If three times is a charm, then lady luck will shine on the Alberni District Secondary School Armada senior girls basketball team at Totem 58 this weekend, co-coach Greg Freethy said.
The girls’ team is competing with five others in the third installment of the Totem girls’ division this weekend. Other teams competing include Ballenas, GP Vanier, Kwalikum, Mt. Doug and Parklands. The Armada have already beaten Mount Doug and Vanier this season.
The Armada open up against rival Ballenas Whalers in its first game on Friday morning. “We lost to them 50-42 earlier this season and we really want that one back,” Freethy said.
The team’s feature game is against Parklands Secondary on Friday night. The team is an unknown commodity, Freethy said. “They’ve got three players over six feet tall. But we’ve got some size of our own we can match them with,” he said.
Co-coached by Al Seredick, the Armada are 9-3 so far this season and 2-0 in league play. Four of the team’s 11 players are Grade 12’s: Nicole Irg, Darrion Alarie, Tia Anderson and Chelsea McIntosh, and they’ve seen this before, Freethy said.
“Those four have played in more Totems between them than all the others combined so they’ll be looked to for leadership and experience,” Freethy said.
The team’s last action was in December at the Christmas Classic in Victoria where they went 2-1. A league game earlier this week had to be cancelled due to snow.
“Our last game was a month ago. But we practiced hard this week and we’ll be ready,” Freethy said.
Fans should look for the athletic Armada to play an up-tempo style with both fast breaks and a half-court offense.
Winning a third girls title is going to boil down to one simple but elusive factor – consistency. “The team has played well then hit a dip. They’ve had leads and allowed others teams back,” Freethy said.
“We need all 11 players on their game this weekend because everyone has a chance to contribute within their roles,” Freethy said.
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