It was another excellent weekend of basketball, with two of our teams winning the South Central Zone Championships. Congratulations to all four teams and coaches for your season and representing Chestermere so well. Thanks to everyone who helped CHS with hosting the 4A Zone Championships this past weekend. Thanks, as well, to all coaches that gave up so much time and expertise in coaching their teams. We wish our Senior Girls the best of luck at 4A Provincials this weekend, in Medicine Hat.
VARSITY GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Lakers Varsity girls team were hosts to the SCZ 4A Championship. The Lakers played their first game against Holy Trinity Knights and won 69-42. Kendal Russell was high scorer with 21 points. Kasey Haasen chipped in with 16 and Camren Longstaff and Cole Isbister added 10 each. The next game for the Lakers was against Foothills Composite. The team managed to pull out a tough win, 56-51. Kasey Haasen finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Ashlyn Sendecki was hot from three point range and hit 3 timely threes. The final matchup for the championship was between HTA and CHS. Chestermere started strong and kept the lead for the entire game and won 90-78. Kasey Haasen had another strong game with 28 points and 10 rebounds. She had help from teammates Kendal with 18 points, Natalie McKernon with 13 and Cole Isbister with 10. With the win, the girls are 4A SCZ Champions and qualified to go to 4A Provinicials in Medicine Hat this weekend. The girls will play their first game on Thursday against the 5th ranked Raymond Comets.
JV BOYS BASKETBALL
This past weekend the JV Boys competed in the 4A South Central Zone Championships. On Tuesday the team played at FCHS defeating the Falcons 70-61. Logan Bennett led the Lakers with 29 including 5 makes from the 3 point line and Malek Meddeb added 14. The next night the Lakers were back in Okotok matched up with the HTA Knights. A sluggish start resulted in an 11 point deficit at half. Crawling back the entire second half, the Lakers took a lead 83-80 with less than 20 seconds left. HTA managed to hit a desperation three at the buzzer to force overtime. The Lakers controlled overtime and guaranteed their spot in the championship game with a 94-89 victory. Bennett led the way again with another 29 points with Ben Bitzen adding 25 and Meddeb with 17. The final matchup for the zone championship was again against the Falcons from Foothills. The Lakers struggled the initial two and a half quarters and with 12 minutes left trailed 53-40. The boys turned on the focus and defense intensity as the Falcons began to turn the ball over. Outscoring the Falcons 35-11 in the last 12 minutes the Lakers secured the win. Bitzen led the way with 21, with Meddeb adding 20 and Bennett with 17. The win completed a fantastic season for the Lakers. A 22-3 record including 2 tournament championships and 2 league titles. What a season for the young Lakers team.
VARSITY BOYS BASKETBALL
This past week saw the Chestermere Lakers Senior Boys season come to an end. The Lakers were hosts to 4A South Central Zone action against a pair of Okotoks opponents. First up were the Knights from Holy Trinity Academy, in Okotoks. Prior to the game Shaughn Boutiillier and Devyn Young were honored as graduating seniors. Two days later the Lakers faced the Foothills Composite Falcons. Both games resulted in defeat for the Chestermere squad who played some exciting basketball and kept the games closer than expected. Strong performances were turned in by Ethan Skrypnek and Brett Russell; both players scored in double digits in both games. The Lakers are looking forward to having a strong contingent of returning players and adding some talented JV boys to next seasons senior team.
JV GIRLS BASKETBALL
The JV Girls concluded their season participating in the 4A Zone Championship, in Okotoks. The team lost both games. No other details received. The season is now over for this young team.
GIRLS SPRING SHOOTING STARS BASKETBALL
Shooting Stars will, once again, offer spring basketball for female players. We are looking to run club teams at U13, U15 and U17 levels. Tryouts will begin Tuesday, April 10 and Thursday, April 12. For an information flyer please contact Brian Utley at butley@rockyview.ab.ca.
BOYS SPRING WOLFPACK BASKETBALL
Wolfpack Club Basketball is excited to be running spring club teams for boys basketball. Wolfpack offers high level coaching to boys looking to develop their skills and basketball IQ. Tryout information will be announced soon. Check www.wolfpackbasketball.ca to stay up-to-date or to register. For more information contact Derrick Russell derrickrussell474@gmail.com.
