A work in progress

I got my first opportunity of the season to watch the Horton D-1 girls’ basketball team play last weekend at their Subway Classic.

I really didn’t know what to expect. On the one hand, they had gotten off to a 7-3 start, including silver medals at tournaments in Fredericton and Charlottetown.

On the other hand, this is a team - at least on paper - light years away from the Horton squads that won back-to-back provincial titles in 2005 and 2006.

The 2007/ 2008 Griffins are young: when their entire roster is intact, there’s only two Grade 12 seniors, along with three Grade 11s, five Grade 10s and two Grade 9s.

Make no mistake: this team has some talent, not to mention a veteran head coach in Ian MacMillan, who has experienced basketball at just about every level – including professional – in a career spanning more than 30 years.

The evolution of girls’ basketball at Horton the past few years is the reality of high school athletics in a nutshell. Over a span of three or four years, even the most successful programs need to regroup and replace their entire roster.

Sometimes, a program gets lucky with one or two players able to make the “senior team” in Grade 9, getting to play four years. Horton, in fact, has had several of these players over the past few years: Jana Spindler, Andrew Rogers, Ellis Ffrench, Lindsay Harris and Abbey Duinker - to name just a few.

Despite the loss to graduation last spring of the last remaining players from the 2005 champions, Horton looked to have a strong team again this year until Abbey Duinker accepted an offer to attend the National Elite Development Academy in Ontario.

This left Lindsay Harris as the only remaining starter from last year’s team – which, to be fair, didn’t have the same kind of overall depth as the teams from the two previous years.

Two things happened to make Horton stronger than expected: the arrival of Kira Pederson and Kayla Davis from Hantsport. Pederson has turned out to be one of the team’s leading scorers, and Davis’ steady play has earned herself a place in the Griffins’ starting lineup. The two Grade 10 students have played an important role in the team’s 9-4 start.

The other factor has been the development of some of the younger players on last year’s team, and the arrival of reinforcements from Horton’s other feeder schools.

Harris, a member of the provincial U-17 team, is one of the best female players of her age in Nova Scotia. It’s no surprise she is doing well and taking on a leadership role.

More of a surprise is the performance of some of the supporting cast. Kaylee Young was one of Horton’s most improved young players last year in Grade 10. In Grade 11, she has improved even further, pretty much averaging double figures in scoring and also improving on defense and in her ball-handling ability.

Another youngster who looks like she might turn into an impact player down the road is Katie Jordan, Grade 9, who earned a well-deserved Hustle Award at the recent Subway Classic.

Jordan and Danielle Broome (both in Grade 9), Pederson, Davis, Laura Boylen, Chrissie Terry and Elizabeth Lamb-Woodworth (all in Grade 10), and Young and Emily Stewart (along with Harris, in Grade 11) represent both the present and the future of girls’ basketball at Horton.

I don’t expect the female Griffins to win another provincial title next spring – but, at the same time, I expect them to continue to improve: anything is possible, especially if they keep playing with the energy and enthusiasm they’ve shown so far.