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Seniors struggle against league-leading Lindsay Thurber

Stettler’s senior boys basketball team put in an impressive effort against the top team in the league
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Kyle Poapst (9) of the William E. Hay Composite High School senior boys basketball team goes up for a basket during a game against Red Deer’s Lindsay Thurber Composite High School on Thursday

Stettler’s senior boys basketball team put in an impressive effort against the top team in the league as they hosted Red Deer’s Lindsay Thurber Composite High School last week.

The Wildcats played competitively against the Raiders during the first half of the game on Thursday, Jan. 15, but fell further behind in the second half, ending with an 82-57 loss.

Coach Warren Aspenes said the team’s inexperience in controlling the ball was again a culprit, also crediting their competitors with topnotch scoring skills.

“We gave them way too many turnovers once again,” he said, adding that the sloppy play cost the team in the latter portion of the game.

Aspenes also said the Wildcats tired out somewhat in the second half, given that they were three players short due to illness and injury.

Still, he said he was pleased with the Wildcats’ performance in the first half, as they ended the second quarter with a deficit of only eight points.

“One of our goals over the last week was to improve our defense,” he noted. “I would say we did. . . We were more aggressive on defense.”

Kyle Poapst and Jordan Lane shared the honour of top scorer in Thursday’s game, each contributing 13 points.

Senior girls

The William E. Hay senior girls team also hosted Lindsay Thurber on Thursday, struggling against the higher-ranked team and losing by nearly 70 points.

The Raiders had already built up an impressive 43-13 lead by the game’s midpoint, and the Wildcats were unable to contain them, resulting in a final score of 90-21.

Coach Charisse McDonald said she wasn’t discouraged by the loss, acknowledging that as a 4A division team, the Raiders are playing on a different level than the Wildcats.

“They’re the best team in the league, they should go undefeated this year,” she said, adding that she doesn’t consider schools like Lindsay Thurber to be her team’s real competition.

She said she is seeing an improvement in the Wildcats’ defense, which was particularly evident in the first part of the game.

“They were with them in the first quarter,” she said. “We just couldn’t hold that kind of intensity for four quarters . . . Most teams that we play are just so much more aggressive than we are.”

McDonald also credited her team with staying strong and not giving up in the face of tough competition.

Dacia Gramlick was the Wildcats’ top scorer with 12 points, while Morgan VanDusen scored five points.

Up next

Both senior teams are taking a break from regular league games until the end of exams. The boys will compete in a tournament in Forestburg on Jan. 30 and 31, while the girls will take part in a tournament in Ponoka that same weekend.