In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Prince George Cedars Christian Eagles clocked the 16th-seeded Cowichan Duncan Christian Chargers 95-35 after leading 50-15 at the half. “We came with our game and played some good Cedars basketball,” said Eagles coach Al MacDonald. “We just did the fundamentals and kept it simple.” Kayla Eby, who was chosen player of the game, said the opening round was a confidence booster. “There’s always nerves coming in,” she said. “Ranked first, you’ve got the most to lose so it was definitely nice to win tonight.” Hannah Pudlas and Kayla Eby each scored 19 to pace the Eagles. Kayla Gordon added 15, Melissa Gordon 13, Kristin Anton 9, Nicole Kragt 8, Shannon Kragt 5, Michelle Nikkel 2, Alyse Willman 2, Haley Reich 2 and Megan Karpenko 1, while Karyssa Church and Brooke MacDonald were scoreless. Rachel Bakker paced the Chargers with 16. Becky Bazinet added 11, Lauren King-Nyberg 4, Brenna Bazinet 3 and Juliet King 1, while Danielle Groenendijk, Olivia Bakker and Carli Paterson were scoreless. The Chargers (coached by Michelle Nederlof) also included Victoria Neufeld. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Kelowna Christian Knights stomped the 9th-seeded Rossland Royals 66-49 after leading 9-8, 28-20 and 41-38 at the quarters. Carlin Bishop paced the Knights (coached by Brian Krueger, assisted by Dave Bingham) with 18. Rosa Kalashnikoff added 12, Lauren Krueger 10, Jacqueline Sellers 10, Kelsi Taron 6, Haley Hopp 6, Sophia Goertsen 2 and Shae Mendes 2, while Chelsea Matthews and E Grimes were scoreless. Annie Cameron paced the Royals (coached by Rich McKinnon) with 18. Kaycee McKinnon added 9, Jeanine McKoy 8, Jaala Derochie 6, Kaela Zimmer 4, Jill Armour 2 and Jessica Seineroff 2, while Britta Klaile, Sam Fleming and Joselyn Reynolds were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Princeton Rebels clocked the 13th-seeded Pemberton Red Devils 71-47 after leading 26-12, 39-22 and 51-30 at the quarters. Angela Marshall paced the Rebels with 22. Logan Littlejohn added 13, Ciara Bamford 11, Julia Reichert 6, Samantha Simons 6, Destiny Earle 5, Kyla Coyne 5, Brianna Musgrove 2 and B Kasso 2, while A Grayson was scoreless. With just three players on the bench, Pemberton was quickly down to two reserves for the remainder of the tournament when Jenna Wilkins rolled her ankle. “That put a lot of pressure on the other starters and made it very difficult,” said Red Devils coach Mike Richman. “You look at the winning teams over there and they were carrying 12 or 13 girls with them, running hard and pressing. We didn’t quite have that.” Thea Sturdy paced the Red Devils (coached by Mike Richman) with 21. Tachona Jones added 11, Jenna Wilkins 6, Bailey Raimondo 4, Lauren Phare 3 and Ashley LeBlanc 2, while Desirae Townley and Emma Eslake were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Fernie Falcons stunned the 7th-seeded Langley Credo Christian Kodiaks 72-58 after leading 13-5, 29-24 and 52-43 at the quarters. Emily Scheller paced the Falcons with 30. Kaylee Karmilo added 20, Laura Serafini 16 and Kaila Fraser 6, while Sydney Salvador, M Dykhuizen and K Sarabun were scoreless. Shelley Floris paced the Kodiaks (coached by Arthur deLeeuw, assisted by Carolyn deLeeuw and Miranda Louwerse) with 18. Kristen Schouten added 12, Robyn Flokstra 8, Dana Super 6, Kristy Shouten 6, Sarah Eenkhoorn 4, Lydia Meerstra 2 and Esther Van Delft 2, while Laura Vanderhorst, Megan Krabbendam and Kim Bulthius were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Victoria Pacific Christian Pacers stomped the 14th-seeded Chilliwack Unity Christian Flames 74-53 after leading 26-9, 57-22 and 63-36 at the quarters. Kathryn Candell and Hannah Thompson each scored 26 to pace the Pacers. Elyssa Berends added 5, Erin Olsen 6, R Thompson 5, Emily Candell 4 and A Willie 1, while Samantha Visscher, N Radisavljevic and M Radisavljevic were scoreless. E Visser paced the Flames with 10. Sarah Haan added 10, R Dieleman 8, C Taekema 5, Adrianna Brauwer 4, A Herst 4, Andrea VanRyk 4, S Van den Brink 2, Marissa Vink 2, M Campbell 2 and H Gouwenberg 2, while Laura Post and T Van de Kamp were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded West Vancouver Mulgrave Titans crushed the 11th-seeded Fort St. James Falcons 68-27 after leading 24-5, 36-11 and 51-21 at the quarters. Daniela Martin and Florence Belanger-Jones each scored 15 to lead the Titans (coached by Claude Leduc, assisted by Kaitlin Cyr). Christina Catliff added 11, Lauren Young 9, Azmina Karmali 7, Rebecca Kendrick 5, Jena Roper 2, Victoria O’Brien 2 and S Beckman 2, while Kelcy Timmons, Honor Rozee, Sunny Choi and Angela Joannou were scoreless. Renee Colthorp paced the Falcons with 6. Jenni Marchal added 5, H Burgart 5, H Burgam 4, Carmen Bennison 4, C Stark 2 and S Leach 1, while G Willick, B Burdenuik, M Sam, B Dunkley and M White were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Kelowna Immaculata Mustangs stomped the 15th-seeded Fraser Lake Cougars 111-25 after leading 39-2, 62-10 and 93-14 at the quarters. Siobhan Fitzpatrick and Emma Johnson each scored 20 to pace the Mustangs. Olivia Johnson added 15, Erin Jacobs 14, Megan Hart 10, Jaedyn Penkala 10, Taya Skarbo 6, Sarah Day 4, Leaghan Penkala 3, Hannah Johnson 3, Lindsay Lalach 2, Ashley Prehofer 2 and Amanda Grant 2. Brooke Palfenier paced the Cougars with 9. Taylor deSousa added 8, Andrea Houghton 4, Janelle Lapointe 2 and Kailee Duncan 2, while F Lindstrom, Nicole Beckley, Natasha Thompson, Nicole Cannon and Shelby Beckley were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Langley Christian Lightning whipped the 12th-seeded Smithers Bulkley Valley Christian Royals 58-35 after leading 17-6, 27-17 and 40-24 at the quarters. Megan Hummelman paced the Lightning (coached by Danielle Gardner) with 20. Sarah Walter added 11, Alexandra Wergeland 10, S Kunst 9, Courtney Postma 4, Carrie Noort 2 and Shelby Roersma 2, while Amy Antoniuk, Laura Jung, Laurel Kirkwood, Susanna Larsen and Tabitha Meier were scoreless. Madison Swanson paced the Royals with 8. A Joseph added 6, Rebecca Kingston 5, Christiana Reitsma 5, C Walton 4, Natasha Steenhof 3, B VanCadsand 2, Riley Swanson 1 and Corliss Van Veen 1, while A Hodson, Raelee O’Coffey, Virginia Mager, A Veerbeek, L Goodson and M Lindeman were scoreless.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Prince George Cedars Christian Eagles defeated the 8th-seeded Kelowna Christian Knights 69-62 after leading 21-7, 30-28 and 54-43 at the quarters. Eagles coach Al MacDonald said his troops were pressed by the Knights but didn’t break. “In the end we just kept our composure and did the things we needed to do down the stretch.” The Eagles jumped out to a 21-4 advantage over the Knights, going on a 17-point run in the first quarter. But the Knights took advantage of an injury that kept the Eagles Hannah Pudlas off the court for most of the second quarter, closing the gap to 30-28 at the half. Cedars first-year post Kristin Anton said it was a bit nerve-wracking when the Knights pulled within a basket. “It kind of got a little scary,” said the 17-year-old. “We just kind of lost our adrenaline and we were all slowing down a bit.” The Eagles didn’t appear panicked on the bench to start the third quarter as Pudlas returned to the court in the second half, dropping nine points, including the game’s only two three-pointers. Knights coach Brian Krueger said “we play a real high intensity pressing game and we thought we had a chance. We’ve played right to the wire with the No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 seeds all year in our own zone, so we know we can play with the best.” Kayla Gordon paced the Eagles with 17. Hannah Pudlas added 16, Kristin Anton 14, Kayla Eby 9, Melissa Gordon 6, Shannon Kragt 5 and Nicole Kragt 2, while Megan Karpenko, Michelle Nikkel, Karyssa Church, Brooke MacDonald, Alyse Willmann and Haley Reich were scoreless. Lauren Krueger led the Knights with 18. Carlin Bishop added 15, Jacqueline Sellers 12, Haley Hopp 5, Sophia Goertsen 4, Kelsi Taron 4, Shae Mendes 2 and Rosa Kalashnikoff 2, while Chelsea Matthews and E Grimes were scoreless.
The 4th-seeded Princeton Rebels clocked the 5th-seeded Langley Christian Lightning 63-49 after leading 15-11, 24-23 and 50-36 at the quarters. Ciara Bamford paced the Rebels with 26. Julia Reichert added 18, Angela Marshall 8, Samantha Simons 6, Randie Kasso 3 and Destiny Earle 2, while Kyla Coyne, A Grayson, Brianna Musgrove and Logan Littlejohn were scoreless. Sarah Walter paced the Lightning (coached by Danielle Gardner) with 15. Megan Hummelman added 10, Tabitha Meier 8, Courtney Postma 4, S Kunst 4, Shelby Roersma 3, Laura Jung 3 and Carrie Noort 2, while Amy Antoniuk, Laurel Kirkwood, Alexandra Wergeland and Susanna Larsen were scoreless.
The 3rd-seeded Victoria Pacific Christian Pacers crushed the 6th-seeded West Vancouver Mulgrave Titans 74-52 after leading 17-11, 34-19 and 45-34 at the quarters. Kathryn Candell paced the Pacers with 37. Hannah Thompson added 22, R Thompson 6, Erin Olsen 4, Elyssa Berends 2 and M Radisavljevic 2, while Emily Candell, A Willie, Samantha Visscher, N Radisavljevic were scoreless. Florence Belanger-Jones paced the Titans with 20. Christina Catliff added 17, Rebbeca Kendrick 7, Lauren Young 4, Azmina Karmali 3 and Daniela Martin 1, while Jena Roper, Kelcy Timmons, Honor Rozee, S Choi, Victoria O’Brien, Angela Joannou and S Beckman were scoreless.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Kelowna Immaculata Mustangs stomped the 10th-seeded Fernie Falcons 110-45 after leading 23-7, 54-19 and 85-35 at the quarters. Emma Johnson paced the Mustangs with 23. Siobhan Fitzpatrick added 21, Erin Jacobs 16, Olivia Johnson 14, Megan Hart 8, Jaedyn Penkala 7, Taya Skarbo 6, Amanda Grant 5, Leaghan Penkala 5, Sarah Day 4 and Hannah Johnson 1, while Lindsay Lalach and Ashley Prehofer were scoreless. Kaylee Karmilo paced the Falcons with 22. Laura Serafini added 11, Kaila Fraser 6, Emily Scheller 4 and Megan Dykhuizen 2, while Sydney Salvador and Kayla Sarabun were scoreless. The Falcons (coached by John Mill, Dean Harstaad and Ian Jarrell) also included Allison McLeay, Cori-Anne Huisman, Rachael Soukoroff and Sydney Salvador.
In the semis, the top-seeded Prince George Cedars Christian Eagles stuffed the 4th-seeded Princeton Rebels 73-49. The Rebels led 18-16 after one quarter. The Eagles led 38-28 at the half and 59-33 after three quarters. In the second half the Eagles used their height advantage to frustrate the Rebels, outscoring them 21-7 in the third quarter. Hannah Pudlas paced the Eagles with 21. Kayla Gordon added 19, Shannon Kragt 12, Kayla Eby 5, Megan Karpenko 4, Michelle Nikkel 4, Melissa Gordon 4, Nicole Kragt 2 and Brooke MacDonald 2, while Kristin Anton, Karyssa Church, Alyse Willmann and Haley Reich were scoreless. Ciara Bamford paced the Rebels with 13. Julia Reichert added 10, Destiny Earle 8, Brianna Musgrave 7, Angela Marshall 6, Samantha Simons 3 and Logan Littlejohn 2, while Kyla Coyne, Randie Kassa, A Grayson and G Antonick were scoreless.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Kelowna Immaculata Mustangs dusted the 3rd-seeded Victoria Pacific Christian Pacers 81-53 after leading 44-21 at the half. Olivia Johnson and Emma Johnson each scored 23 to pace the Mustangs. Erin Jacobs added 14, Jaedyn Penkala 12, Leaghan Penkala 4, Taya Skarbo 2, Siobhan Fitzpatrick 2 and Sarah Day 1, while Amanda Grant, Lindsay Lalach, Hannah Johnson, Megan Hart and Ashley Prehofer were scoreless. Kathryn Candell paced the Pacers with 22. Hannah Thompson added 13, Elyssa Berends 9, Erin Olsen 6 and R Thompson 3, while Emily Candell, A Willie, Samantha Visscher, N Radiscivljevic and M Radiscivljevic were scoreless.
In the bronze medal match, the 4th-seeded Princeton Rebels stomped the 3rd-seeded Victoria Pacific Christian Pacers 78-57. The score was knotted at 20 after one quarter. The Rebels led 41-26 at the half. Ciara Bamford paced the Rebels with 27. Julia Reichert added 16, Samantha Simons 10, Angela Marshall 10, L Littlejohn 7, Brianna Musgrave 6 and Kayla Coyne 2, while B Kassa, A Greyson and Destiny Earle were scoreless. Kathryn Candell paced the Pacers with 16. Hannah Thompson added 14, Elyssa Berends 10, Erin Olsen 6, R Thompson 6, M Radiscivljevic 2, N Radiscivljevic 2 and A Willie 1, while Emily Candell and Samantha Visscher were scoreless.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Kelowna Immaculata Mustangs stunned the top-seeded Prince George Cedars Christian Eagles 58-54. The Eagles led 15-12 after one quarter and 31-25 at the half. The score was knotted at 44 after three quarters. The win completed a boys and girls provincial sweep for the Mustangs and coach Dino Gini. It was the sixth provincial title for the girls. “The senior girls had a tremendous season, a talented and athletic group of girls have put the Mustangs back on top,” said Mustangs coach Dino Gini. “I have had the pleasure to step back into the girls program with a group of girls that are focused and athletic and most importantly a group of quality individuals, they are a special group and this special group has brought home a special blue banner.” Mustangs assistant coach Brian Grant said “it’s a great thing for these ladies, especially since we had lost to Cedars early in the year in January, so we knew where the bar was set. I think if there’s such a thing as a good loss, that was a good loss for us, so it showed us where the bar was.” Head coach Dino Gini is “the backbone of the program. He’s been there 15 years,” Grant told the Prince George Free Press. “(Dino’s) the one who won the first five provincial championships with the girls in the last 10 years, so basically because he had to go there, he turns over the reins of the herd to me and the other coach, coach Kouwenhoven.” Gini said “two teams, one dream. What a journey…what a season…what an experience. … It was a pleasure and honour to have the opportunity to coach the two teams. They are such athletic and focused groups on the court, and more importantly, they’re all quality individuals.” Gini, who was at the A boy’s tournament in Abbotsford, said assistants Brian Grant and Leah Kouwenhoven, did a masterful job. “It wasn’t an easy situation – corresponding on line, by cell phone and through skype, but they pulled it off and never missed a beat.” Gini found out the girls had won their provincial title at the beginning of the third quarter of the boys’ championship game. “They really put the pressure on me to follow up with a boys’ title.” Olivia Johnson’s “leadership qualities are second to none at this level. She was so focused all year to go after the ultimate goal of a provincial title,” said Gini. “It was so great to see them all bring back the desire and winning Mustangs attitude to the girls’ program.” Trinity Western-bound Kayla Gordon, who fouled out in the final quarter, was distraught after a third consecutive provincial silver medal. “It’s always really hard, especially when you’ve come second three years in a row, and I just really wanted to have that storybook senior year. But I’m so proud of my team and the way that we came together on the court and we gave everything we had. We lost, but it wasn’t a defeat. We were winners on and off the court and I’m just so happy to have been able to experience it with these girls, and I’m proud of the way we played and the way we represented the school this weekend just hosting the tournament too.” Gordon said “it was like a Hail Mary play to try and get the ball back when I fouled out. It’s just that realization that your dreams are coming to a crash. … I’d just given it all I could. I’m so proud of the way my team came together and represented our school. I can’t ask for a better way to end the season, well obviously with a gold medal, but you know, we may have lost but we weren’t defeated. We just played our hearts out and that’s all we could do.” Eby said “it broke my heart to see her walk off the court. If it had been me, I would’ve been heartbroken to foul out of my last game. I’m proud to be her teammate. We’ve come a really long way together.” Gordon said the foul trouble proved the difference. “Everyone was a little bit on edge. We didn’t have that security but I thought that we kept our composure. When we came out in the second half, we came out with a fire and a passion and got it back.” The Eagles trailed 31-25 at the half but led by Pudlas’ 10 third-quarter points battled back to tie the game at 44-44, but the Mustangs readjusted their strategy to take away the shooting and passing lanes from Pudlas and Gordon. Other members of the Eagles weren’t able to pick up the slack and despite earning several trips to the free-throw line Cedars shooters were unable capitalize. “It is hard because we spend so much time practicing those free throws and there’s no defence,” said Gordon. “It’s just one of those things where you have to really focus and buckle down. It’s a hard game, the provincial final, and they’re a young group of girls. I think it was nerves and it was a very physical game and those girls aren’t used to that. It’s hard to really focus and hit those when you’re frazzled.” Eagles coach Al MacDonald said Gordon and fellow senior Kayla Eby, are “two special players. They were a part of the five straight provincials, so they have basically just been real solid stalwarts in our program and then they’ve inspired other players, so now we have an established program and we’re in great shape.” Hannah Pudlas, a 16-year-old who picked up four fouls in the first half for the Eagles, scored 10 in the third quarter to rally her team but the Mustangs defence closed her down in the final frame. “I just played with nothing to lose,” said Pudlas. “It’s tough because I really wanted gold but it’s still an accomplishment to get here. We’ve just got to keep remembering that.” Pudlas started playing with the senior Eagles when she was in Grade 8 when the team finished fourth at the provincial championship. “This one was closer so it was more in our reach, but it’s tougher,” said Pudlas. Kayla Gordon said when Pudlas is “on the floor and I have to be on there to I have a sense of peace. She has that skill to bring up the ball well and make a good decision and that’s what we need, someone to set up a play. “She brings a calmness to our offence. When she’s on the floor things just go well. I just love playing with her. It’s going to be hard to not play with her.” Pudlas said “I really wanted to win it for (Gordon and Eby). They’re just very head strong and they don’t get up and down or anything. They’re just really consistent and you can just see their energy which helps you.” Olivia Johnson paced the Mustangs with 15. Emma Johnson added 14, Jaedyn Penkala 13, Erin Jacobs 8 and Siobhan Fitzpatrick 8, while Amanda Grant, Leaghan Penkala, Sarah Day, Taya Skarbo, Hannah Johnson, Megan Hart, Ashley Prehofer and Lindsay Lalach were scoreless. Hannah Pudlas paced the Eagles with 23. Kayla Gordon added 10, Kristin Anton 8, Shannon Kragt 5, Nicole Kragt 4, Melissa Gordon 2 and Kayla Eby 2, while Megan Karpenko, Michelle Nikkel, Karyssa Church, Brooke MacDonald, Alsye Willman and Haley Reich were scoreless.
The bronze medalist Princeton Rebels: Ciara Bamford; Julia Reichert; Destiny Earle; Brianna Musgrave; Angela Marshall; Samantha Simons; Logan Littlejohn; Kyla Coyne; Randie Kassa; A Grayson; G Antonick; coach Rob Marshall; assistant Colleen Stevens; assistant Brent McClelland
The silver medalist Prince George Cedars Christian Eagles: Kayla Gordon; Hannah Pudlas; Kristin Anton; Kayla Eby; Melissa Gordon; Shannon Kragt; Nicole Kragt; Megan Karpenko; Michelle Nikkel; Karyssa Church; Brooke MacDonald; Alsye Willmann; Haley Reich; coach Al Macdonald
The gold medalist Kelowna Immaculata Mustangs: Olivia Johnson; Emma Johnson; Siobhan Fitzpatrick; Erin Jacobs; Megan Hart; Jaedyn Penkala; Taya Skarbo; Sarah Day; Leaghan Penkala; Hannah Johnson; Lindsay Lalach; Nowah Bayani; Ashley Prehofer; Amanda Grant; coach Dino Gini; assistant Brian Grant; assistant Leah Kouwenhoven