The senior girls Laker basketball team’s season came to a disappointing end after a surprising loss to the lower seeded Camrose Trojans.
The Lakers, who lost 55-65, were led by Megan Steenbergen’s 15 points; however they were unable to handle a barrage of third quarter threes from Camrose that definitely wasn’t in the Laker’s scouting report.
“It was a good game,” Coach Matt Kennedy said. “We worked hard and still put up 50 plus points but Camrose shot better than they probably have all year. It was hard, one girl hit a couple threes on us and we haven’t seen that. It happens - sometimes teams get hot and get the best of you.”
Grade 12 Guard Maddy Dodman, who played her last game as a Laker, was surprised to see Camrose get so hot from behind the arc.
“It was two good teams matched up,” she said. “We knew it was going to be a tough battle, but we figured we would be the better team in the end.. They hit a lot of good shots and we didn’t.”
Grade 12 guard Erin Bryenton added “I think Camrose brought their game and knew what was on the line. We mishandled the ball a bit and it cost us.”
The Lakers were in control in the first half until the second half explosion from the Trojans
“I think we just got tired and a little anxious,” Kennedy said. “It was a big moment for us, we haven’t played a game this important in a long time and I think the girls felt that.”
The Lakers tried to switch to a man-to-man cover during the run, however the damage had unfortunately already been done.
“We tried switching to a man early in the third quarter and our man defence just got torched,” Kennedy said. “We didn’t work on it enough this year and that is on me.”
Despite the loss, confidence remained high among the Lakers.
“We know we can take them,” Kennedy said. “There is a reason we are the number two seed. We had more wins and have continually got better all year. The girls know they are the better team and they were bested by a team that got hot.”
“It was shocking and once we got down by more than three or four points a lot of us got down,” Dodman said. “I got into a slump and I knew that I had to shake my head out of it but its hard to bring yourself out.”
The Lakers season is over, however silver linings remain.
“This season is still a success,” Kennedy said. “We wanted to win the league, but the main goal was to change the culture surrounding our senior girls basketball team and we did that.We wanted to be the hardest working team on the court and we achieved that. The program is looking great because our seniors paved the way.”
“It was the best season we’ve had in a long time,” Bryenton added. “It was great to see how much we improved.”
Kennedy spoke about the growth of the Lakers over the last few years.
“They worked hard,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy, these girls have worked so hard and went through years where they would score zero points in a quarter or lose by 70. They stuck through that, showed up to every practice and they should be very proud of themselves.”
Dodman added “I hope we set a good tone for the years to come.”
reporter@sylvanlakenews.com