Mattie Philip put on a clinic from long distance against the Salmon Arm Jewels.
Philip drained 12 three-point shots and finished with 37 points in a 68-46 win Tuesday at home in 3A Okanagan Valley senior girls basketball league action.
“It was honestly insane,” said Philip, who was still feeling sick after missing school on Monday. “Everytime I shot, I didn’t think it was going to go in and it just went in. It was crazy. I would have never expected that I would be able to do that.”
Lakers athletic director Steve Grant said the school doesn’t keep official records on student-athlete achievements, but it is believed by other Laker coaches, including Philips’ coach Dustin Hyde, that she has set a record.
Lesley Lacroix, a former Lakers senior girls’ coach, had Bryanne Francisco who sunk eight from long distance.
Playing ill, Philip, a Grade 11 guard, was worried that she wouldn’t play well. While in the gym talking to people, Hyde yelled, “It’s about time Mattie. I’ve been waiting all year for that.”
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Hyde said she’s one of the best shooters in the province.
“Without even questioning it,” he said. “She struggled a lot this year. She has hoisted up a lot and hasn’t made as many as we thought she would. She has been self conscious about it. In a weekend in Kamloops and she had a good weekend. It gave her the confidence. I always knew she could shoot it. We’ve never seen anything like that.”
In the 10 years Hyde has been involved in coaching with boys and girls, he hasn’t seen a player make that many shots from three-point range.
“It’s a pretty special performance,” he said.
Laker teammate Lyndzie Caron said she’s proud.
“It’s awesome. We all knew she could do it,” said Caron. “It’s weird how she could do it this game because she is so sick. Both of us are crazy sick. She has been feeling horrible all day, then she comes out and just kills it.”
When it came to the team’s peformance, Caron said they weren’t at their best considering the circumstances. The Lakers only had nine players.
“We had an OK game. Mattie lit it up though. She helped us a lot,” said Caron.
“I wasn’t that happy with how we played. We have struggled to score the ball,” said Hyde. “Defensively we went into a 3-2 zone. Salmon Arm shot the ball well. They were only scoring from the three-point line. We’re upposed to take away three point shots.
The Lakers have secured third place in the league and expect to play Mt. Boucherie in the Valley semifinals. On Jan. 27 to 28, the Lakers host a tournament.
