A 55-45 loss at the hands of the WJ Mouat Hawks forced the Pen High Lakers to settle for fourth.
The junior girls basketball team were downed by the No. 8 ranked team in B.C. during their host tournament on the weekend. Leading the Lakers offensively were Hayden Craig with 16 points and eight rebounds and Mikala Vujcich with 10 points. Emily Clarke and Georgia Hurry rounded out the scoring with eight and five points, respectively. Clarke was also selected to the tournament all-star team, while Abi McCluskey earned top defensive player honours.
“The girls battled hard all weekend,” said Lakers coach Chris Terris. “We’re down a couple of key players which gave others a chance to step into different and, in some cases, larger roles. They responded really well.”
Along with Craig, Terris said Clarke was a force, while Hurry gains confidence every game.
“I wanted to see someone step up offensively and Clarke has been doing that,” said Terris.
In the opening match, a 50-28 win against Kalmalka, Clarke contributed six points, seven rebounds and four steals. Against North Vancouver’s St. Thomas Aquinas, Clarke had six points and three assists in a 52-28 loss.
The Lakers other win in the tournament was 46-24 against Surrey’s Lord Tweedsmuir. Craig finished with 14 points to lead the Lakers. What impressed Terris during the weekend is that his players showed resiliency when faced with adversity.
“We lost one key player (Annie Plant) for the season before Christmas with a knee injury and lost another key player this weekend (Ana Moroziuk),” said Terris. “Others have simply stepped in the void and done a terrific job. Clarke had to become our primary ball handler. She, and Jo Gunning and McCluskey in support roles, did an unbelievable job against a couple of the more intense, pressing teams in the province.” The focus of the weekend was on getting better each game as they strive to peak during the valley championships at the end of February.
Terris said the Lakers have a very challenging schedule ahead with them facing South Kamloops (No.1) twice, KSS (No. 5) three times, along with Oak Bay (No. 2), Brookswood (No. 3), STA (No. 4), Mouat (No. 8) and York House (No. 9).
“Our ability to compete with these teams, some of which play 30 to 40 games in the summer and fall as a team, speaks volumes to the competitiveness of the girls,” he said.
Prior to the tournament, the Lakers defeated Princeton 54-25 in South Zone league play.
Also competing were Princess Margaret, who placed 11th of 16 teams. The Mustangs defeated the Pleasant Valley Eagles 50-24 in their final game. Kamloops defeated St. Thomas Aquinas 58-40 to take first. Mustangs coach Dan Van Os felt his team competed very well in their four games against quality opponents. They went 2-2 including an overtime loss to
Vernon Secondary, a team that earned an honourable mention in the provincial rankings. Van Os said his players executed their systems play better, including their offense and presses that they have been practising.
“The quality of the competition was very good and playing at this level will help us improve,” said Van Os.