The Kwalikum Secondary Kondors senior girls basketball team played their first home game on Tuesday night and while they lost 51-30 to the Wellington Wildcats, there were plenty of useful lessons.
It was close in the first three quarters and in the last five minutes the Kondors were trailing by only six points. They had chances to cut the gap but were unable to buy a basket. A variety of errors also impeded their chances of a comeback.
Barry Bevilacqua, who shares the coaching duties with Dave Frampton, said this year’s Kondors consist mainly of younger players with ony three Grade 12s in the roster.
“We are just looking at improving at every game,” said Bevilacqua. “Right now we have a whole bunch of juniors playing at the senior level for the first time. It’s a totally different game. It’s faster, stronger and we just haven’t caught up to it yet.”
Wellington took advantage of the Kondors’ inexperience as they ran the ball in transition and dominated the boards offensively for second chances.
The Kondors were missing one of their key players, Grade 12 Sequoiah Bevilacqua, who suffered a concussion at a tournment in Victoria. Leading the Kondors offence was Olivia Williams who had 14 points.
Coach Bevilacqua said they will look at the good things the Kondors did in the game and the areas where they need to work on.
“Sometimes we executed very well and got good shots,” said Bevilacqua. “But we also have to work on when to shoot. Lots of time they got the ball and the shots are there but they haven’t played at this level to know that they’ve got to take that shot at that point. So with experience it will come.
Bevilacqua said they plan to play as much tournaments as they can to help the Kondors hone their game. He hopes when February comes they will be a better team.
Meanwhile, the Kondors senior boys were on the road Tuesday night to take on the Ladysmith 49ers. They ended up in the bottom of a 92-54 scoreline.
“We came out super flat and they jumped on us,” said head coach Taylor Wilson. “They were up 29-8 in the first half. We made a decent run in the second and part of third when we got within 17 but they pulled away in the end.”
Felix Westermann scored a team-high 18 points for the Kondors with Logan Ward banking in 18 points. Both the senior boys and girls Kondors will tak part in the KSS Alumni tournmenat to take place on Dec. 22-23.