In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The Port Coquitlam Riverside Rapids defeated the Vancouver Carson Graham Eagles 72-60 as Laiken Cerenzie scored 17, Denise Spacek 15, Natalie Carkner 11, Michelle Spacek 10, Chelsea Harteveld 7, Meghan Sherwood 5, Ronnie Tsai 4 and Carly Formosa 3, while Katie Wood, Sarah Arthur, Emily Sall and Mallory Sall were scoreless. Kolbi Roper paced the Eagles with 19. Lauren Seabrooke added 17, Katie Wuttunee 15, Jaine Taylor 6, along with 15 boards, and Alex Mackenzie 3, while Alex Bills, Stephanie Vance, Nicole Smith, Brittany Mackenzie, Nicole Erickson, Stephanie Strong, Tessa O’Connor and Alexandra McCawley were scoreless. Against a Carson team that employs a zone defence and starts four six-foot-plus players, Riverside went to the three-point shot early and just kept firing. And on defence, they swarmed the Eagles with half-court zone pressure, forcing 28 turnovers that led to 24 points. The Rapids broke open a tight game by out-scoring North Vancouver’s Carson Graham Eagles 19-9 in the third quarter. Provincial runners up each of the previous two years, the Rapids led 31-30 at halftime. “Our depth was a big factor,” said Rapids head coach Paul Langford. “We wore them down. The kids stayed poised and got better looks [at the basket] as the game went on.” Assistant Mike Carkner said “we were very worried about this game because they are such a big team. Even in their zone [defence], they challenge shots and it’s hard to get good looks off it. Defensively, we wanted little people swarming all over them every time they touched the ball. They’re so big that once they got the ball over centre, we knew we couldn’t stop them.” The Rapids knocked down 11-43 treys. But the first 10 triples came from the Grade 10 foursome of Natalie Carkner, Meghan Sherwood, and twins Denise and Michelle Spacek. “They are young players and they just love to shoot the ball,” said Carkner. “Our Grade 10s are some of our best players, and today they were just amazing,” said senior forward Chelsea Harteveld. …………………………………………………… The South Surrey Elgin Park Orcas clubbed the Victoria Belmont Bulldogs 83-31 as Sandy Hsu scored 19, Sarah Allison 18, Stacey Graham 13, Sally Hillier 13, Natalie Hadikin 4, Madeline Spangehl 4, Melissa Boettcher 3, Ami Dixon 3, Jayne Alexander 2, Kelli Sturkenboom 2 and Leena Walia 2, while Jordyn Newman was scoreless. Yu Ting Chen paced the Bulldogs with 18. Haley Carmichael added 7, Kelsey Brochu 4, Rebecca Valentin 1 and Danielle Nellestyn 1, while Marquessa Mackenzie, Carly Nelson, Robin Webb, Taylor Nelson, Katie Szirmay, Andy Gillis and Caitlin Ing were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The New Westminster Hyacks dusted the Chilliwack Storm 61-45 as Kia Van Laare scored 21, Ariana Sider 15, Rachael Sider 15, Jaylen Canton 6 and Jenny McCormack 4, while Kelsey Lonergan, Banaseer Ali, Amanda Zacharuk, Breeze Manderville, Meriam Ali, Manisha Kandola, Natasha Lazecki and Abuk Duot were scoreless. Becky Schile led the Storm with 17. Sarah Wierks added 16, along with 10 boards. Paige Norrish added 4, Shayna Cameron 3, Taylor Logan 3 and Sydnee Christian 2, while Annie Kliever, Kara Hautala, Jonay Vanderveen, Jennifer Bradwell, Karinda Kroeze and Christine Douglas were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded North Vancouver Handsworth Royals dumped the Cranbrook Mount Baker Wild 60-35 as Kris Young scored 13, Jaime Hills 11, Jenna Vaandering 10, Danielle Roney 9, Allison Patterson 8, Diana Lee 6, Keely Baker 2 and Lindsay Adair 1, while Carly Brown, Shea Allison, Taylor Shein, Sam Garrett, Angela White were scoreless. Breanna Freere paced the Wild with 10. Ally White added 7, Carly Dobbs 5, Katie Hendrickson 4, Chelsea Nutini 4, Emily East 2, Kalee Eldred 2 and Alyssa Watmough 1, while Megan Fisher, Desiree Hoffart, Julie Sternig and Amy Hebert were scoreless. Handsworth got 29 of its 60 points from a trio of non-seniors. The Royals used an 18-2 run between the opening quarters to build a 24-6 lead and after they pushed their advantage to 38-10 at the break, it was time for the underclassmen to step up. “The game got really scrappy, but we had a very comfortable lead and we wanted to make sure everyone was involved and on the same page,” said Handsworth assistant coach Ramin Sadaghiani. Grade 10 guard Jaime Hills led the non-senior core with 11 points, Grade 11 wing Jenna Vaandering added 10 points and Grade 10 post Allison Patterson scored eight points. “It’s a luxury we have,” said Sadaghiani. “We have a deep team, our young kids can shoot the ball, and this is all a part of giving them the experience, to make sure they’re ready to go for next year.” Hills was especially impressive, scoring back-to-back baskets while playing at the front end of the Royals’ press. Vaandering, a 5-foot-10 multi-positional player, looked solid in knocking down two treys, but she also got to the free-throw line and scored inside. And Patterson, at 6-foot-3, scored one of her baskets off an old-school sweeping hook in the paint.
…………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Langley Brookswood
Bobcats pounded the Vancouver Kitsilano Blue Demons 82-63 as Brittney Church
scored 15, Sam van den Boogaard 14, Luca Schmidt 13, Zoey Haramboure 12,
Christina Brown 9, Amberlee Kavanagh 8, Katelyn Star 7, Courtney Parker 2 and
Kayla Kilistoff 2, while Carly Marshall, Sydney Schepikoff, Chelsey Currie and
Erin Mufford were scoreless. Nadja Jankovic paced the Blue Demons with 20.
Adrienne Parkin added 17, Emily Hyman 14, Andrea Strujic 7, Lucy
Grill-Frederics 3 and Laura Phillips 2 while Nadia Beyzaei, Kate Kirkpatrick, Shonte
Devernichuk, Christine Cameron, Jamie Pozer, Sarah Mcbain and Akeala Brodowski
were scoreless. Brittney Church buried three long-range bombs in the second
half to ignite the Brookswood offence. The ’Cats offence caught fire in the
second quarter and they had a 45-37 lead at the break. The teams were even in the
third quarter with Brookswood’s lead still at eight points going into the final
10 minutes. And the Bobcats defence would clamp down in the fourth, allowing just
10 points for the 19-point victory. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Victoria
Claremont Spartans defeated the Maple Ridge Ramblers 51-42 as Shaylyn Crisp
scored 21 and nabbed 14 boards. Melissa Van Dyk scored 11, Shalie Dheensaw 9,
along with 20 boards, Jessica Renfrew 4, Courtney Ellis 2 and Shannon Elder 2,
while Olivia Gong, Claire Jaenen, Caitlyn Anderson and Charlotte Illers were
scoreless. Mae Woods paced the Ramblers with 10. Haylee Antaya added 9, Natasha
Henderson 7, along with 10 boards, Kelsey Pilling 7, Courtney Isley 6 and Marina
Casol 2, while Coral-lee Antaya, Zoe Yoxall, Kolbie Orum, Lauren Lamont and
Jaclyn Racette were scoreless. In the preseason, Claremont coach Mark Neufeld talked about all the
hours his Grade 11 guard Shaylyn Crisp had spent honing her dribbling skills on
the pavement of her driveway. Down the stretch, Crisp showed she wasn’t afraid
to skin a knee to get a victory. She scored 10 of her team’s final 16 points. “Shaylyn
Crisp, she is the heartbeat,” said Neufeld. “She makes it happen. Everyone
knows about [senior captain] Jess [Renfrew] and [6-foot-3 post] Shalie
[Dheensaw], but if Shaylyn is not on our team, it’s a brand-new world.” After
trailing by 15 points at the end of the third quarter, the Ramblers narrowed the
gap to six points on two occasions, including a 42-36 margin on a basket by
Kelsey Pilling with 3:37 left. “Defensively, we played great, but we just
couldn’t get the ball in the basket,” said Ramblers coach Don Herman. “That
seemed to be the theme for us all season long.” …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded
Victoria Oak Bay Breakers edged the 6th-seeded Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks
67-61 as Ali Cooper scored 17, Aija Salvador 16, Mary Elrick 12, Sarah Dickson
9, Jill Cooper 4 and Nicole Van Belleghem 4, while Bronte Fitzsimmons, Justine
Sanders, Mitraya Barker, Linden Turner, Leigh Robinson and Amy Pellatt were
scoreless. Kayli Sartori paced the Hawks with 21. Katie Brink added 17, Jessi
Hall 9, Jaslyen Singh 6, Cassie Patenaude 6, Ahleyn Sarowa 4, Devon Hess 2 and
Vanessa Hein 2, while Jennah Bryce, Meghan Meyer, Nicole Meyer and Melissa
Spring were scoreless. The Breakers, coached by former Victoria Vikes Rob
Kinnear and Mitch Gudgeon, delivered a defensive gem. They got key steals and stops
down a heart-stopping stretch drive in which they closed out the Hawks with a
10-4 run. “Growing up we were always taught offence, offence, push the ball,”
said Breakers senior off-guard Sarah Dickson. “But these guys have completely
changed our mindset. They tell us that defence wins championships and that’s
what we’re out here to do.” Kinnear said “we refuse to coach or play on any
team that doesn’t work hard on defence. And that is what all of these girls
have bought in to. That was a gutsy effort. We asked them multiple times ‘How
bad do you want it?’ and they kept digging down deep for that extra little bit.”
It was no easy task defending Mouat’s outstanding 6-1 Grade 11 guard-forward
Kayli Sartori. Still, the Breakers showed the mental fortitude to hang with the
bigger Hawks, even when they allowed a 31-24 halftime lead to evaporate into a
53-50 Mouat lead after Jessi Hall drilled a trey with 7:45 remaining in the
contest. But after that, the Hawks managed just four buckets and didn’t get to
the free throw line. Oak Bay forwards Ali Cooper and Mary Elrick anchored the front
court, but on so many occasions it was Dickson and point guard Aija Salvador
who brought order to the Breakers on both sides of the ball. “Ali and Mary are
great players, but Sarah and Aija, they take a lot of the pressure,” said Kinnear.
“Today they got beat up and they kept going. Mouat is a fantastic team and we
picked them up (defensively) in the full court the whole game. That was as good
as I have seen anyone defend them all year.” Mouat coach Paula Thompson said “we
went in thinking we had a really great draw and a really good chance to at
least get to the Final Four and then we lose our first one. They’re a good
team, and I don’t want to take anything away from them. They shut us down exactly
where they needed to, and they obviously did their homework. In the first half,
we just couldn’t put the ball in the hoop like we normally do. We had a lot of
missed layups, a lot of in-and-outs, and sometimes it just doesn’t fall for
you. It’s unfortunate, because we kind of have that tendency to choke at the
end.” …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Salmon Arm Jewels stomped the Prince
George Polars 71-22 as Desirae Paterson scored 16 and nabbed 10 boards. Jordyn
Rabbitt scored 14, Hillary Thelland 10, Jorri Duxbury 10, Amanda Barrett 7, Bianca
DeWitt 6, Megan Grant 4, Alex Bischoff 2 and Noelle Troll 2, while Lauren
Jakobson, Katiana Pyper, Christina DeWitt and Robyn Boudreau were scoreless.
Ali Bourque led the Polars with 9. Natalie Chappell added 7, Kasey Reiter 3 and
Bailee Poitras 3, while Brittanie Billings was scoreless as she nabbed 10 boards.
Corrina Gear, Tamara Taylor, Jenna Borgia, Gabby Borredo, Jillian Cole, Kayla
Videgain, Dezirai Cassidy, Dasheena Gill, Marissa Dodge and Morgan Reid were
scoreless. The Jewels were never tested. Salmon Arm’s all-senior starting group
were all off the floor by the time the fourth quarter started, but not before
combining to score 49 of the Jewels’ first 58 points.
In the quarterfinals, the Port
Coquitlam Riverside Rapids defeated the South Surrey Elgin Park Orcas 74-57.
The Rapids advanced to their fourth straight final four with a display of calm that belies the majority of
the roster’s absolute lack of big-stage experience. Their crisp ball movement
within its motion offence continued to yield open looks and Riverside knocked
down those open looks, as well as getting tough points inside from Laiken
Cerenzie. But then the Orcas strung together an 18-4 run in the second half to
pull within 58-52. “Our young kids were wonderful,” said Riverside head
coach Paul Langford. “They handled pressure and they made free throws down the
stretch.” Riverside’s top three scorers were all Grade 10s. Laiken Cerenzie
scored 22 points, Denise Spacek 19 and Natalie Carkner 14. Riverside hit nine threes on the evening.
Allison with 11 points and Sandy Hsu with 10 led a balanced Orcas’ offence. “I
don’t call time outs but I looked at my young-uns and I thought they needed a
time out,” said Langford. “And they didn’t recover too quickly after the timeout.
They were still coming and I knew with (Elgin’s)
Sarah (Allison) and Sally (Hillier) and their leadership, I knew they would
keep it coming.” Yet when a team filled with Grade 10s (Riverside often plays
with four 10th graders on the floor at the same time), they didn’t fold down the
stretch. The Rapids closed on a 16-5 run, a run which began with a huge trey
from Natalie Carkner and closed with the Rapids taking 10 straight trips to the
free throw line and hitting eight of them.” “Our young kids were wonderful,” said
Langford. “Elgin is a great team but we handled pressure and we made foul shots
at the end. Natalie Carkner’s three was huge and Denise Spacek, what a beauty.”
Spacek hit four treys and scored 19 points, Carkner had 14 points and Cerenzie was
a force off the bounce, finishing with 22 points. Elgin’s balanced attack was
led by 11 points from Allison, 10 from Sandy Hsu, nine each from Hillier and
Stacey Graham and seven from Melissa Boettcher. The game was the rubber match
of five meetings this season between the two schools, the most recent before Thursday’s
being Elgin’s win in the Fraser Valley final. The two teams also share some
intense B.C. tourney history. In 2007, they met in the third-fourth place
final, in 2008 they met in the final, and last season they met in the semifinals.
“We just didn’t play well – nobody did,” Elgin Park coach Stu Graham
said. “We just didn’t come out with our war paint on. Nobody shot the ball
well; it was very uncharacteristic of us. We have four girls who we really rely
on, and when they aren’t going, we have a tough time.” The turning point in the
game came midway through the fourth quarter. After starting the fourth frame
down by 16 points, the Orcas whittled the Rapids’ lead down to six, 58-52. But,
with the chance to close the lead to four points, the Orcas missed a wide-open
shot, and Riverside replied on their next possession with a long three-pointer.
“Then they scored another quick one, and suddenly the lead went from
potentially four points, up to 11, and that was really the end of it,” Graham
explained. “That really took the wind from our sails. But if we hit that one
shot, who knows what happens?” Sarah Allison led the Orcas with 11 points;
Sally Hiller and Sandy Hsu had 10 apiece; and Stacey Graham chipped in with
nine. Though not making excuses for the loss, Graham was also less than
impressed with the tournament’s schedule-makers, insisting that any region’s
top two seeds – Elgin Park and Riverside were one-two in the Fraser Valley –
should not have to square off in a second-round tilt. All it does is ensure
that some of the province’s top-ranked teams are eliminated from the tournament
early, he said. “I think it was a very poor decision on their part. That’s a
third-day game.”
The top-seeded
North Vancouver Handsworth Royals nipped the 8th-seeded New Westminster Hyacks 65-63
as Kris Young scored 19, Angela White 18, Jenna Vaandering 11, Jaime Hills 6,
Diana Lee 6 and Danielle Roney 5, while Carly Brown, Shae Allison, Taylor Shein,
Lindsay Adair, Sam Garrett, Allison Patterson and Keely Baker were scoreless.
Ariana Sider paced the Orcas with 23. Kia Van Laare added 15, Racheal Sider 11,
along with 13 boards, Jenny McCormack 8 and Jaylen Canton 6, while Kelsey
Lonergan, Banaseer Ali, Amanda Zacharuk, Breeze Manderville, Meriam Ali, Manisha
Kandola, Natasha Laecki and Abuk Duot were scoreless. New Westminster coach
Doug Woodward said ‘that was awesome. These girls are the hardest working girls
I have ever been around, and I have been around for a long time.” The Hyacks were
a lucky bounce away from sending the game into overtime after New Westminster’s
gutsy senior guard Kia Van Laare missed a driving one-handed banking runner as
the game clock expired. Each of the Hyacks five starters – which also included
Ariana Sider, Jaylen Canton, Jenny McCormack and Rachael Sider – played every
single second of the 40-minute contest. Van Laare ran her marathon despite
picking up her fourth foul of the game with 25 seconds left in the first half. “She
played incredible,” acknowledged Handsworth head coach Scott Palmer. “Especially
the way she managed her game with that fourth foul. We tried to take it to her
a couple of times, but great coaching move by Woody (Woodward). He hid her well
at the top of their zone.” The Hyacks played a triangle-and-two zone with two
defenders glued to Royals’ stars Diana Lee and Kris Young. It worked
masterfully in a first quarter in which the Royals clung to a 29-28 lead
because the two scorers had combined to go 3-for-8 from the field and score six
combined points. But in the second half, Young got her medium-range jumper
working, and she scored 15 of her team-high 19 points over the final 20
minutes. But perhaps more than that was the fact that the Royals got the secondary
scoring they needed. Senior Angela White scored eight slashing points on drives
through the lane over a tense fourth quarter. “We are a deep team,” said Young.
“I was so happy that we have players like Angela who can step up so big. She
knew where her lane was every time. It was so nice to see her score.” Handsworth
had a miserable shooting night. They did not hit a single trey and missed a
horrendously high amount of uncontested inside looks at the basket. For Palmer,
the post-game locker room was place to exhale. “You really just want to get to
the Final Four and after that anything can happen. Whether you win by 30 or you
win by two, no one remembers.”
The 3rd-seeded Victoria Claremont
Spartans edged the 6th-seeded Langley Brookswood Bobcats 86-83. Brookswood’s Zoey Haramboure hit a trey with 48 seconds
left to cap a huge rally and tie the game 81-81, but with 26 seconds remaining,
Claremont’s Shaylyn Crisp hit a three to put her team ahead to stay and
finished with 23 points. Jessica Renfrew led the Spartans with 33 points while Sydney
Schepikoff led the Bobcats with 20 points.
In the last quarterfinal, the 10th-seeded Victoria Oak Bay Breakers defeated the 2nd-seeded Salmon Arm Jewels 52-42. Diminutive 5-6 Aija Salvador knocked down four third-quarter treys as part of a game-high 25-point performance to help the Breakers knock off the second seed. “It’s all these girls,” said Breakers’ coach Rob Kinnear. “They have the special spark that Cinderella teams all do. They have wanted it since day one. They have busted their butts in the gym. They have worked that extra little bit and they didn’t get a lot of credit all year long. We just kept telling them hard work would pay off.” Salvador hit back-to-back treys late in the third quarter to put the Breakers on top 41-28, but the Jewels pushed back to within 47-39 on a short jumper by Jorrie Duxbury with 3:52 to play. Oak Bay closed out the win with a five-point run, beginning with Salvador’s half-court steal for a fast-break lay-in, and capped by Mary Elrick’s putback of an offensive rebound. “With about 30 seconds left, I figured we had won,” said Salvador. “I was in shock. I couldn’t believe we had actually won.” Added Kinnear: “That Salmon Arm team that we just beat, they are an excellent team and as good as it gets in B.C.” Forward Ali Cooper added 11 points for the Breakers. Jordyn Rabbitt and Jorri Duxbury each scored 12 points for the Jewels.
In the semis, the top-seeded North Vancouver Handsworth Royals stomped the Port Coquitlam Riverside Rapids 67-42 after leading 20-9, 37-12 and 52-24 at the quarters. Keely Baker paced Handsworth with 18 on 6-13 from the floor, 6-10 from the line and 8 boards. Kris Young added 14 on 7-15 from the floor and 11 boards. Angela White added 13 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Diana Lee added 10 on 4-11 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 4 boards. Danielle Roney added 4 on 1-7 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 5 assists. Allison Patterson added 4, Jaime Hills 2 and Jenna Vanderling 2, while Carly Brown, Shae Allison, Taylor Shein, Lindsay Adair and Sam Garrett were scoreless. The Royals hit 27-64 (.422) from the floor, 2-11 (.182) from the arc and 11-16 (.688) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 15 assists, 10 turnovers and 4 steals. Denise Spacek paced Riverside with 11 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Katie Woo added 7 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Carly Formosa scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Emily Sall added 3, Natalie Carkner 3, Michelle Spacek 3, Chelsea Harteveld 3, Ronnie Tsai 2, Sarah Arthur 2, and Laiken Cerenzie 2, while Meghan Sherwood and Mallory Sall were scoreless. The Rapids hit 15-63 (.238) from the floor, 6-24 (.250) from the arc and 6-8 (.750) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 7 assists, 8 turnovers and 6 steals. “We did not start well and that was the key,” Riverside coach Paul Langford said. “They are an experienced team and they had a scare the night before. We needed a good start and did not get it. Youth may have been our biggest hurdle.”
In the other semi, the 10th-seeded Victoria Oak Bay Breakers clipped the Victoria Claremont Spartans 60-52. Claremont led 14-12 after one quarter and 27-25 at the half. Oak Bay led 40-39 after three quarters. Aija Salvador paced Oak Bay with 16 on 5-14 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 10 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Mary Elrick added 12 on 5-14 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Ali Cooper scored 11 on 4-11 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 9 boards. Jill Cooper scored 7 on 3-8 from the floor and 1-2 from the line. Nicole Bellegham added 6 on 1-5 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 4 boards. Leigh Robinson scored 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Sarah Dickson scored 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-5 from the line and 6 boards, while Bronte Fitzsimmons, Justine Sanders, Mitraya Barber; Linden Turner and Amy Pellatt were scoreless. The Breakers hit 21-63 (.333) from the floor, 2-6 (.333) from the arc and 16-27 (.593) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 9 assists, 17 turnovers, 1 block and 4 steals. Shalie Dheensaw paced Claremont with 12 on 4-13 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 16 boards. Shaylyn Crisp added 12 on 2-15 from the floor, 1-9 from the arc, 7-10 from the line and 3 steals. Jessica Renfrew scored 10 on 3-15 from the floor, 4-8 from the line, 4 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. Melissa Van dyk added 8 on 2-9 from the floor, 4-8 from the line and 4 boards. Courtney Ellis scored 7 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 6 boards. Shannon Elder scored 3, while Olivia Gong, Claire Jaenen, Caitlyn Anderson and Charlotte Illers were scoreless. The Spartans hit 15-68 (.221) from the floor, 3-18 (.167) from the arc and 19-32 (.594) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 10 assists, 13 turnovers, 1 block and 10 steals. “I will not take anything from Oak Bay, they got us on the right night,” said Spartans coach Mark Neufeld. “It’s hard losing to a team you’ve beat three times by significant margins this year, but they were that good.”
Oak Bay coach Rob Kinnear said “I don’t think the girls were intimidated by anyone, we knew by then we could play with any team.”
In the bronze medal match, the Victoria Claremont Spartans dumped the Port Coquitlam Riverside Rapids 69-58 after lead 13-11, 28-27 and 47-43 at the quarters. The Spartans, fourth-place finishers a season ago, used a stifling press over the late stages of the contest to string together a 10-2 game-ending run. Mark Neufeld, who is stepping down as Claremont’s head coach after guiding the Spartans’ varsity for the majority of the past 18 years, marveled at his team’s energy level. “I honestly don’t know where they found that energy,” said Neufeld, “cause we’re just dead. But I guess it’s the power of the mind and the power of the spirit. We talked to our team about just staying in there and being positive and just backing each other up. And from somewhere they found that energy.” Rapids coach Paul Langford said “I’m very proud, it’s a credit to our whole program. We have seven Grade 10s back and some keen Grade 10s off our District-champion junior team, so we should be in good shape. … No, make that GREAT shape.” Claremont’s Shalie Dheensaw was picked top defensive player. Rapids coach Paul Langford said “we were a little tentative and they wear you out. Quick teams are not so quick at the end of the game and tall teams are still tall, that was a huge part of it.” Tsai said “the group is so amazing, we had such a great year. We worked so hard and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls to play with. I really love my team.” Langford concurred. “They’ve been good pieces to our team throughout the year. Emily (Sall) came on in the playoffs, Chelsea (Harteveld), Ronnie, Carly (Formosa) and Sarah (Arthur) — they were all great contributors.” Shaylyn Crisp paced Claremont with 18 on 2-8 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 8-8 from the line and 6 boards. Shalie Dheensaw added 16 on 6-12 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 15 boards and 6 blocks. Jessica Renfrew added 13 on 5-17 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 8 boards and 3 steals. Melissa Van Dyk added 10 on 5-15 from the floor, 13 boards and 3 steals. Shannon Elder added 5 on 1-5 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Courtney Ellis added 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 steals. Olivia Gong added 2 and Caitlyn Anderson 2, while Claire Jaenen, Charlotte Llers, Nikki Turner and Leanne Askew were scoreless. The Spartans hit 21-67 (.310) from the floor, 3-18 (.170) from the arc and 18-23 (.780) from the line, while garnering 73 boards, including 40 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 11 assists, 19 turnovers, 8 blocks and 15 steals. Natalie Carkner paced Riverside with 14 on 4-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Ronnie Tsai added 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 11 boards. Laiken Cerenzie added 12 on 6-15 from the floor, 0-4 from the line and 5 boards. Meghan Sherwood added 8 on 1-6 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 2 assists. Emily Sall added 5, Michelle Spacek 3, Denise Spacek 2 and Chelsea Harteveld 2, while Carly Formosa, Katie Wood, Sarah Arthur and Mallory Sall were scoreless. The Rapids hit 19-54 (.350) from the floor, 4-11 (.360) from the arc and 8-19 (.420) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 10 assists, 19 turnovers, 2 blocks and 9 steals.
In the final, the top-seeded North Vancouver Handsworth Royals edged the 10th-seeded Victoria Oak Bay Breakers 60-51. Oak Bay led 15-13 after one quarter. Handsworth led 30-27 at the half and 45-36 after three quarters. The Royals made a late run and discovered they had just enough to hang on for the win. With Handsworth clinging to a 45-42 lead with 7:53 remaining and Oak Bay in the midst of a 6-0 fourth-quarter opening run, the Royals looked to be floundering when star senior forward and tournament MVP Kris Young took her fourth foul of the game. But after a time-out, head coach Scott Palmer sent Young back into the game, and Handsworth never looked back on its way to a repeat championship. Young made back-to-back steals that she turned into baskets, as did teammate Diana Lee as the Royals’ 8-0 run gave them a nine-point cushion that ultimately held as the final margin of victory. “My teammates played such great defence around me,” said Young, who scored 14 in the second half and was chosen player of the game. “And it was that pressure that translated into steals, which really helped us. … I don’t really know how we did it. I was in the moment. We went out and played hard. We got the shots we needed and it worked out.” There was also the small matter of Lee, the Boise State-bound point guard who completed one of the gutsiest weeks of play imaginable. Lee was playing with an injury that would have kept any other player on the bench. “She had a bone scan Wednesday at UBC and we found out that she has a fracture,” said Palmer. “I can’t even believe she played. People may have been wondering why she wasn’t scoring, but she was basically playing with a broken ankle. When we take the tape off her after games, she is in tears for 20 minutes afterwards.” Lee said “I felt like I had to do this for the team because they always work so hard. It hurts but it’s worth it. It’s a feeling I can’t describe. I trusted in my team and they trusted in me.” Much the same could be said for the Breakers. They were lightly regarded when action began Wednesday, but by Saturday night had seen their brand of fearless courage snowball into a most formidable foe. “We did something special,” said Oak Bay head coach Rob Kinnear. “We told our team before the game that if they thing they had on the court, they could live with the result whatever it was. I have no regrets. … We were the first to admit that skill-wise, we weren’t the best team alive, but we thought we played together as a team. … That is the best team in the province and our girls stuck with them almost the whole time so we couldn’t be any more proud of them.” Kris Young paced Handsworth with 25 on 11-28 from the floor, 3-3 from the line, 13 boards and 3 steals. Diana Lee added 17 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 3 boards and 4 steals. Keely Baker scored 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 8 boards. Angela White added 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 3-6 from the line and 7 boards. Allison Patterson added 4 on 2-3 from the floor. Danielle Roney added 3 on 0-5 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 6 boards and 4 assists, while Carly Brown, Shae Allison, Taylor Shein, Lindsay Adair, Sam Garrett, Jaime Hills and Jenna Vaandering were scoreless. The Royals hit 22-56 (.390) from the floor, 1-9 (.110) from the arc and 13-23 (.570) from the line, while garnering 52 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 8 assists, 12 turnovers, 1 block and 12 steals. Aija Salvador paced Oak Bay with 22 on 4-9 from the floor, 4-13 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 10 boards and 4 steals. Ali Cooper added 15 on 7-15 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 8 boards. Mary Elrick added 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 11 boards. Jill Cooper added 2 and Leigh Robinson 2, while Bronte Fitzsimmons, Justine Sanders, Nicole Van Bellegham, Mitraya Barber, Linden Turner, Sarah Dickson and Amy Pellatt were scoreless. The Breakers hit 17-47 (.360) from the floor, 4-19 (.210) from the arc and 5-7 (.710) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 11 assists, 20 turnovers and 9 steals.
The bronze medalist Victoria Claremont Spartans: Shalie Dheensaw; Shaylyn Crisp; Melissa Van Dyk; Jessica Renfrew; Courtney Ellis; Olivia Gong; Shannon Elder; Claire Jaenen; Caitlyn Anderson; Charlotte Illers; coach Mark Neufeld
The silver medalist Victoria Oak Bay Breakers: Ali Cooper; Aija Salvador; Mary Elrick; Sarah Dickson; Jill Cooper; Nicole Van Belleghem; Bronte Fitzsimmons; Justine Sanders; Mitraya Barker; Linden Turner; Leigh Robinson; Amy Pellatt; coach Rob Kinnear; coach Mitch Gudgeon
The gold medalist North Vancouver Handsworth Royals: Diana Lee; Kris Young; Danielle Roney; Angela White; Keely Baker; Jaime Hills; Jenna Vaandering; Allison Patterson; Lindsay Adair; Sam Garrett; Carly Brown; Shea Allison; Taylor Shein; coach Scott Palmer; assistant Ramin Sadaghiani; manager Danielle Homer; manager Kendra Perrin; manager Heather Swail