The Isfeld Ice senior girls’ basketball team wound up a very successful season by finishing third at the Island Championships in Victoria on Feb. 21-23.
They defeated top teams such as Lambrick Park (South #2) and Ballenas (North #2). This gave them a chance to play Notre Dame (B.C. #9) for the final berth to the Provincials. The game didn’t turn out in their favour, but the team didn’t give up until the final buzzer and the girls could hold their heads high for making it so far.
It was a very busy season for the Ice, who practised twice a week, participated in nine tournaments and played nine league games. The Ice began the season as the underdog and surprised many with their overall results, which included a second place finish at Mount Doug’s Christmas Tournament, a second place finish at their home tournament, and third place finishes at both the North Island and Island Championships.
They had two wins and one loss at Colingwood and Dover Bay, were 2-2 at Saint Michalel’s University (SMU) and won seven of their nine league games. The Ice also had some wins in a couple of tough tournaments where they had to face teams ranked in the top 10 in the province, and not only that, they had to play the host team in front of a lunch time crowd.
Basketball is more than a game on the court; it is a lifestyle, a way of living. During those three months you grow with your team, you laugh, you cry, you face emotional challenges, you celebrate…this year the Ice grew into a very solid unit who spent time together on and off the court. The team was faced with injuries, illnesses, and deaths in the family but still they played on.
The grit and determination of the team was especially apparent when they travelled to the SMU tournament with six players. One of the six had a rib injury, one tweaked her hamstring at the tourney, and one became sick, so they played their final game with only four players on the court at times and still came out on top, beating Dover Bay by 20 points.
Another special quality of this year’s team was that everyone stepped up their game, and we could substitute a full line of players during games and still come out with a strong win. It was always rewarding for us to see the faces of the other coaches as we made these full line substitutions all game long, while they only played their best players throughout the game.
We believed in our girls, and they proved that they deserved their floor time. The Ice won as a team and lost as a team. Our Grade 12s Emma Balneaves, Emma Miller, Mali Przy, Julia Eilerts, and Lex Hornstein played their best basketball ever and the energy and intensity of this crew will be missed.
Balneaves excelled at defence and improved her shot and intensity on offence throughout the season, Miller also excelled on D and was the spirit leader of the team, Przy played solid d and was our strongest player on the boards, Hornstein was a steady presence on the court at all times and was a good team leader and Eilerts was great on the fast break, assisting the team with many layups.
Our Grade 11 Yasmine Boillard helped Przy under the boards and played especially well during the playoffs, winning player of the game in our final game at the Islands. Leah Cicon scored many key baskets for us, was a good rebounder and her and Grade 10 teammate Avery Snider had many amazing steals throughout the season.
Snider, the main guard, controled the pace of the game and led the team in assists as well as scoring many points and will possibly join the Provincial team again this summer. Our team’s leading scorer was Danielle Vanbergen who averaged 26 points a game with 11 games above 30 points. She was another main guard who saw the floor well and could control the speed of the game.
Before Michaela Ashlee had to step down due to knee surgery she contributed many points with her accurate shot and she did very well at Brittania’s three-point shooting competition. Malia Irvine was able to practise with the squad and joined in the team camaraderie but wasn’t able to get into game due to a collar bone injury.
The end of every season is hard…some people don’t realize that when coaching at this level you put hours and hours toward the team planning practices and game strategies, coaching the actual games, organizing tournaments, rides, hotels; you breathe and dream about your team.
This year has been special for us as we are saying goodbye to five grads who have been with us for three years. We’ve seen them growing as players and women and we are so very proud of them. The season’s last event will be our annual parents/coaches vs. players game where lots of laughs will be heard in that Isfeld gymnasium. Go Ice!
In closing, thank you to all of the parents, coaches, families and fans for their support throughout the season, to the Isfeld staff, to the businesses and individuals who sponsored the team and to Gary Robertson for all the behind-the-scenes work he did for the team.
– Isfeld Ice coaches Jouska Lockquell and Gail Robertson
