Spartans battle to bitter end

Times Reporter  

 

Having beat Bow Valley on March 11 to advance to zones, the Strathmore High School (SHS) Spartans boys basketball team knew that their next matchup would be a challenge. On March 12, they took on Chestermere High School in Olds, the top team in the province.

“The boys played really well. We ran with them for the first quarter,” said SHS coach Ken Smith. “They’re big and athletic. You can’t take anything away from them. They can shoot well from the outside, and they have size on the inside – kids standing at 6’7 or 6’8. We were outgunned.”

Chestermere more than doubled Strathmore High School’s points, 93-41, but as zones is double-elimination, the Spartans had one more chance to stay alive. The next day, they faced George McDougall, another top team in Alberta, and faltered once more, 93-63.

“We were running with them fairly well actually. But again, we just didn’t execute on the little things – footwork, boxing out, communication, and turning over the ball,” Smith said.

This was the first time in three years that Strathmore has qualified for zones.

“They were pretty excited and pumped. From having a young and inexperienced team, to go from where they did at the start of the year until now, they improved astronomically,” Smith said.