NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA LAKERS
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The Legion Br. 34 Orillia Lakers U16 girls opened their season with two solid wins in recent Ontario Basketball League (OBL) play at the Pan Am Centre in Toronto. With only eight players, the girls outworked and outhustled their opponents at every opportunity.
Coach Don Beer has installed a high-tempo system that the girls have adjusted to and embraced. With high expectations, the team is hoping to prove they belong in the OBL “A” league, competing with the top teams in the province.
Opening the season versus the Brantford Falcons, the girls seemed nervous and started slowly with a very close first half. However, the Lakers began to overtake their opponents at the start of the second half.
Led by Hennessy Langner with 11 points and Lauren Buchan with nine points, the rest of the team chipped in with 29 points to beat Brantford 49-31. With only five fouls during the game, the girls showed discipline and great teamwork on the floor.
The second game against a much taller squad from Guelph looked as though it would be a tough contest for the smaller Lakers, but Orillia’s superior conditioning and athleticism was too much for the Gryphons to handle.
Lilja Toland led the scoring for the Lakers with 15 points. Ashley Schryer also contributed 14, while everyone else on the roster chipped in with at least a basket on the way to a 60-29 victory. With only nine fouls against and not intimidated one bit, the girls were very disciplined on the defensive end, frustrating the much taller team from Guelph at every opportunity.
The team roster also includes Mya Erskine, Madison McLaughlin, Emma Thomson, Lauryn Murphy, Taylor Coon, Isabella Fluguel and Zoe Peters.
The Legion Br. 34 Lakers are hosting two home games Saturday, December 15 at Orillia Secondary School in a battle for Near North bragging rights. The first game against Collingwood begins at 1 p.m., followed by a 4 p.m. game against Huntsville.
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