Marauders hoopsters not resting on laurels

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This article was published 20/01/2017 (3382 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

While the Maples Marauders varsity girls basketball team has gone undefeated through the first five games of the Kildonan Peguis Athletic Conference season, its players aren’t taking anything for granted as they seek to achieve their goal of bringing another conference championship banner to the school.

“The season’s going good so far,” said Grade 12 co-captain Jessica DaSilva. “We’re 5-0 and seem to be doing good against everyone.”

DaSilva explained the Marauders, a AAAA school, are a defense-first team.

“We like to play traps and get those steals so we can work it into offence.”

The strategy is working, as the Marauders’ smallest margin of victory so far has been 12 points. They have won three games by 77, 70 and 65-point margins while holding their opponents to 17 or fewer points in each of those contests.

Point guard Sydney Lam said in spite of their success, the best may still be to come.

“The season’s going very well. Our team is still growing together and we’re working hard. We have competition with Lorette but I believe we can win.”

The Marauders beat Lorette in Lorette 65-47 on Jan. 16, handing the Scorpions their only loss of the season. The two squads sit 1-2 in the division.

Grade 12 post Joedelle Gaspar and DaSilva have been teammates since Grade 9 and have enjoyed success together.

“We want to win the banner,” Gaspar said. “For me, it’s my last year and we just want to win another banner for Maples.

“If we get the banner this year it’ll be my fourth with Jessica.”

Coach Amy Barlow said the Marauders’ roster has exceptional balance and that mix sets them up well for the future.

“It’s been a good group, a mix with two Grade 10s coming up from junior varsity, a few Grade 11s, two (returning) Grade 12s, and three new Grade 12s.”

Barlow said the Marauders have entered several tournaments in which they held their own against some of the best AAAA teams in Manitoba. It provided valuable learning experiences which have carried over to league play.

“It’s been really good to see them compete with some of the best girls in the province,” Barlow said. “It exposes our weaknesses. Most of our (league) games we’ve won by a pretty big margin so it’s easy to become complacent.”

Barlow added the experience has made practices more competitive.

Lam agreed the players have benefited from the tournament experience.

“It’s harder in the tournaments when we play against top teams. It was fun to play against them, to know we can compete against them.”

Barlow cautions her players to maintain perspective when they lose to AAAA teams. While many Marauders are multi-sport athletes, the top AAAA players have played club basketball for several years and have devoted their entire athletic focus to basketball.

“No matter the score, we focus on making it competitive possession by possession and play by play.”

One subtle measure of success coaches consider is how quickly players adapt and learn from their mistakes. By that measure the Marauders are quick studies.

“We often get better as the tournament goes on whereas with most teams its the opposite, where your last game is often your worst,” Barlow explained.

“I’ve always been really proud of them by the time we play. By Saturday morning most often they’ve shown a really good effort and noticed those areas where they have to be a lot stronger.

“They make those improvements more naturally.”

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