Pen High’s senior boys basketball team earned a split in the final weekend of Okanagan Valley league action.
On Saturday, the Lakers hosted the NorKam Saints and hoped to avenge an earlier seven-point loss in Kamloops. The Lakers jumped out to a 22-17 first-quarter lead, then had a rough second quarter, which left them going into the half with a 41-37 lead. They held off the Saints to win 67-49. Ty Moorman scored 11 of his game-high 23 in the fourth quarter. Brody St. Martin collected 14 points while Ryan Sutcliffe added 12 points. On Friday, the Lakers hosted the South Kamloops Titans and lost 62-38. Moorman led with eight points.
Prior to that weekend, the Lakers played No. 1 Kelowna Secondary Owls and lost 78-40, then defeated the Salmon Arm Golds 56-33.
The Lakers travel to Kamloops on March 1 to compete in the Valley Championships and open against the Rutland Voodoos at 6 p.m.
Senior girls
Eighteen and 15 point performances by Bri Hrynyk and Bryanne Francisco helped send the Lakers to the Valley Championship. The Lakers whipped the Mount Boucherie Bears 73-32 in a quarter-final matchup on Tuesday.
“The girls were on top of their game,” said Lakers coach Lesley Lacroix. “This was the single most important game of the year. We didn’t make Valleys last year so that was our goal all year long.”
The Lakers shot well from the three-point line, including Francisco, who drained five. Also contributing to the offence was Adra Greig, who finished with 13 points.
Last weekend the Lakers lost to No. 1 ranked South Kamloops Titans 72-27. Steffi Caron was the outstanding player for the Lakers as she limited six-foot-five Canadian national team member Emma Wolfram to 12 points. Against the NorKam Saints, the Lakers won 48-36 in what was the final regular season games for Grade 12s Kenya Rogers, Dani Pratt, Jen Black, Hrynyk, Francisco and Greig.
The Lakers will face the Titans in the first round of Valleys.
Junior Lakers
The Pen High Lakers junior girls basketball team are south zone champs.
They accomplished the feat by defeating Princess Margaret Mustangs 51-28. Hayden Craig led the Lakers with 16 points, while adding four rebounds and three steals. Natasha Reimer scored 11 points, to go with nine rebounds and two blocks. Emily Clarke had six rebounds, seven assists and five steals, while Abi McCluskey collected six rebounds.
The Lakers opened the championship with a 48-18 win against Princeton. Craig scored 29 points.
“We got gutsy efforts from all the girls,” said Lakers coach Chris Terris. “Natasha Reimer, Georgia Hurry, Mikala Vujcich and McCluskey were all sick and missed school last week. These were two great team wins.”
The Valley Championships are this weekend in Salmon Arm and the Lakers, ranked No. 7, open against Mt. Boucherie at 4 p.m., while the Mustangs open against Kelowna Secondary School at 7 p.m. Terris said that No. 1 South Kamloops are the clear favorites leaving the rest to battle for one spot.
