In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Fraser Lake Cougars defeated 8th-seeded New Aiyansh Nisga’a Chieftains 76-46 after leading 42-30 at the half. Randi Perren led Fraser Lake with 33. Samantha Azak and Constance Morven each scored 15 to pace Nisga’a. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Kelowna Christian Knights defeated the 12th-seeded Mackenzie Sabres 60-40 after leading 27-26 at the half. Khera Fell paced the Knights with 20. Erin Kryschuk and Gwen Sinclair each scored 12 to pace Mackenzie. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded South Surrey Southridge Storm defeated the 7th-seeded Nanaimo Cedar Spartans 55-37 after leading 23-12 at the half. Megan Brockman paced the Storm with 16. Katrina Ward added 15. Anne-Marie Lemaitre paced the Spartans with 10. Danielle Friensen added 9. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Keremeos Similkameen Sparks defeated the 11th-seeded North Vancouver Bodwell Barracudas 70-44 after leading 35-13 at the half. Erika Kikuchi paced the Sparks with 23. Christine Chartrand led Bodwell with 18.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Kelowna Immaculata Mustangs dumped the 9th-seeded Fraser Lake Cougars 64-41 after leading 33-21 at the half. Alex Basso paced the Mustangs with 18. Randi Perren led Fraser Lake with 23. Dakota Webster had 10 rebounds, while Marci Cahoon added eight rebounds and seven steals. Cougars coach Jamie Neilson told the Omineca Express that “with two minutes left, we were down by 10. Honestly, going in, I was hoping we could stay within four points of them.” The Cougars (coached by Jamie Neilson) also included Randi Perren.
The 5th-seeded Kelowna Christian Knights defeated the 4th-seeded Chilliwack Unity Christian Flames 59-58 after leading 17-9 at the half. Khera Fell paced the Knights with 18. Alannah Vermeer led the Flames with 8. Mariah Bruinsina added 7.
The 2nd-seeded South Slocan Mount Sentinel Wildcats defeated the 10th-seeded South Surrey Southridge Storm 61-50 after leading 36-25 at the half. Kendra Wavling paced the Wildcats with 26. Katrina Ward and Val Ward each scored 13 for the Storm. Megan Brockman added 12.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Abbotsford Christian Knights defeated the 6th-seeded Keremeos Similkameen Sparks 50-44 despite trailing 22-16 at the half. Megan Thiessen paced the Knights with 14. Christine Chartrand led the Sparks with 17.
In the semis, the top-seeded Kelowna Immaculata Mustangs dumped the 5th-seeded Kelowna Christian Knights 67-52 after leading 40-28 at the half. Alex Basso paced the Mustangs with 24. Toria Anderson led the Knights with 15.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded South Slocan Mount Sentinel Wildcats nipped the 3rd-seeded Abbotsford Christian Knights 59-58 after leading 32-28 at the half. Katie Wavling led the Wildcats with 23. Megan Thiessen paced the Knights with 16.
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded Kelowna Christian Knights nipped the 3rd-seeded Abbotsford Christian Knights 54-53 despite trailing 28-19 at the half. The Abbotsford Christian Knights squandered a nine-point lead down the stretch. Head coach Theo Vanderkooi said that it really came down to shots from beyond the arc. “Losing by one point is tough either way you look at it,” he said. “We live and die by the three-ball and they just weren’t dropping for us.” It was Kelowna Christian’s first provincial medal. The Knights fell behind 46-40 in the fourth quarter when Khera Fell sparked a rally with a three-pointer off the bench. Player of the game was Kirsten Wiebe with 10 points, while Toria Andersen had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Elysia Bewernick added 14 points and 12 rebounds. “The girls win is a history making event for our school and a huge boost to our basketball program,” said Kelowna coach Ron Robinson. Megan Thiessen led Abby Christian with 19. Abbotsford (coached by Theo Vanderkooi and Brian Stelpstra) also included Andrea Bomhof, Shayna Bruinsma, Heidi DeWaal, Danelle Kastelein, Shelly Kielstra, Stephanie Ridder, Lorene Vanderwal, Kylie Van Eyk, Becky Veeneman and Jenna Vos.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded South Slocan Mount Sentinel Wildcats defeated the top-seeded Kelowna Immaculata Mustangs 58-51 despite trailing 27-20 at the half. Kendra Wavling paced the Wildcats with 26. Alex Basso led the Mustangs with 17. Laura Gini added 12. The No. 1-ranked Immaculata Mustangs lost but one game all season to an A-level team in B.C. high school girls’ basketball. It just so happened it was at the most inopportune time, during their bid for a three-peat in provincial final, in a rematch of the 2007 final, which saw the Mustangs win by seven points, 65-58. Immaculata head coach Dino Gini said there was absolutely nothing for his girls to hang their heads over. “Emotionally I felt bad for the kids, but honestly they gave it all they had,” said Gini. “Our energy and effort was good, and we really wanted the three-peat. Whatever you want to say there’s a lot of pressure on these kids because of the success we’ve had over the years. Every team was gunning for us all year so the girls can hold their heads high.” Immaculata led the final 27-20 at the half, but the Wildcats took advantage of several breakdowns in the second half to steal the momentum and the game away from the Mustangs. It was the eighth straight year that the Mustangs had played in the provincial final and have posted a 5-and-3 record during that stretch.
The bronze medalist Kelowna Christian Knights: Toria Andersen; Samantha Baldwin; Elysia Baldwin; Elyse Bishop; Breanne Cleland; Khera Fell; Aleesha Harnett; Jessica Marees; Justine Marees; Cammi Taron; Karli Taron; Kirsten Wiebe; Rebecca Young; coach Rob Robinson; assistant Marci Weiss; assistant Dave Sohnchen
The silver medalist Kelowna Immaculata Mustangs: Alex Basso; Rachelle Beatty; Lauren Blanleil; Courtney Campbell; Aimee Ehman; Brighton Ellis; Marsha Farrow; Kristina Gasser; Laura Gini; Erin Grant; Alexa Kennedy; Georgia Macauley; Rebecca Mlikotic; Alessia Muresu; Jessica Roberts; Katie Roberts; Jorgia Van de Sype; coach Dino Gini; assistant Katie Woodman; manager Meaghan Loewen
The gold medalist South Slocan Mount Sentinel Wildcats: Reanna Arishenkoff; Alicia Dodds; Ashley Evdokimoff; Asia Garnier; Emi Kobayashi; Lyndall Nazaroff; Alyssa Sherbinin; Victoria Simmerling; Katie Wavling; Kendra Wavling; coach Andy Leathwood