2018-19 REGIONAL ROYALS ROSTER
Name # Height Grade Position
Katie Macneil 4 5’6” 9 guard Emily Macdonald 5 5’4" 9 guard
Madison Gorman 6 5’4” 11 guard
Taylor Gorman 7 5’6” 11 guard
Lauren Lowther 8 5’9” 12 forward
Charleigh Clarke 9 5’7” 11 guard
Malia Artibello 10 5’7” 10 guard
Sophie Delorey 11 5’8” 10 guard
Cailunn Bance 12 5’9” 11 forward
Maura Flynn 13 5’8” 11 forward Jessica Mackinnon 14 5’8” 12 forward
Brooke Macdonald 15 5’8” 9 forward
Coach: Gail Macdougall
Asst. Coach: Alana Lawn Asst. Coach: Gemma Macpherson
Asst. Coach: Kate Spencer
‘Don’t let good enough be enough’ is the mantra the Royals have adopted this season.
“We are all really hard-working and we play together, which is going to be so important,” Lowther said, when asked about keys to a successful season.
Clarke and Grade 12 forward Jessica Mackinnon, who serve as captains with Lowther, agreed, echoing the importance of teamwork.
“We have a lot of new players that bring a lot of talent to the team,” Mackinnon, in her fourth season with the Royals, said.
Early in the season, Macdougall noted, the focus has been on playing strong defense.
“We have to be better, as a team, and that will lead to some increased success on offense,” she said.
“We have to get some stops and, right now, we are prone to fouling too much, which is costing us, in terms of minutes played and giving up opportunities at the free throw line.”
Clarke noted improving on ‘D’ comes from hard work.
“If we talk on defense, it will pull everything together,” Mackinnon said, adding the Royals “feed off each other,” when they have success on that end of the court.
Clarke noted speed will help on both ends.
“We are fast – there is a lot of it [speed] on our team,” she said.
Doubleheader split
In early season tournament action, the Royals split a pair of games, starting with a 67-58 road victory over the rival Cougars.
Lowther led the Regional with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Mackinnon and Delorey also hit double digits, with 15 and 10, respectively.
In a 73-66 loss to the Park View Panthers, Clarke meshed a team-high 17 points, while Mackinnon chipped in 14 points and six rebounds.
Lowther finished with a double-double – 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Shooting for repeat
“Right now, our goal is to improve each week; get better and gain more confidence,” Macdougall said, in talking about season goals.
“Some of the girls haven’t had as much experience, on the court, as we would like, but we are addressing that right now.
“We are younger than we expected to be, at this point, we will take what we have and we will go with it,” she added.
The defending Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation (NSSAF) Northumberland Region champions lost starters Hannah Bance and Jessie Weaver, via graduation, along with Briar Macdonald (King’s Edgehill) and Sophie Milner (Rothesay Netherwood).
“We have our work cut out for us, no question about it, but I think we will rise to the occasion,” she said.
“I think, come playoff time, we can be where we want to be – defending our regional championship title and, hopefully, earning another berth in the provincials.”