The Pen High Lakers Grade 9 girls basketball team got its motivation to win the Okanagan Championship on the weekend from Kaylee Kozari-Bowland.
The 16-year-old is in Vancouver battling cancer. Wearing Bowland shirts with the writing, “She who is brave is free” pushed the Laker squad past the Okanagan Mission Huskies 42-28.
“They won it for her. They fought for her. It really helped propel the girls,” said Lakers co-coach Blair Haddrell, adding that the players are inspired by what Kozari-Bowland is going through. “They are starting to realize how good they are.”
Along with playing for Kozari-Bowland, the Lakers played strong defence, rebounded well and had timely scoring. Emma Schneider led with a 12-point performance, while Mattie Philip and Chloe Brydon chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
“I thought we played well,” said Haddrell, who along with coach Bill Bidlake watched as the group defeated the top two seeds.
Strong defensive play all weekend gave the Lakers success along with working hard and showing fight.
“Offensively we moved the ball well,” said Haddrell, whose squad’s confidence has grown. “The big thing was defense.”
Britney Young was a key on that front guiding a strong press. She also made good decisions with her passing helping Schneider net eight first-half points. Philip had seven as the Lakers led 24-19 after the first half.
Young, Philip and Schneider were all named tournament all-stars, while Brydon was selected as the tournament’s most valuable player.
The Lakers opened the Okanagan championship with a 45-24 win over Kamloops’ Brock School. Schneider finished with 16 points, 14 of them in the first half, while Brydon added 11 and Philip nine.
In the semifinal against the KLO Cougars, the Lakers won 41-36. Shaloa Street had a breakout game with solid drives and chipped in seven points. The Lakers were led offensively by Brydon with 16 points, Schneider eight and Philip, seven.
The Lakers will travel to Kelowna Feb. 26-28 for the provincial championship.
Throughout the season the Lakers faced Grade 10 squads to help them adapt to stronger, more physical girls.
The team is as follows: left to right, back row —Blair Haddrell (coach), Bill Bidlake (coach). Middle — Kara Crowley (manager), Britney Young, Shaloa Street, Emma Schneider, Chloe Brydon, Harjot Jandu, Natalie Parkin, Hailey Hunt
Front- Mattie Philip and Tayedra Koppe.
Missing- Madison Baxter, Haley Berrisford and Ashley Kiss.
