A talented group of athletes has the Delta Pacers junior girls basketball team enjoying its best season in years.
The Pacers will take a perfect 13-0 record into this weekend's DW Poppy Tournament in Langley. That includes an impressive run in Delta League play and a victory at the Semiahmoo Tournament a week earlier. The road to the title featured victories against Elgin Park and Fleetwood Park, before knocking off Pitt Meadows in the championship game.
Head coach Kerrie Trotman knows all too well the recent history of girls basketball at DSS.
The teacher and dedicated volunteer also guided the last successful group to come through the Ladner school that included her daughter Megan. Those girls finished second at the 2010 Fraser Valley Junior Championships, qualified for three consecutive provincial tournaments and went on to play in the top tier of the Fraser Valley League at the senior level.
It's been a tough go since, especially trying to get traction in what is widely considered as the deepest zone in the province.
"I don't think we have seen some of those real top teams yet, like Brookswood and Riverside, but I'm hopeful of where we are going and super excited to be where we are halfway through the season," said Trotman. "This is a good group of athletes with a very good work ethic too.
"I can't say I have one best player because we have a solid starting five. I also can look down my bench and know I can give them a rest too."
The Pacers will attempt to win their first Delta League championship since 2010. Seaquam and Burnsview are considered their biggest threats come next month's playoffs.
The team's tournament schedule also includes a trip to Kelowna for one of the several junior provincial qualifiers. This year's B.C. showcase tourney has been expanded from 16 to 24 schools, yet Trotman still wants to see her team tested further against quality opponents to get a better idea where exactly it stacks up. The wins over three Valley schools at Semiahmoo were encouraging.
"I feel very confident we can at least win a couple of the regional games at the Fraser Valleys," she added. "We will see where this goes from here."
Trotman has been coaching most of this group since Grade 8 but she has been impressed with first-year players Hanna Hansen and Reiko Bohmert.
Hansen and talented point guard Olivia Malesku are also standout fastpitch players with the 2001 Delta Heat. Juliann Jones is another key ingredient in the Pacers starting five.
The team also features Nava Hothi, Abbey Wigglesworth, Marissa Neufeld, Jeenat Sidhu, Ceci Yang, Amrita Bains and Claire Bidulka.
Kayla Hamalainen rounds out the team's coaching staff. The managers are Kate Sinclair and Katie Carleton.
