BY SCOTT
HADDOW
The Lasalle Lancers senior girls' basketball team is ready to
defend home turf and retain their title as NOSSA champions.
The 2006 NOSSA AAA senior girls' basketball championships will
take place this weekend, starting today, at the Lasalle
gymnasium, affectionately called the Lancerdome.
Lasalle is the Number One seed and host. The Lasalle junior
girls' squad is also in action, hosting the NOSSA junior girls'
championships at the Lancerdome.
Besides Lasalle's squads, both of the Lockerby Vikings squads
will be in the hunt as well.
The Lasalle seniors have taken the last five NOSSA
championships, and it hasn't even remotely satisfied their
hunger for more.
Despite the pain in their bellies, the girls aren't getting
ahead of themselves too much.
"We're going to take it one game at a time," said player Carley
Blaseg. "We want to win NOSSA, but we're not looking too far
ahead. It's going to take a lot of teamwork...and we do work
great together. We always have people cheering on the bench and
that helps the players on the court. I know when I am on the
court and hear the cheering...it gets me going."
Blaseg is thrilled to fight for another NOSSA crown on home
turf, especially since the city championship was also held at
Lasalle and was memorable. (Lasalle beat Lockerby.)
"It's always fun to do because all of our fans are there
watching us," said the Grade 12 student. "At cities, people had
their faces painted...it really pumped us up to work as hard as
we could. We like to win it for the fans and we're looking to
do it again. It's going to be a good thing."
The Lancers have gone through gut check time and know what to
do.
"We have to stick together," said guard Amanda McDonald, who
led the high school league with 100 points in eight games. "We
need everyone to be victorious. We have to stick to our
strengths and everyone has to contribute. Our coaches always
say do something out of the ordinary. If everyone comes to
play, we should be fine."
McDonald echoes Blaseg's thoughts on playing at Lasalle.
"It's very special to everyone on the team," said the
18-year-old. "Playing in front of our friends and family gives
us extra motivation to succeed. It's also really nice,
especially for myself and Carley because this is our last
NOSSA, so for it to be at home, makes it all that much
better."
Lasalle is a disciplined bunch.
"The thing that stands out most about this group, first and
foremost, is their defence," said co-coach Mary Collinson,
whose husband Mitch Lalonde also coaches. "The defence creates
offence and that has always been our focus.
We've had games where we held teams to just seven or nine points in a half. And we've had lots of games where we kept teams under 20 to 30 points for a whole game. Defence is our forte."
Besides an unforgiving defence, Lasalle has everyone on the
same page.
"Everyone has a role on the team," said Collinson. "We need
everyone. Whether it be one person rebounding, one person
knocking down three-pointers or another cheering from the
bench...they all have a role on this team. Everyone understands
their role and that's important. We've meshed together and have
the same ultimate goal - to medal at OFSAA. Of course, it's one
step at a time and we have to first get through NOSSA."
The Lancers can score too. They lead the league in three-point
shooting. Rookies Kristine Lalonde leads the high school league
with 15, while Blaseg was second with nine.
"Our other strength is shooting," said the coach. "We had games
where players have hit 11 three pointers. Any time a team is
doing that, it's tough to play against. These kids have put in
their time, but it's a matter of sticking to the game plan and
keeping everyone healthy. Sometimes, you need a little bit of
luck too, and we've had that as well this year."
The senior girls have taken 20 of the last 22 city
championships, and they still have a hankering for more
glory.
"This is my final crack at it and I would like to see good
things happen," said Blaseg. "It will not be easy. There's a
lot of pressure to deal with. We're not underestimating any
opponent. We go to each game thinking the other team can beat
us."
Lasalle knows they stand in the elite in the province. They won
three major high school tournaments this season - Laurentian,
Wilfrid Laurier and Whitby. They have beat and stayed
neck-and-neck with some of the best squads in Ontario, whether
they were an AAA or AAAA school.
"We know and the girls know what this team really can do," said
Collinson. "They all understand they're at the top level. We
might be one of the Top 5 teams, AAA or AAAA, in the province.
The tournaments were a great experience for us. The girls are
peaking at the right time and they're ready."
The seniors' first game is Friday at 5 pm against St. Basil.
Lockerby plays at 7 pm versus St. Joe's/Scollard.
The senior gold medal game goes at 7 pm on Saturday.
For the juniors, Lasalle's first game is Friday at 1 pm. Lockerby's first game is also Friday at 3 pm versus St. Joe's/Scollard. The junior championship game goes Saturday at 5 pm.
Again, all action takes place at Lasalle.
