The Whitehorse Lynx girls basketball team got some much-needed game experience in Skagway, Alaska, last weekend.

The Under-14 development team, coached by Diedre Davidson and Christine Kirk, finished with a 3-2 record despite dropping their first two games at the Boyd Worley junior high basketball tournament, held Nov. 7 to 9.

“We essentially brought them down so they would get some game time,” Davidson told the Star. “For one or two of them, it was the first time they ever played in a real basketball game. It was a fantastic opportunity for the girls.

“Every single game, you could see a marked difference in their performance. They’re just starting to figure out how the game works.”

The first two games, the Lynx lacked tenacity, but by their last contest, the girls were showing much more energy, including readily diving for loose balls.

“It was amazing to see actually,” said Davidson. “It was super exciting for Chris and I and the parents who travelled with us.”

After losing games to Haines and Juneau by scores of 26-22 (OT) and 34-19 respectively, the Whitehorse squad regrouped to win their final three contests over Hoonah, Skagway and Haines again, Davidson said.

The final game proved to be an exclamation mark for the Lynx, who won 21-10.

“The last game we won quite handily,” said the coach. “It was great.

These girls started to understand how to play with each other and were ready to help.”

Members of the U-14 Lynx squad in Skagway include: Shae Garrett-Charlie, McKenna Lyslo, Emily Johnson, Kate Storey, Maren Bilsky, Dylan Massie, Landyn Blisner, Sammy Demchuk and Melia Hudgin.

Whitehorse also sent a boys team to the event, but results were not available at press time.

The Lynx program includes weekly practice times in an attempt to foster skills and interest in girls basketball, said Davidson.

The program also includes U-18 and U-12 teams.

“This is our first year of running all three groups,” said Davidson. “We’re just trying to get basketball noticed in the territory with a place for girls to get some skills and have some fun.”

The program is two years old and was founded to promote the sport among female players.

“A great way to build teams is to start at the grassroots level when they’re younger,” said Davidson. “We want to get girls interested early and hopefully keep them hooked.

“By the time they get to participating in the Western Canada Games and the Canada Games, we’ll have this solid group of girls to pull from.”

The weekly practices are held at Vanier and Jack Hulland schools.