The Olds Broncos had nothing but admiration for the Medicine Hat College Rattlers, whose women's basketball team visited Olds College a mere two days after one of their members had died from injuries sustained in a car crash early last week.
Megan Kondor, a first-year nursing student and Rattlers forward, passed away on Feb. 24. She was 18. On Friday, her teammates rallied to clinch a playoff spot in Olds.
"I just talked to (Rattlers) coach Jason McLester there and I just said, ‘fantastic job and all the best the rest of the way.' I don't think any of us could really state how we'd respond to a situation like that but I thought the young ladies from Medicine Hat showed up to demonstrate that they have a big heart inside of them and they were willing to play for their lost teammate," said Broncos athletic director Bob Murray.
This week, the hashtag "#playforK" had been trending on Twitter across the ACAC. On the weekend, the Rattlers and Broncos wore special warmup shirts that had both team logos and the tag printed on the front. Kondor's number 6 was on the back.
"We contacted Medicine Hat and asked if there was a way we could honour her," Murray said.
After the game on Friday, all of the men's and women's teams held a moment of silence in Kondor's memory.
"Medicine Hat, those girls are tough. They know that they were playing for her and I thank them for still coming out and playing us," said Broncos forward Melanie Thera.
"It was great to be able to honour her in the moment of silence and be able to wear those warmups. I didn't know her personally but I can tell she meant a lot to everyone around."
"It was great to be able to honour her in the moment of silence and be able to wear those warmups. I didn't know her personally but I can tell she meant a lot to everyone around." MELANIE THERA, OC women's basketball
