The Lindsay Thurber Raiders and St. Joseph Falcons slugged it out in Central Alberta High School Basketball League senior girls play.
Lindsay Thurber needed overtime but were just able to sneak past the Falcons 72-69 in the first league game after the Christmas break on Thursday.
Guard Jamie Lalor helped the Raiders force overtime after she hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 63 with under 20 seconds to play. She finished with a game-high 30 points in the victory.
At half time, the game was tied at 22 and down the stretch, both teams held leads in the final two minutes and 12 seconds of the game.
In overtime, they went back-and-forth before the Raiders pulled away late. It was a fitting conclusion to a well-fought game by both sides.
“St. Joes is a really good team, we were really well matched and they’ve been having some really good games. I didn’t know how we were going to do. I was really happy with our girls,” said Raiders coach Kathy Lalor.
“We got out in front then they came back and went ahead. I was so pleased with the girls because they tied it at half time. We made a clutch shot to tie it and go into overtime. Those are the things that tell you the character of your team.”
Falcons guard Jamie Robertson was huge for the visitors, pouring in 19 points in the loss. Taylor Blais also had a big game for the Falcons, with a team-high 23 points.
Lindsay Thurber has a younger group this season, after winning the zone title the past two seasons. They have just one returning starter and four players overall from last year’s group.
“We don’t have a lot of experience, but we’re getting better in a hurry,” Lalor said.
“Every game, the girls are doing things that we didn’t know they were ready to move on and do. This is the first time in a long time I haven’t had very many returning players… I think these girls are up to the challenge.”
The Lindsay Thurber Raiders senior boys also won Thursday, knocking off the Falcons 62-50.
In Rocky Mountain House, the Hunting Hills Lighting senior girls knocked off the West Central Rebels 75-34. Top scorers for Hunting Hills were Sydney Larsen and Melena Fisher with 14 points each. Keanna Richards chipped in 10 points.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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