Spartans snag silver in Olds

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

The Strathmore High School Spartans senior girls unit turned in their best performance of the year coming out of the exam break.
For the first time this season, they reached the A side final. When tip-off finally happened in the finale, the Spartans were short a few key players and fell 55-35 to the Lacombe Composite High School Rams Jan. 27 at the Olds tournament.
“We just couldn’t score in the final. We were missing Natalie (Funk) who was away for hockey (and) Kaylin (Larson) rolled her ankle earlier in the tournament so we only had one point guard. If we had our full roster, this weekend would have been a different story,” said Spartans Head Coach Kyle Larson.
Despite showing signs of fatigue, Davidson led the Spartans in the final with 13 points but needed 20 shots to do so. Sydney Boyd was second on the Spartans with nine and pulled down four rebounds.
The end result didn’t blind Larson from seeing how much his team showed signs of improvement coming off their second break of the season.
“We played pretty good this weekend. Anytime you reach a final, it should be celebrated,” said Larson. “The first game of the tournament was the best game we played all year. We played well as a unit, passed the ball, made the extra pass to get easy baskets and scored with ease in transition.”
In the opener, the Spartans cooked the George McDougall High School Mustangs 69-30 Jan. 26.
Boyd was the best shooter on the floor, finishing up with 16 points. Davidson once again was strong, piling up 15 points while shooting 33 per cent on the afternoon. The Spartans hauled down an impressive 47 rebounds, powered by Jaidyn Eitzen’s 12, while Kirsten Wheland and Boyd each recorded seven boards.
In the semifinals, the Spartans needed overtime to suppress the Olds High School Spartans.
Olds was making a run late in regulation, as Strathmore was clinging to a four-point lead.
“We squandered a pair of leads against Olds, but I’m glad it went to overtime,” said Larson. “I would rather them win the game by battling back in overtime instead of hanging onto a lead and barely winning in regulation.”
Davidson highlighted the stat sheet with her tournament-high 29 points, but it was the work done on defence that allowed Strathmore to bulldoze Olds 11-2 in the extra frame.
“Maria Kooistra and Ashley (McCreadie) stepped up defensively and locked down Olds’ best player,” said Larson. “Natalie was also great on the glass, controlling the rebounding game.”
Of Funk’s 18 rebounds, 12 of them came in the defensive end, snuffing out any second-chance scoring opportunities.
“This weekend was proof that we are definitely taking steps in the right direction,” said Larson.
The Spartans will open up February on the road in Calgary at the Forest Lawn High School tournament, which runs Feb. 2-3.
The senior boys did not play last week as the exam schedule wrapped up. They will be in action this week in Medicine Hat at the Super South tournament, which runs Feb. 1-3.