Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
-With files from Lauren Zandee, MRU
EDMONTON – It had the makings of a perfect storm of a family reunion story in Canada West.
With the MacEwan Griffins women's basketball team visiting the Mount Royal Cougars on Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m., both Canada West TV), there would be three Lalor sisters in the gym at the same time.
Jamie plays for the Cougars.
Hayley plays for the Griffins.
And older sister Kelsey, who once played for the Saskatchewan Huskies women's basketball team, is now an assistant coach with the Griffins.
Alas, Kelsey won't be able to be there this weekend due to her prodigious multi-sport talents that have her competing with Team Canada's women's softball team at the WBSC Pan Americas Pan American Championship in Guatemala Nov. 12-19.
By Hayley's count, it will be the seventh time her and Jamie have gone head-to-head in Canada West action, which is always interesting.
"I think it's kind of cool," said the fourth-year Griffins guard who is one year older than her sister. "It isn't really that much different. It's kind of funny sometimes when I'm running down the court and we're bumping around.
"Last year, I never really guarded her much; I guarded other people. But it is kind of fun, especially after the games we can hang out and joke around. I like playing against her. I like getting to see her."
Jamie Lalor (#13) guards MacEwan's Noelle Kilbreath during a game last season. She and Hayley have gone against each other six times already in Canada West action (Eduardo Perez photo).
Growing up in Red Deer, the Lalor sisters were destined for big things athletically as the three daughters of dad Dwayne, who played baseball for Team Canada and Washington State, and mom Kathy, who played basketball for Red Deer College.
"We played all the same sports growing up and everything was a competition in our house," said Jamie. "If you could make it a competition we did, even playing Just Dance."
That's brought out a trademark intensity that all three Lalor sisters have, making them invaluable members of their respective teams.
"We've played sports our entire life, so it's been something that's always been there," said Kelsey over the phone from Florida where Team Canada is currently preparing for the Pan Ams. "The three of us are close in age and the competitiveness is brought out between all of us. I think it's been really good. There is lots of competitiveness in the household, but it also pushes us to be the best versions of ourselves.
"I think it's really starting to shine through for both my sisters as they start to mature in their university careers. That competition has driven them to be leaders on the court for their teams. As the older sister, it's really cool just to sit back and watch. I'm excited for this weekend to see how competitive the two of them get."
Then there is mom and dad. The two of them have been long-time basketball coaches at Red Deer's Lindsay Thurber high school for the girls and boys teams, respectively. When their daughters reached high school, Dwayne and Kathy became co-coaches of the Raiders senior girls basketball team.
Two years older than Hayley, Kelsey got to play with her sister for one season when she was in Grade 12.
"We play pretty much the same position – we're smaller shooting guards," said Kelsey. "In high school, we got to play together a lot, so that was really fun.
"Seeing who she was as a high school player and now who she's become playing for Katherine (Adams) at MacEwan, they're just two different players. She's much more mature now, understands the game and it's just really cool to watch her."
Kelsey Lalor, left, guards MacEwan's Kayla Ivicak during a game in the 2017-18 season. She played three seasons for the Huskies before finishing her university career as a softball athlete for Boise State (Chris Piggott photo).
Hayley and Jamie then played together in high school for two years after Kelsey graduated and went to the University of Saskatchewan where she played three seasons (2016-19).
"I'm super grateful to be a part of that program," she said. "It was a great experience, and I learned a lot. When I played there, I had the opportunity to play in three national championships and win a Canada West title. It was just an awesome experience there.
"I'm just really grateful to have this opportunity to coach at MacEwan, too, and experience Canada West from a different point of view."
Kelsey and the Huskies won Canada West titles in both her first and last year there before she transferred to Boise State to play softball – a career which wrapped up last season.
Meanwhile, her sisters were busy carving out their own identities.
Hayley grew steadily into one of the most important players on the Griffins and is a huge part of a veteran core that has their eyes on playoff success this season.
And Jamie finally specialized in a sport when she signed on with the Mount Royal women's basketball team in 2019 and is currently the team's captain.
Kelsey Lalor, seen giving instruction during a preseason game against UNBC last month, is now an assistant coach with the Griffins (Rich Abney photo).
So, this weekend will be a big one for the Lalor family.
"My parents will definitely be in the stands, probably in neutral colours so they don't pick favourites," Jamie said. "But I think it's a pretty neat situation to have all three of us on the court in some capacity or another and I know my parents will be cheering all of us on."
At the very least, their parents will be in the same gym. In recent years, their practice has been divide and conquer, which prompted the sisters have somewhat of an intervention.
"It's actually kind of funny," said Hayley. "I don't know what it will be like this year because we told them to stop, but what they would do is one would drive to Edmonton and one would drive to Calgary for Friday night's game and then they would switch, so each of us always had someone there to watch. But we told them they could stop, and they just go together and then go together (to the other place) the next night. They did that in preseason, so we'll see how it goes this year."
Chances are they might also be trying to live stream Kelsey's softball action from Guatemala at the same time.
"I just think their support over the years has been everything we could have asked for and more," said Kelsey. "What they do for us is so incredible. One will drive to Mount Royal and the other's at MacEwan. While they're there, they'll have the other game pulled up watching on Canada West TV.
"They just love watching us and seeing the people and athletes we've become. Having parents like my mom and dad have made all the difference for the three of us."
