The dominant season from the Chestermere Lady Lakers senior girls’ basketball team continued at the 2018 4A South Central Zone play-ins March 6 to 10, where the team won gold and secured a provincial berth.
After 2017 zones, where the undefeated Lakers were handed two straight losses and eliminated from provincial contention, the team hosted this year’s play-ins with the intention of qualifying for the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association (ASAA) 4A Provincials.
“It was a huge relief, if not accomplishment for (the girls) to finally come out champions in zones,” said head coach Jessica Thielen.
“They have worked very hard, knowing that the competition was stiff and if they didn’t come to perform, they wouldn’t come away victorious.”
The Lakers kicked off its tournament March 6 with its strongest showing against the Holy Trinity Academy Knights. The Lakers controlled the court for a 69-47 win.
The squad followed that win March 8 with a matchup against the Foothills Falcons, a team the Lady Lakers had encountered frequently in tournament play this season, but had not managed to beat. A strong defensive showing led to a combined 107 points between the two high-scoring offences, but the Lady Lakers eked out a 56-51 victory and secured its spot in the finals.
In the final, the Lady Lakers once again took on the Knights – a matchup Thielen said would provide her girls a stiffer challenge than the March 6 meeting.
Although the game was closer than the round-robin matchup, the Lady Lakers came out with the 90-78 victory.
“This year, we knew we were good enough and we weren’t settling for anything less – we were going to go out and give it our all,” Thielen said. “This was a huge win for them.”
In addition to winning zones, the Lady Lakers proved to be a dominant force in the Rocky View Sport Association, winning every game en route to its fifth-straight league title.
With momentum on its side, Chestermere turns its attention to the 4A provincials, March 15 to March 17 (after press time). Heading into provincials as the 13th seed, the Lakers are, admittedly, a bit of a dark horse – but Thielen said she still believes the team could be a tournament contender.
“What I love about this team is they are peaking at the right time,” she said. “These girls are playing their very best basketball going into provincials.
“We’ve got some very talented girls on our team. If we go in and take care of business, we like to think we have a good shot at winning.”
