scorer.
In the seventh-place game, he had 26 points in Luther’s 91-73 victory over the Winston Knoll Wolverines to finish with 218 career points. Carter Millar, who played for Leboldus in the 2014, 2015 and 2016 LITS, held the previous mark of 207.