They had to pull a few strings to get into the tournament but the Prince George Posse has carved itself a niche in the provincial midget girls box lacrosse championship.
Today at 3:30 p.m., in Coquitlam, the Posse midgets will square off against Nanaimo in their opening game at the six-team tournament -- the first time in eight years Prince George has sent a girls team to the provincial playoffs.
It took a special exemption by the B.C. Lacrosse Association to allow the Posse to pick up three players from outside the city limits so there would be enough players in the 14-16-year-old age group to field a team.
Posse head coach Domenic Sia has been working with a local core of 10 local athletes, most of whom have just started playing lacrosse this year in the Great White North house league. When the provincial challenge became a reality three weeks ago, the Posse added Tristina Howse of Mackenzie and Williams Lake recruits Jenna Feeley and Alexis Hemmond.
They'll join a team that includes Mary Barwise, Jenna Barwise, Taylor Brunn, Gabrelle Calilier, Sienna Florell, Emily Gill, Kaitlyn Legarde, Emily Prouse, Sara Sands, Serafina Sia, and Leah Simmonds.
Sia and Florell have played at least five seasons while, Brunn, 14, is in her fourth year, the only other Posse player with an extensive lacrosse background. Considering the players' lack of experience, the Posse are being realistic about their chances this weekend. They're up against two New Westminster teams, as well as Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Nanaimo, all cities which have girls teams competing for provincial titles in peewee, bantam, midget and junior age divisions.
n The Prince George Posse peewee boys team will be in Kamloops this weekend for the provincial B championship. The Posse opens Friday at noon against North Shore. Vanderhoof will represent northern B.C. in the peewee C provincials, also in Kamloops, starting with a Friday noon matchup against Sunshine Coast.
