Foothills Falcons basketball is flying high to start the season.
Both senior teams earned silver medals at the annual St. Francis Xavier Mike Dea Classic in Edmonton on Nov. 28-30, a marquee tournament featuring 16 teams from Alberta and Saskatchewan on the boys side and 12 girls squads.
The Falcons girls were defeated 53-47 by the Scona Lords in the nailbiter gold medal game.
Foothills, fourth place finishers at provincials last season, defeated the Miller Composite Marauders 77-48 and Leduc Tigers 93-69 to get to the final.
Savanah Sommerfeldt, a third-year member of the squad, was named Foothills’ tournament all-star.
The Falcons senior boys went 3-1 in Edmonton and did so with a prolific offence.
Foothills hit the 99-point mark in decisive wins over the Sturgeon Spirits and Louis St. Laurent and outlasted the O’Leary Spartans 87-81 in a competitive semifinal.
The host St. Francis held off the visitors 76-64 in the gold medal game.
Foothills guard Nash Byam and forward Grant Godfrey were named tournament all-stars.
The Falcons have a strong track record at the event with the girls winning it in 2023 and claiming bronze in 2022. The Falcons boys took bronze last year.
Both Falcons teams are back in tournament action at Medicine Hat High during the first weekend of December.
Closer to home, the Falcons and HTA Knights will square off in exhibition action on Dec. 10, a double-header featuring the boys and girls teams.
