Our teams put in a great effort this week at the Rocky View Divisional Basketball Championships, winning one gold and one silver medal.
JV GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
The Junior Varsity Girls Basketball Team earned gold at the Rockyview Divisional Championships. They capped off a dream season this week with a win against Bow Valley in the semi-final on Thursday and a hard-fought win over the Bert Church Chargers in the gold medal game on Saturday. In front of an exuberant crowd at George McDougall High School, the Lady Lakers came out strong and played sound team basketball en-route to an exciting 91-46 victory in the championship final. This amazing group of young ladies finished the league season undefeated and drew praise from opposing players, coaches and fans. Coach Rob Wilson had this to say about the girls: “They worked hard all year and combine that with some incredible talent made this team nearly unbeatable.” Congratulations on a season for the ages. The team wrapped up their season on Sunday with a potluck dinner with each team member being presented with a card, team picture, flower and a stuffed bear. Close to 50 family members and friend celebrated the success of the JV Lady Lakers at the windup banquet.
VARSITY BOYS’ BASKETBALL
The Lakers went into the Divisional Championships as the number one seed. Facing a scrappy Bert Church team, in the semi-finals, the Lakers were forced into overtime prevailing 98-95. Led by Hunter Karl with 28 points, Yuvraj Hundal with 14 points, and two huge threes in overtime by Riley Lenci, the Lakers managed to move on to the final against rival Cochrane. The Lakers fell short of their goal losing a tight game 83-77 taking the silver medal. Keith Davis led the way defensively and offensively with 20 points. Although disappointed with the result, the Lakers look forward to the Zone Championships this weekend in Olds.
JV BOYS’ BASKETBALL
The Chestermere JV Lakers played in the Rocky View Divisional playoffs this past week. In the quarter- finals they played Bow Valley and posted a 65-33 win. In the semi- final game they played George McDougall to a 71-52 loss, putting them into the bronze medal game against the Cochrane Cobras. In the bronze final the Lakers lost in overtime 63-62 to Cochrane. Jag Gill averaged 20 ppg and 11 rpg, Corey Hendry averaged 17 ppg and 4 blocks per game and Bailey Grabmuller 9 ppg and 9 rpg for the playoffs. The team played with a great deal of heart in this game. The Lakers now head into a very tough South Central Zone Championship tournament in Canmore as the 5th seed.
VARSITY GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
The Varsity Girls’ were knocked out early in the Rocky View Playoffs. Travelling to Cochrane last week the Lady Lakers took on the red hot Cochrane Cobras. A first quarter deficit of 25-5 put the team into a hole they could not dig out of. Although the girls fought back hard, in the second half, they could not get the score closer than 10 points. The girls won the second half but ended up losing the game 70-54. This knocked the Lakers out and Cochrane went on to win the Rocky View Championship. The Lady Lakers move on to the 4A Zone Championships this week. With a tournament win the girls will qualify for the 4A Provincial Championship in Lethbridge. Although an underdog don’t discount the young Lady Lakers. The team is healthy for the first time all year.
We are proud to honour the JV Lady Lakers with the “Athlete of the Week.” The girls capped off an undefeated league season with the Rocky View Championship. The team won all 7 of the invitational tournaments they played in. As well they had the best won-loss percentage for an entire season, in school history. They finished with a 35-1 record. This team showed class on and off the court and deserves all their success. Congratulations to all players and coaches. You have left a legacy that will be difficult to match.[/box]
