When you’re defending city champs, expectations are high.
So the St. Timothy High School Thunder senior girls basketball team is carrying the weight of those expectations into the 2013-14 Calgary Senior High School Athletic Association (CSHSAA) season.
The defending Division 3 junior champs have moved up to the senior ranks this season, where they’ll be taking on Calgary schools in CSHSAA’s 13-team Div. 3.
St. Timothy hosted crosstown-school Bow Valley Bobcats in a Nov. 25 exhibition to get the ball bouncing on the season. While the Thunder lost 67-57 to Bow Valley in the pre-season tilt, head coach Kevin MacLellan was enthused with his team’s early-season form.
“The girls are hard-working and energetic, and they’re looking to build on what they did last year as city champs,” MacLellan said. “We’ve got a strong core of returning girls and a great group of Grade 10s stepping in, we’re looking forward to an exciting season.”
The ball is in good hands with a high-skills returnee like Aaneli Zemlak, a deceptively-adept dribbler like Bryanne Labbe and a fierce competitor in Morgan Schmidt. All were sprinting up and down the floor against Bow Valley in what looked more like a track meet than a senior girls basketball exhibition.
“We’re looking for a fast-paced, quick-strike offence,” MacLellan said. “We want to catch the other teams by surprise. It’s only early in the season. We have a lot to improve on on both ends of the court. Certainly things to build on.”
The Bobcats feasted on rebounds at St. Tim’s end of the floor, so MacLellan will be working on team defence under the hoop. The Thunder open the CSHSAA senior girls Div. 3 basketball season Dec. 12 at Bishop McNally in Calgary, 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
