Both of Chestermere High School's senior basketball teams came out on the losing end of their respective division championship games on March 5.
At the Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) championships in Airdrie, the Chestermere Lakers senior girls' team fell to the host W.H. Croxford Cavaliers 67-47, while the Lakers senior boys' team lost 74-68 to the Cochrane Cobras.
Even though his players could not overcome the athleticism of the first-seed Cavaliers, Erhayat Ozcan, head coach of the Lakers senior girls' team, said Chestermere fought valiantly, and went toe-to-toe with Croxford – who were unbeaten in the regular season – for most of the game.
“Croxford is an excellent basketball team,” Ozcan said. They’re extremely athletic, very well coached, and they have a nice blend of seniors and younger players who are complementary to the abilities of the seniors they have. “But I was extremely impressed with our team.”
Ozcan claimed the Lakers were the smallest team in the RVSA this season, and despite their physical shortcomings, the players never shied away from a challenge.
He added the team showed immense improvement throughout the 2021-22 season, evidenced by the fact the Lakers lost by 38 points to Croxford in the regular season back in early December, and had reduced that deficit to 20 points in the championship game.
“Our compete level was significantly better than it was at the start of the year, and our players worked to improve daily,” he said.
“They put in a full effort, had a growth mindset the entire season, and they approached every practice and game as an opportunity to improve. The small, iterative steps along the way have added up to a large, noticeable improvement between the start and end of the season.”
The championship game got off to the worst possible start for the Lakers, as the Cavaliers jumped out to an early 16-0 lead in the first four minutes.
But Chestermere didn't quit, according to Ozcan, and reduced the hosts' lead to four points by the end of the first quarter.
“That was an opportunity for our girls to say, ‘Well that’s it, we’re done. We’ll pack it in.’ But they didn’t,” he said. “They fought and clawed their way back to make it 16-12.”
Despite the first-quarter comeback, Croxford managed to regain momentum in the second quarter, and led 36-23 by halftime.
A strong 10-2 run in the third quarter by the Cavaliers then put the game out of reach for the Lakers.
Ozcan noted that apart from the four-minute stretch at the beginning of the game and the three-minute stretch in the third quarter where the Cavaliers outscored the Lakers by a combined 26-2 scoreline, it was actually a very tight game.
“But because Croxford is so talented and well coached, it doesn’t take much for them to get a little bit of a spark,” he said. “They exploded in those two different stretches.”
Cochrane wins banner
In the senior boys' title game on March 5, the Cochrane Cobras held off the Lakers to take home the RVSA banner – a title they last won in 2019.
The two teams have proven to be the top senior boys' basketball teams in the RVSA in recent years, as the 2019 and 2020 finals were also contested between Cochrane and Chestermere.
Cochrane head coach Patrick Court said the win resulted from a hard-fought match that saw the Cobras competing without one of their best players, who was suspended from the game due to a technical foul in the semi-final.
“We were down our leading scorer and a couple of other players... so we knew it was going to be a bit of a dogfight this weekend,” he said. “It was a great team win and emotional for the guys knowing we could succeed if something happens to someone on the team.
“With the players that we have, it’s about letting them do what they do best on the court. I trust these guys that they’re going to make the right decisions on the floor.”
In the junior age divisions, the Cavaliers junior girls' team overcame their west Airdrie rivals, the George McDougall Mustangs, 59-55. The Cobras beat George McDougall 66-63 to claim the junior boys' division title.
—With files from Jessica Lee/Cochrane Eagle
