The Carlton Crusaders Senior Girls basketball team may lack experience on paper, but that isn’t stopping the team from wanting to reach the top in 2024-25.
Carlton only has two players in Grade 12 with Alyssa Sharp and Kiera Howden. Lilly Slack and Ava Larson are the only two players in Grade 11 on the Crusaders with the rest of the roster consisting of Grade 9 and 10 players.
The Crusaders have six total players returning from last season. Despite the lack of experience on the roster, head coach Kelsey Pearson says Carlton has shown a strong work ethic early on and she is excited to see where that will lead them by season’s end.
“Those girls are just not scared. They go after it. They work so hard. I just love the fact that there’s going to be so much growth throughout the year. We just have some girls that are just dying to get on the court. We have a great group of girls and I mean, lots to learn for sure. But man, it’s nice to coach a group of girls that just want to get after it.”
With a young roster, Carlton will rely on their two Grade 12s to provide leadership both on and off the court for their young core. With both Sharp and Howden having played multiple seasons for Carlton, Pearson says she is extremely confident in what they will bring to the team.
“They play a big role. We have had both of them since they were in grade 10. They’ve been with us for a while and this is their third year with us. We’re lucky to have them both, huge leaders on the court. One’s a point guard and one is our big post. I’m looking forward to seeing their leadership throughout the season.”
Sharp will be looked upon to play plenty of big minutes in the front court for the Crusaders this season. She says she is excited to take a leadership role with Carlton this season.
“I’m looking forward to it a lot. I’ve been playing basketball for a long time and this is my last season. It’s a fun group of girls and I think it’s going to be a really great season. I’ve been working up to this point for three years on the team and they all are really quick learners and I feel like me and my other senior partner can lead them very well.”
One theme to the season for Carlton will be a lot of returning players taking on bigger roles then they did a year ago. With the peaks and valleys of a young team to be expected, Pearson says Carlton is excited about the potential of the group they have this season.
“Even though they were with us last year, they were pretty young, so they didn’t get as many minutes, so this year they’re just looking forward to being on the court more and learning from our Grade 12s (on) how to lead a team.”
With a young, athletic team, the Crusaders will look to control the pace of play on the court this season.
“We’re fast and we just want to get better.” Pearson says. “I think our strength will definitely be our speed and probably our player to player. I saw it yesterday. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but definitely our player to player and our speed will help us out this season.”
Carlton is competing at the Kelly Smith Memorial Tournament at St. Mary this weekend. Results from their Friday afternoon game against St. Joseph were not available as of press time.
Full Roster
1 – Lily Slack, Grade 11
3 – Callie Wiebe, Grade 9
4 – Azaylie Wuttunee, Grade 9
5 – Kiera Howden, Grade 12
7 – Ava Larson, Grade 11
8 – Chelsa Wagner, Grade 9
9 – Bella Adams, Grade 10
10 – Alyssa Sharp, Grade 12
11 – Calista Taylor, Grade 10
12 – Alyssa Kihn, Grade 10
13 – Criseyde Borthwick, Grade 10
14 – Caylee Head, Grade 10
15 – Alexa Morin-Robillard, Grade 10
Coaching Staff: Kelsey Pearson, Jenn Ferguson, Richard Rink
sports@paherald.sk.ca
