The Stanley Humphries (SHSS) junior girls basketball team travelled to Penticton on the weekend to take part in the prestigious Laker Invitiational Tournament.
The tournament featured 16 teams including five teams ranked in the top 15 of the province. SHSS was fortunate to get the chance to play in the event after a team dropped out.
In their first game Friday afternoon, the Bulldogs played the #8 provincially ranked W.J. Mouat Hawks from Abbotsford and were routed 50-8. Mouat, a traditional Fraser Valley power-house, went up 20-4 early using pressure defence and sharp-shooting and never looked back.
Angela Soukeroff was named player of the game for SH for her strong defence and tenacity.
Things didn't get much easier for the Bulldogs in the consolation round as they faced a strong Archbishop Carney team from Coquitlam in their second game.
The Castlegar girls once again struggled against the pressure defence of their opponents and fell 47-10. Kelsey Matson picked up player of the game for the Bulldogs with her strong rebounding.
In their third game of the tournament, early Saturday morning, The team faced the Similkameen Sparks from Keremeos. The 'Dogs were close for most of the first half before Similkameen pulled away for the 39-16 win. Michelle Matson led SHSS with nine points and added 14 rebounds. Rebecca Liszt was the player of the game with her steady play at the point guard position.
Stanley Humphries finally hit the 20 point plateau in their fourth and final game against the Penticton 9's. Unfortunately, the team's defence wasn't quite up to the task, as the Bulldogs fell 34-20.
Kelsey Matson led the team with six points and 12 rebounds, while Jenna Kalmakoff was named player of the game for her superb hustle.
"We ended up last in the tournament but the overall goal was to expose the girls to a higher level of basketball than they see regularly," said SHSS co-coach Gord Matson. "We certainly achieved that. We hoped that we would encourage them to improve, rather than discourage them. I think we accomplished that too. Their attitudes were positive the whole weekend."
Kelsey Matson picked up the team's tournament all-star, while Rebecca Liszt was named the defensive player of the tournament.
Coach Matson said the team improved in a number of areas over the weekend.
"Undoubtedly, this weekend showed us all kinds of areas to improve right from guarding your basket out of bounds to making lay-ups and things like that," he said. "Any time you get to touch a ball for two days in a row, your skills improve and I think I saw that. The ability to catch and shoot, and dribble, and pass."
The team saw several different types of strong defences over the weekend, said Matson.
"They really had to challenge themselves against pressure defence that was much stronger than we were accustomed to. Not only full court pressure, but half court as well. I'll give the girls credit, they improved over the weekend at their ability to protect the ball and pass the ball through pressure."
The team is in action again this weekend as they travel to Grand Forks for a tournament.