ORILLIA LAKERS
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Competing over the weekend at the Oxford Attack tournament, the Legion Br. 34 U16 girls continued their winning ways with their second gold medal of the season!
Competing with teams ranked ahead of them in the Ontario Basketball Association, the Lakers' heart and hustle were the talk of tournament. Some of the best quotes heard throughout the weekend were “What a great little team”, “Those girls just never stop”, and “Wow!”
In the tournament's first game Friday, the Lakers cruised to an easy victory over the Centre Wellington Celtics 77-30. Ashley Schryer and Hennessy Langner led the way scoring 16 points apiece with Emma Thomson chipping in with 12. The girls were on fire this game sinking 12 three-point shots throughout the game.
On Saturday the Br. 34 girls were up against a much taller team, East Elgin Eagles. But Orillia took the early lead and never looked back on the way to a 56-35 win. The Eagles could not deal with the speed and relentless pressure Orillia threw at them. Emma Thomson and Mya Erskine led the scoring with 12 and 11 points respectfully!
Saturday night the girls were up against the favoured London Lynx. After a close first quarter, the Lakers pulled ahead in the second, building an 11-point lead at the half. After a tied third quarter, Orillia kept their lead in the fourth and won the game 55-43, which meant a trip to the gold medal game. In this game, Lilja Toland led the way scoring 15 points. Emma Thomson pitched in with 14 continuing her best weekend so far, this season.
With a full gym cheering on the hometown Oxford Attack, the Laker girls seemed a little nervous but were able to take a 22-19 lead into half time. Then we will just call the third quarter Lilja Toland’s quarter. Scoring 13 points herself, and a team total 24 points in the quarter, the Br. 34 girls built a 18-point lead going into the last quarter.
With Oxford trying to press the speedy Lakers, Orillia had none of it and went on to win the gold with a 55-36 victory. Toland ended the game with 19 points leading the way for Orillia, with the rest of girls balancing out the scoring.
After a great weekend of basketball, Orillia now sits with 15 wins and no losses on the season.
After dominating Ontario’s B League, the U16 girls have been bumped into Ontario Basketball’s A League, which will start on March 24.
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