The YRHS Lady Raiders senior girls’ basketball team wrapped up their 2014/15 campaign this past weekend with a pair of losses in the 5A Girls Â鶹´«Ă˝AV Regional Championship at Regina’s Campbell Collegiate, falling to the top ranked Campbell Tartans 97-38 before dropping their second game 68-40 to the Weyburn Eagles in consolation round action.
The two losses wrap up a season in which the Lady Raiders went 13-16 overall thru seven tournaments, five exhibition games and playoffs.
However the sub .500 record – a record some might consider to be less than satisfactory – is one that head coach Jessica Schmidt believes is just part of the learning experience for a very young Raider squad. “This season has actually been pretty awesome. Our girls have improved so much from last year, they’re such a good group of girls and they come out and fight every time,” said the coach, adding that the girls’ effort each night never wavered. “They didn’t care if it was a two point game or a 60 point game, when they were out on the floor they fought and that’s all I can ask for - girls that just want to be out there playing.”
Grade 11 sharpshooter Hunter Frankfurt led the Lady Raiders offence in Game One against the Tartans with a 21 point effort. Frankfurt also picked up five rebounds in the 59-point loss.
A day later and it was Frankfurt once again who led the way in a Game Two defeat to Weyburn, picking up a double-double with a 16 point, 15 rebound performance.
Lone senior Edie Schramm had a strong game in her final appearance in a YRHS uniform scoring five points and picking up three assists while playing a strong defensive game.
Following the game coach Schmidt suggested that Schramm – the only graduating player on the team – will most definitely be missed. “Edie is just someone who is very dependable and level headed,” offered Schmidt. “She keeps her emotions in check and sees the floor well and stabilizes it and doesn’t necessarily try to force things.
“She’s dependable and she’s someone that we’re going to miss both on and off the court next year.”
But while the team will most definitely miss Schramm next season, the fact remains that every other player - with the exception of grade 11 Finnish exchange student Miljaemilia Wala – will be eligible to return, meaning the 2015/16 Lady Raiders should be a much more experienced and talented team. “Almost everyone is coming back and I think the biggest thing with our program was we were able to just develop girls this year,” suggested Schmidt. “We have some girls that really bought into our game plan and want to get better and compete and next year, with those grade 10’s and 11’s coming up, hopefully we can take on the Weyburn’s and Estevan’s of the world and come out on top in those games.”
Schmidt also feels that next year the Raiders might be able to do something that they haven’t been able to do in years: earn a spot at HOOPLA. “We’ve got a good team coming back,” offered Schmidt. “We know that it’s something that we can and hopefully will do next year.”
