Although they didn’t win their Swoosh tournament last weekend, the senior girls Broncs basketball team fought hard and improved their game.
The Broncs placed third overall and proved they are a young team with a bright future. Coach Sydni Seibel said she has no players in Grade 12. She feels this gives them good opportunities for next season. “It’s nice to have a young team that I can build them all up…We’ll have such a strong team because they’ve all been together for a year.”
Lacombe placed first in the tournament, but it was the Broncs who defeated Lacombe 47-45 Jan. 11 in their round robin game. The game was close throughout, and Seibel called a time out close to the end of the game, which helped get her team focused.
“When I call a time out and I bring the girls in, I look at each and every one of them and I ask if they want it bad enough. When they tell me yes, I tell them to find that fire inside of them and to ignite it,” stated Seibel.
Co-captains Nicole Buss and Kendyl Stretch, both in Grade 11, have been working on their leadership skills to help the team move forward.
“When we dig deep and go out there we are like, ‘We can do this. We deserve this,’” said Stretch.
“We try to make everybody focus,” added Buss.
Their goal is to play a high-intensity game, but to stay positive. Rather than focus on what did not work, the captains always promote a play that went according to plan.
“Don’t worry about the little things, worry about the big,” said Buss.
While they do not feel they are in the running for zones or provincials this season, the Broncs team is continuing to train in a competitive way as they want to perform well in all their games.
Seibel’s focus is for the girls to practice with their “game face” on. She feels the harder they train, the better they will do during competitive games.
“The harder you work in practice, it’ll show more on the court,” explained Seibel.
She feels their biggest strength lies in a strong team unity; many of the girls have played basketball together over the years.
“Their biggest challenge this year is going to be going up against the stronger teams like Camrose and Sylvan Lake,” added Seibel.
These other teams have more senior players, which could be a challenge for the girls. Despite the work ahead, Seibel intends to improve their skills and keep up the team unity.
The girls won their first game against Beaumont during the tournament and then lost their second and third games. Their fourth and final game in round robin was against Lacombe.
Seibel said she was proud of the Broncs’ efforts.