There were second-place finishes all around for both the senior and junior girls’ basketball teams at their annual tournament at the Elmira District Secondary School gym last weekend.
The junior girls lost their first match of the tournament against St. James from Guelph, 57-21, but rebounded to win their next two games against Stratford (40-19) and Sacred Heart (41-17).
“It’s an interesting mix of girls this year,” said head coach Dale Roberts. “We’ve got veterans and some rookies. It was nice because everyone got to play, and I think the rookies are improving day-by-day.”
The junior teams were ranked based on their performance after the round-robin, there was no championship game.
The senior girls had a similar fate, but lost the championship game 38-20 to St. Joseph’s Catholic School from St. Thomas.
“They played really, really well,” said head coach Brian Carter. “Our new girls are learning how to play new positions and they’re really starting to understand them well.”
The senior girls won their first two games, a close one against Preston High School (35-34) and an easier game against Walkerton (42-27) to finish first in their pool, before losing out to St. Joseph’s in the final.
“They’re getting better all the time and that’s really what it’s for, to prepare for hopefully a good playoff run.
And the tournament appears to have paid dividends for both teams already. In Tuesday regular-season action against Forest Heights, the senior Lancers won 38-20, while the juniors cruised to a 42-11 victory.
