Lo-Ellen girls are the only locals heading to OFSAA

With eight of its veterans having already played in the Ontario championships, the Lo-Ellen Park Knights senior girls basketball team are confident, but not over-confident, as they prepare to make a return visit to OFSAA, once again in the Windsor area, this week.

Lo-Ellen will be the only local girls basketball team attending OFSAA, as the Macdonald-Cartier Panthères dropped a close 39-35 decision to the St Mary's Knights in the NOSSA "AAA" final, while the Korah Colts claimed the "AA" banner with a 43-31 win over the Lasalle Lancers.

Knights head coach Jen Bourget is not the least bit surprised that her Knights have earned the third overall seeding this year, with only the Jean-Vanier Lynx from Welland (No. 1) and the Westminster Wildcats from London (No. 2) awarded a better placement.

"We've had a very competitive schedule all year," said Bourget. "We haven't played a lot of 'A' teams, but we've had many 'AA' teams, with good, close games against them. And NOSSA's record at (OFSAA) 'A' has been fantastic."

Despite falling to Lasalle in the city final two weeks ago, it is a confident crew that the long-time basketball mentor takes on the road this week.

"Our chemistry is honestly the best chemistry I have ever seen on a team," said Grade 12 athlete Hayley McKibbon.

And there is the experience factor, as the Lo-Ellen crew counts eight players on its roster who played in OFSAA in 2014.

And though the OFSAA environment might be new for about half the team, several of the young ladies can draw on the competitiveness of the club basketball scene in helping prepare them for what lies ahead.

"Playing more basketball is definitely helpful in getting more experience," said senior Maria Best. "Knowing different situations, what to do, what to expect from certain atmospheres, not having as much anxiety going into certain tournaments and games."

A veteran of the OFSAA environment from her years of coaching at Lasalle, Bourget is comfortable that her team can strike a healthy balance.

"We're not over-confident, they know we have to play," she said. "We've put a lot of emphasis on defence, always, but offensively, we do have a really well-balanced attack. We have kids that can shoot, we run the floor well, we penetrate, we have relatively good size."

The Lo-Ellen roster for the 2015 season includes Claire Romani, Emily Derks, Gracen Lacko, Hayley McKibbon, Helena Havlovic, Katryna Rogerson, Kyla Bruni, Lindsay Boland, Maria Best, Micaela Bertels, Nicole Conlin, Sophia Zulich, Steffi Leers, Taylin Legault, as well as coaches Jennifer Bourget and Dawn Russell.

Lo-Ellen will open play at 9 a.m. Thursday morning against the Lester B. Pearson Patriots from Burlington (ninth seed), with the team playing again on Friday morning at 11:30 a.m., regardless of the outcome of their opening game.