The basketball teams have been working hard all season to prepare themselves for this week’s Rocky View Championship. All four teams are looking for great results to gain some momentum for next week’s South Central Zone Championships.
JV BOYS BASKETBALL
The JV Boys finished off their tournament schedule at the Pearson Invitational. In the first game, on Friday evening, the boys played the Forest Lawn Titans. A quick start with an entire team effort led the Lakers to an 85-61 victory. Ben Bitzan led the way with 17 points followed by Malek Meddeb with 14. The next morning the Lakers outmatched the host Pearson Patriots 75-62. Again the Lakers were led by Bitzan with 17. Logan Bennett added 11 in the victory. In the championship final the Lakers were up against a bigger more athletic squad from Notre Dame (Calgary). In a back and forth game, with great crowd support, the Lakers came up short 87-74. Meddeb paced the Lakers with 30 points including 7 from beyond the arc. Bitzan was named a tournament all-star. A great weekend gives the Lakers momentum heading into RVSA playoffs beginning Wednesday at home against Bow Valley. With a win the JV Lakers will play in the championship final on Saturday at George McDougall, in Airdrie.
VARSITY GIRLS BASKETBALL
An update from last week, written by Coach Annette Wilson: The Lakers played their last league game against Bow Valley last Tuesday. The team was victorious with a score of 85-25. Kendal Russell was high scorer with 12 points. Olivia Armstrong and Carly Smigel each chipped in with 10 points. It was senior night for the team and each of the 11 graduating players were given a bouquet of flowers and a small tribute at half time. The team then hosted the Laker Invitational with 3 of the top ranked provincially ranked teams. In the first game, Chestermere Lakers played 9th ranked Western Canada. The Lakers won by a score of 65-54. Kasey Haasen had 20 points, Olivia Armstrong 15 and Carly Smigel 12. Olivia Armstrong was selected the player of the game. The second game was against 7th ranked Centennial Coyotes. The Lakers fell short by a score of 74-55. Olivia Armstrong was hot hitting 5 threes and finished with 18 points. Kasey Haasen finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds and was player of the game. The final game was against 4th ranked Paul Kane from St. Albert. It was a close game throughout but the team lost by a score of 72-58. Kendal Russell had her best game of the year scoring 24 points and was player of the game. Kasey Haasen scored 16 points and 11 rebounds and Camren Longstaff had 11 points. The girls will play their first divisional playoff game on March 1st at Chestermere at 7:00. With a win the Lakers will play in the Rocky View championship on Saturday at George McDougall.
VARSITY BOYS BASKETBALL
The Varsity Lakers were idle this past weekend. On Tuesday the team will travel to Airdrie to take on the W.H. Croxford Cavaliers. This will be a tough game for the team. With a win the Lakers will qualify for Thursdays semi-finals at Cochrane. The team looks forward to hosting the 4A South Central Zone Championships the following weekend.
JV GIRLS BASKETBALL
The JV Girls were also idle this past weekend. The girl start playoffs on Wednesday as they travel to Cochrane to take on the Bow Valley Bobcats. The team will need a big win to move on to the semi-finals on Friday. The following week the JV Lakers travel to Okotoks to play in the 4A JV Championships.
