Gophers’ triple threat going for it

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This article was published 11/01/2024 (814 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A trio of Dakota Lancers proved too much to handle for the Garden City Gophers varsity girls squad in last season’s provincial AAAA high school basketball final.

Now, the Gophers have a triple threat of their own.

Forward Amira Lawrence and guards Halley Cruz and Taya Clark, all in Grade 12, are still bitter over the 67-43 defeat last March, when they were outclassed by Dakota’s dominant threesome of sisters Kyu and Izzi Fust and guard Abby Sweeny.

“After we lost, I’d say it was a feeling of regret a little bit,” Lawrence said. “Just personally as an athlete, you always think you can do more whenever you lose and even when you win sometimes.”

Cruz said she took the loss as challenge to both herself and the program.

“After that, I think it was just whether you wanted to work and take that game as motivation to move forward and get better as a team, but also individually for this season,” she said.

The Gophers have done just that with an expectation they’ll pen a different ending this time around. The program returned a seasoned starting five, led by Lawrence, Cruz and Clark, all of whom were mentioned in the Free Press’s annual coaches’ poll of the top players for the 2022-23 season.

The Gophers are in a class of their own so far, breezing through the first major tournament of the season — the Pembina Trails Bison Classic (beating the Lancers 76-66 in the championship) — and leading the KPAC league with a 3-0 record, including a convincing 87-35 win over the Miles Macdonell Buckeyes on Monday. The team has outscored its opponents 262-110 in league play.

As expected, it’s been the team’s big three spurring its success.

“I think just our chemistry and knowing what each of us brings to the table and knowing how we can contribute and how we work together,” said Clark, who is averaging 20 points per contest. “Our chemistry has also been there since Day 1 and I think that really makes us work so well together.”

Clark, who is smaller in stature at 5-6, is an elite competitor with an excellent two-way game. Her slashing style has made her a valuable playmaker on the offensive end, while her smarts have made her a trustworthy defender.

She and Cruz form what is, perhaps, the best backcourt in Manitoba.

Cruz has proven to be one of the best shooters in the province and an excellent distributor with great court vision and a high basketball IQ. She’s also a good on-ball defender.

“We definitely have the experience,” said the 5-7 Cruz, who is averaging 25 points per contest. “The mindset is to push each other and hold each other accountable for getting better and pushing each other in practice to get better.

“But I also think that we obviously play the sport to have fun, too, so just balancing and just trying to have the best time we can— especially since it’s our last year.”

Lawrence, averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds per game, is the interior presence that has given opposing teams fits with the Gophers’ pick-and-roll game. The 5-10 forward has increased her range in recent years, which has added another element to her game that is stamped by physicality and exceptional athleticism.

Gophers head coach Roberto Campanella Jr. is pleased with the early returns of an experienced team that added some offensive depth with the Grade 11s now on the team.

“We’re just difficult to guard now,” Campanella Jr. said. “Just with adding a few of those younger girls that can shoot the ball really well, in a pick-and-roll situation, it forces the defence now to make a decision.

“We have depth, and it’s very rare to have a team where you can go like 10 deep essentially,” he continued. “If we get into foul trouble or say some girls, it’s just not their night, I could look down the bench and (know) that I have options to throw out there to see if someone can step up.”

The Gophers made history last year, becoming the first team in Garden City’s varsity girl’s program to reach the provincial finals. They know it could be a similar face that stands between them and more history this season, which is why Campanella Jr. punctuated how important it was for his girls to vanquish the Lancers early in the season.

“Being able to see (Dakota) early and then actually beating them is huge just for the girls’ confidence,” he said.

“Then that’s just going in with the belief that not only do we know now we can compete with them, but we can beat them. We’re just hoping we can do it again toward the end of the season if we get the opportunity to see them in provincials.”

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

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