In the opening round, held in Langley (for schools with 163-262 girls in grade 11 and 12): …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Burnaby Central Wildcats dusted the 16th-seeded Campbell River Carihi Tyees 91-51 after leading 24-13, 49-24 and 73-38 at the quarters. Diminutive Wildcat guard Jade Huyhn nailed 8-10 from beyond the arc. She told Varsity Letters “this is my first time at provincials and I think I was just really excited. First game, I was ready.” Wildcats coach Chris Ducharme said Huyhn “Jade is going to do what she does. In the last five games, she’s averaged 23 (points) a game.” The Wildcats were 15-22 from the arc. “We live or die by the line,” Ducharme said. “We have all season.” Tyees coach Todd Barnes said his troops “never quit, that’s the great thing about the girls. They work hard. We’re a little behind in some of the skill development that you saw on the floor. Some of those girls on the other side shot the lights out of the house. They’re a good team … nice shooters.” Jade Huynh paced the Wildcats with 30. Ankita Chopra added 23, Vobia Kalome 10, Jayla Huyhn 9, Sophia Morton 6, Janelle Mascarado 5, Nina Faiz 3, Simran Minhas 2, Samantha Quan 2 and Serena Minhas 1, while Jaya Kooner and Ella Ricketts were scoreless. Elana Skalik paced the Tyees with 32. Asha Jhawer added 10, Avery Sorenson 3, Hana Jennings 2, Gillianne Stewardson 2 and Lineea Schaefer 2, while Milei Stewart, Hailey Bond and Naomi Morrow were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Kamloops Valleyview Viqueens dispatched 9th-seeded Pitt Meadows Marauders 63-52. The Marauders led 14-13 after one quarter. The Viqueens led 27-22 at the half and 43-41 after three quarters. The Marauders were within five the entire affair until Viqueen Jamie Horsman hit 1-2 from the line to make it 55-49. Player of the game Tiell Schreiner notched a putback on the miss to give the Viqueens a 57-49 lead with 2:54 to play. Viqueens coach Karen Horsman told Varsity Letters that “the girls just dug in there and continued to work hard. Our shots were finally going in … and they dug down when they had to and pulled off that win.” Horsman added that Schreiner has “always been there for us throughout the year. I’ve coached her since Grade 8. We made a joke of it back then and in Grade 9 of her not being able to make those layups. She’s doing it this year, not only making the layups, but doing the and-ones. She’s pulled us through many times.” Tiell Schreiner paced the Viqueens with 21. Jaya Saroya added 16, Jocelyn Orr 9, Zoe Caller 8, Jaime Horsman 4 and Gloria Buff 3, while Julia Blackford, Cali Marino, Kate Rattee and Alyssa Senger were scoreless. Jordyn Hopia paced the Marauders with 18. Rebecca Boyes added 10, Jada Southall 8, Ella Jorgenson 6, Louise Orpiano 6 and Naomi Cooke 4, while Presley Shaw-Jaworek, Hadley Jack, Gracie Lagrange and Sophie Nelson were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Richmond R.A. McMath Wildcats blasted the 13th-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condors 105-30 after leading 34-7, 63-16 and 83-24 at the quarters. The Wildcats used their superior size and quickness to generate transition bucks in the romp. Wildcats coach Jamie Kippan told Varsity Letters that “we’ve gotten a lot better at that in the last month, month and a half. We’re really learning to push the ball and when to push it properly. It gets us a lot of baskets. … We’ve got a lot of players that score from a lot of places. We’re pretty offensively gifted.” Wildcat and Canadian U-16 team member Marina Radocaj said “we just have to have the mentality that everyone is a worthy opponent and we have to not go down to their level, just play like we always play. … We have a huge opportunity, more than any other year. We’ve worked hard. I really think we can win this year.” Marina Radocaj paced the Wildcats with 29. Caitlin Kipran added 23, Kee Hohlweg 15, Aaria Johal 8, Teagan Ng 8, Emma Bradley-Tse 7, Tiana Maedel 7, Andreas Chan 4, Amelia Spiteri 2 and Sarah Carkner 2, while Emi Nishi and Tamar Gordon were scoreless. Payton Cruz paced the Condors with 5. Jeda Lobo added 4, Farah Mahmoud 4, Aleksandra Babic 4, Aisy Stringer 3, Emily Schroeder 3 and Mataya Lyons 2, while 5 were unallocated and Ally Howat, Georgia Halpape and Katie Schepotkin were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The undefeated 5th-seeded Prince George College Heights Cougars clubbed the 12th-seeded Vancouver John Oliver Jokers 83-50 after leading 19-8, 51-21 and 72-39 (on an ill-kept boxscore). Cougars point guard Rachel Loukes dominated the floor by aggressively attacking off the dribble, a skill she refined over the summer as the only girl toiling in the boys Northern Bounce league in Prince George. “A lot of competition there,” Loukes told Varsity Letters. “It definitely helped a lot because it was a lot more aggressive driving in. Changing back to girls after that was kind of lighter pressure. It’s always been a key factor of my game. I like to stay on the perimeter and drive in.” Cougars coach and father Wade Loukes said “I think I was the most nervous out there, even though I’ve been down here a few times coaching Duchess Park (of Prince George) in the past with my older daughter. The good thing is we had eight girls who were down here for junior provincials in 2020, so having that experience really helped.” Loukes added that the Jokers were “really scrappy, they’re fast. They pushed us. They were pushing us backwards and forwards, just a fun team to play.” Rachel Loukes paced the Cougars with 37. Sophia Fuller added 17, Lorenn Caceres 8, Kayla Lupul 6, Alex Freeman-Idemlih 4, Haley Strand 2, Summer Toor 2, Olivia Vigue 2, Kayleigh Kennedy 2, Ainslee Rushton 2 and Harleen Ghuman 1, while Rebecca Fuentes was scoreless. Jennifer DeGuzman paced the Jokers with 12. Jenalyn DePedro added 11, Rachael Forrester 7, Donna Pimental 6, Phina Tu 5, Talia Smith 5 and Queenie Salazar 4, while Katrina Escobal, Alyssa Villa, Stephanie DeGuzman, Vista Ashtari, Serena Taing, Roe Tanurio, Simran Dhaliwal and Kamalpreet Gill were scoreless. The Jokers also included Elaniea Yeona. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Langley Brookswood Bobcats whipped the 15th-seeded Surrey Ecole Salish Wolves 68-42 (also reported as 70-62). The Bobcats led by as many as 35. Bobcats coach Chris Veale told Varsity Letters that “once you get up that comfortable (margin) – put that in quotes because I’m never comfortable – then the other kids (get in the game.) I like when the starters come off and they’re the biggest cheerleaders. It’s funny because I was looking at (the fourth quarter) and going ‘Hey, is this going to be our starting lineup next year.” Post Sahnya Gill dominated the floor. “That’s something we’ve talked about with her, come in and make an impact right away. Defensively, she can really change shots. We’re working on the blocking and fouling stuff, but as she gets more mature in her game, she’ll figure all that stuff out. Offensively she gives us a lot,” Veale said. Sahnya Gill paced the Bobcats with 12. Cassidy Buchanan added 11, Emily Povey 10, Keeley Read 9, Jaime Rettig 9, Danielle Jack 2, Natallie Nichols 2, Amy Straforelli 2, Alexa Van Der Vlugt 2, Bryn Symons 2, Maya Cameron 1, Julia Dowle 1 and Shelby McDougall 1, while Julia Lazowchuck and Imaan Lali were scoreless. Emma Clunas paced the Wolves with 14. Livy Machnau added 9, Nina Fucci-Lisson 7, Chloe Machnau 2, Emily St. Dennis 2, Macy Fournier 2 and Ellisha Galang 1, while 5 were unallocated and Sydney Cassidy, Megan Traversy, Rachel Sagdan, Ikjot Biryall, McKenna Cameron, Reyna Aula and Ruby Clunas were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Vernon Panthers crushed the 7th-seeded Abbotsford Robert Bateman Timberwolves 68-44. Panthers co-coach Dave Tetreault told Varsity Letters that point guard Kaitlyn Budgen was critical ““o just show we can play against all of these teams here. Just play our game and it would end up working out. … She’s tough, she’s gritty, she’s a gamer, she had an awesome game.” Tetreault added that Lauren Hoard provided an inside presence, and did a solid job on the boards. “She’s a great athlete, she’s tough, she had a good game, too … She came out, started having a good time. We just said ‘whatever you want Lauren, it’s all good’.” Lauren Hoard paced the Panthers with 14, along with 10 boards. Kaitlyn Budgen added 10, Braxton Penner 9, Beth Butler 6, Kassydi Bradley 6, Maddy hackman 5, Rachel Horsfeld 4, Amy Curtis 2 and Jessica Bond 2, while Mia Hyer, Mercedes West and Dennica Paull were scoreless. Eshnaa Gill paced the Timberwolves with 15. Christy Tran added 8, Reilley Coghill 7, Sarah Korstrom 5, Erin Misura 4, Lande Davenport 4 and Vicky Kim 1, while Olivia De Wit, Brie Izbicki, Audrey Timmermans, Julia Colbert, Paige Penner and Sanaye Hildebrand were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles stomped the 14th-seeded Vancouver Crofton House Cougars 73-34. The Eagles struggled early but their veteran starting five eventually locked-down the Cougars with a hybrid zone. Player of the game Jazmin Avila told Varsity Letters that “we wanted to set a tone today, start off aggressive and strong.” Eagles coach Rick Thiessen said “I thought the officiating today was outstanding. We need those kind of officials to play physical. We play clean, but we play hard. We’ve got a big team and we want to use that.” Jazmin Avila paced the Eagles with 25. Makenna Reimer added 20, Marijke Meindertsma 19, Erin Kim 4, Sidney Giesbrecht 3 and Gabby Marazzi 2, while Gabbi Chan, Aileen Cheema, Jolene Bitter, Bree Neufeld and Sarah Klassen were scoreless. Mariella Palma led the Cougars with 17. Christine Chen added 8, Emily Franke 4, Kayleigh McHardy 2 and Emma Gan 1, while Olivia Gibson, Samantha Chick, Natasha Poon, Sabrina Chio, Nicy Wang, Michelle Pan, Tamsyn Burns, Gigi Roddick and Fiona Pan were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Kamloops Sa-Hali Sabres spanked the 11th-seeded Port Alberni Alberni District Armada 68-62 after leading 17-13, 36-28 and 51-47 at the quarters. The Sabres opened the second half with treys from Jayse Matanovich and Kaalie Saari. The Armada responded with an 8-0 run capped by a Jordyn Broekhuizen trey to draw within four with 1:36 to play. But Matanovich nailed a trey with eight seconds to play to ice and then notched a pair of insurance free throws with 1.9 seconds on the clock. Sabres coach Jody Vosper told Varsity Letters that “when they put the pressure on, we responded. When we executed our game plan we were in control, but as soon as we got away from it, they made runs. They’re a very good team.” Matanovich said “it was kind of nerve-wracking going back-and-forth, but it was really fun,” she said that the trey with eight seconds to play that “in that case, I was wide open. And I’ve put a lot of hours in in the gym, so I trust myself to make those decisions.” Armada coach Ryan Broekhuizen said that “they put it all out there for me, played some great defence.” Kaalie Saari paced the Sabres with 20. Jayse Matonovich added 17, Temi Aina 10, Halle Tiessen 8, Raiya Matanovich 7, Ava Cail 4 and Nevena Nogic 2, while Annise McAusland, Olivia Teale, Sarah Zabloski, Sadie Douglas, Zoe Longquist and Aurora Knudson were scoreless. Jordyn Broekhuizen paced the Armada with 18. Jenelle Johnson-Sabas added 14, Natalie Clappis 10, Olivia Warman 9, Jennifer Taylor 6, Hannah Rust 3 and Brynn Geddes 2, while Brandi Lucas, Linneah Hobbs, Beth Bexson, Jaime Langlois and Neve Watts were scoreless.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Burnaby Central Wildcats clocked the 8th-seeded Kamloops Valleyview Viqueens 90-55 after leading 16-11, 37-24 and 62-44 at the quarters. The Wildcats hit 1-12 from beyond the arc in the first half but drained four treys in the first five minutes of the third quarter to ignite a decisive 20-7 run. Wildcats guard Jayla Huynh, who hit back-to-back treys during the run, told Varsity Letters that “at halftime, we just kind of took a step back, just calmed ourselves down and really took our time and focussed on shooting in the second half. Just keep shooting. They’re going to fall. You can’t hit every shot, but you should take the ones where you’re open.” Fellow guard Ankita Chopra said “each of us picks up each other. When we’re not hitting shots, it’s like ‘next shot, next shot.’ You try to go with that mentality. Once we get on a roll, everyone keeps hitting shots.” Jade Huynh paced the Wildcats with 28. Ankita Chopra added 28, Jayla Huynh 13, Vobia Kalome 13, Janelle Mascardo 4 and Sophia Morton 4, along with 21 boards, while Serena Minhas, Samantha Quan and Mina Faiz were scoreless. Jocelyn Orr paced the Viqueens with 18. Tiell Schreiner added 12, Jaya Saroya 10, Jaime Horsman 8, Zoe Caller 3, Gloria Buff 2 and Alyssa Senger 2, while Julia Blackford, Cali Marino and Kate Rattee were scoreless.
The 4th-seeded Richmond R.A. McMath Wildcats torched the 5th-seeded Prince George College Heights Cougars 93-49 after leading 27-9, 56-21 and 73-35 at the quarters. The Wildcats broke to a 22-5 lead and romped as 6-2 post Marina Radocaj and forward Kee Holhweg dominated the paint. They led by as many as 44. Radocaj told Varsity Letters that “I was obviously taller than everyone and I could get the rebounds. Even the shorter girls on our team hustle all the time and get rebounds too. We battled hard.” Wildcats coach Jamie Kippan said “we had a lot of inside stuff early because we were aggressive on steals. We pushed the ball early, which set a good tone for us. And then we just took what was given to us later on.” Kippan said Radocaj “can shoot it. Everybody thinks she’s just a big post player underneath, but she’s reality a guard at heart.” Kippan added that his troops held provincial team player Rachel Loukes “to a pretty frustrating game. She’s a heck of a player and she got her points, but we were able to do enough to get some separation in the score.” Marina Radocaj paced the Wildcats with 30, while nabbing 20 boards. Kee Holhweg added 23, Caitlin Kippan 15, Emma Bradley-Tse 12, Andreas Chan 3, Emi Nishi 3, Teagan Ng 3, Tiana Maedel 2 and Amelia Spiteri 2, while Aaria Johal, Tamar Gordon and Sarah Carkner were scoreless. Rachel Loukes led the Cougars with 20. Sophia Fuller added 7, Rebecca Fuentes 6, Lorenn Caceres 4, Summer Toor 4, Olivia Vigue 4, Alex Freeman-Idemilik 2 and Kayla Lupul 2, while Harleen Ghuman, Kayleigh Kennedy and Ainslee Rushton were scoreless.
The 2nd-seeded Langley Brookswood Bobcats spanked the 10th-seeded Vernon Panthers 66-41 after leading 26-7, 46-13 and 57-28 at the quarters. Panthers coach Dave Tetreault told Varsity Letters that his troops were playing for pride by the half. “I told them to just go out and earn a little respect in the second half I said don’t worry about the scoreboard. Just play hard, go possession by possession.” Bobcats coach Chris Veale said “Vernon’s a very good team. I don’t think they had a very good day and that happens in sport. Whether we helped that, or it was just a bad day for them. They struggled to make some shots. … We wanted to just give it to them right at the start, get a good lead and show everybody that we’re here to play and we don’t mess around.” Cassidy Buchanan paced the Bobcats with 18. Sahnya Gill added 15, Jaime Rettig 12, Emily Povey 7, Julia Dowle 5, Maya Cameron 3, Keeley Read 2, Shelby McDougall 2 and Nicole Taylor 2, while Amy Straforelli, Julia Lozowchuk, Bryn Simons, Danielle Jack, Imaan Lali and Alex Van der Vlugt were scoreless. Braxton Penner paced the Panthers with 9. Kaitlyn Budgen added 8, Maddy Hackman 7, Lauren Hoard 6, Amy Curtis 4, Mia Hyer 2, Dennica Paull 2, Jessica Bond 2 and Rachel Horsfield 1, while Beth Butler, Mercedes West and Kassydi Bradley were scoreless.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles defeated the 6th-seeded Kamloops Sa-Hali Sabres 61-46. The Sabres led 17-13 after one quarter and 25-24 at the half as the Eagles struggled to find their range, committed needless turnovers and got in early foul trouble. But a 16-4 run to open the second half settled their nerves and they led 43-34 after three quarters. Eagle Makenna Reimer broke open the game midway through the fourth quarter with a pair of treys, including a bank shot off the glass as the shot clock expired. “Pretty big threes,” Eagles coach Rick Thiessen told Varsity Letters. “I mean the banker, honestly. But that’s what you need. Sometimes you hit those, sometimes you don’t. Here we did.” Thiessen said of the dreary first half that “both our bigs had three fouls in the first quarter and so we had to just get through. Get to the half with a reasonable gap. I said at halftime, ‘Look, we can play now.’ And we did.” The Eagles again played without starting forward Jolene Bitter, who was still suffering the effects of a concussion. Makenna Reimer led the Eagles with 13. Marijke Meindertsma added 12, Jazmin Avila 12, Sidney Giesbrecht 10, Erin Kim 9, Bree Neufeld 3 and Gabby Marazzi 2, while Sarah Klassen was scoreless. Temi Aina paced the Sabres with 21. Kalie Saari added 10, Jayse Matonovich 7, Halle Tiessen 3, Nevena Nogic 3 and Raiya Matanovich 2, while Zoe Lonquist, Sadie Douglas and Ava Cail were scoreless.
In the semis, the 4th-seeded Richmond R.A. McMath Wildcats stunned the top-seeded Burnaby Central Wildcats 80-64 after leading 28-9, 50-27 and 66-52 at the quarters. Wildcats coach Jamie Kippan told Varsity Letters that “it seemed like this game was won in the first quarter. We got off to a great start and our shots fell early. The first seven or eight minutes of the game was really the key for us. They have some really good shooters and they are a pretty quick team so we were focused on what we were doing defensively. We know we can score so it was all about a defensive focus for us. … We wanted to limited their looks and take shots away on the outside, becaUse we had the size inside to defend whatever they took to the hoop. We made life hard for them on the outside. We knew they would take the shots so the key was forcing them into misses.” Wildcat Jade Huynh said “I think we might have felt the pressure, we’re just not used to this stuff, this atmosphere. There were no spectators in the regular season, so we weren’t used to crowd and fans cheering.” Marina Radocaj paced McMath with 22, while nabbing 10 boards. Kee Hohlweg added 15, along with 18 boards, Emma Bradley-Tse 15, Caitlin Kappan 13, Teagan Ng 13, while 2 were allocated to the team, and Aaria Johal, Tiana Maedel, Andreas Chan, Emi Nishi, Amelia Spiteri and Sarah Carkner were scoreless. Ankita Chopra paced Central with 25. Jade Huynh added 16, Vobia Kalome 9, along with 10 boards, Sophia Morton 6, along with 10 boards, Jayla Huynh 5 and Janelle Mascardo 3, while Ella Rickets and Serena Minhas were scoreless.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles nipped the 2nd-seeded Langley Brookswood Bobcats 53-52. The Eagles led 17-15 after one quarter. The score was knotted at 29 at the half. The Bobcats led 41-36 after three quarters in a late 12-2 run. The Bobcats rebuilt a 51-46 lead with minutes to play but three Eagles free throws, a driving layup from Jazmin Avila with 1:50 to go and Neufeld’s clutch 15-foot jumper with a minute to play proved the different. Eagles point guard Sidney Giesbrecht twice stripped the ball from the Bobcats in the final minute to stave off a Brookswood bid to pull out the win. Neufeld told Varsity Letters that “don’t miss, that was really going through my head. I mean we worked so well as a team … and we’re not finished yet. We worked so hard this season and deserve this.” Eagles coach Rick Thiessen said Neufeld wasn’t available to play in a midseason loss to the Bobcats. “This was the first game that she played a lot of minutes. She made a huge difference today. Yesterday (in the quarterfinals), she was scared s—less. She said to me ‘Oh, Mr. Thiessen, I’m so sorry. I turned it over as soon as I touched it. Give me another chance.’ She was fantastic.” Eagles post Marijke Meindertsam, who battled all night inside against Bobcats post Shayna Gill, said “yeah, I’m a little banged up. It’s a tough battle with Shayna. She’s an awesome post. But I’m so proud of this team. I’m super excited about going to the final. A dream come true.” Bobcats coach Chris Veale called the loss “a jagged pill to swallow. “They outrebounded us 44-36 and in that last sequence that they scored their (winning) bucket on, they got four rebounds in a row. There it is. We didn’t execute real well today. We didn’t shoot the ball very well.” Jazmin Avila led the Eagles with 15, while nabbing 15 boards. Marijke Meindertsma added 13, along with 14 boards, Sidney Giesbrecht 8, Erin Kim 7, Makenna Reimer 5 and Bree Neufeld 5. Cassidy Buchanan paced the Wildcats with 18. Jaime Rettig added 9, Imaan Lali 8, Sahnya Gill 8, Emily Povey 6 and Maya Cameron 3.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Langley Brookswood Bobcats dispatched the top-seeded Burnaby Central Wildcats 76-72. The Bobcats led 13-12 after one quarter. The Wildcats led 35-32 at the half and 54-48 after three quarters. Sahnya Gill paced the Bobcats with 29 on 11-34 from the floor, 7-8 from the arc and 15 boards. Cassidy Buchanan added 17 on 8-21 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 23 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Emily Povey notched 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 6 boards and 2 steals. Danielle Jack scored 6 on 3-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 3 boards. Jaime Rettig added 6 on 2-11 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 7 boards and 2 assists. Imaan Lali scored 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 2 boards. Maya Cameron notched 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Keeley Read added 2 on 1-5 from the floor and 0-3 from the arc. Bryn Symons scored 1 on 1-1 from the line, while Amy Straforelli was scoreless. The Bobcats (coached by Chris Ducharme) hit 31-95 (.326) from the floor, 3-15 (.200) from the arc and 11-14 (.786) from the line, while garnering 59 boards, including 27 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 11 assists, 15 turnovers and 4 steals. Jade Huynh paced the Wildcats with 22 on 6-24 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Ankita Chopra added 16 on 7-21 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc and 4 steals. Jayla Huynh notched 11 on 5-15 from the floor, 1-10 from the arc, 6 boards and 2 steals. Ella Ricketts scored 8 on 4-8 from the floor and 2 boards. Vobia Kalome added 8 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 9 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Sophia Morton scored 5 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 9 boards. Simran Minhas added 2 on 1-1 from the floor, while Jaya Kooner was scoreless. The Wildcats hit 31-82 (.378) from the floor, 5-28 (.179) from the arc and 5-10 from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 5 assists, 8 turnovers, 1 block and 12 steals. The Wildcats also included Samantha Quan, Serena Minhas, Janelle Mascardo, Mina Faiz, Jimena V.R..
In the final, the 4th-seeded Richmond R.A. McMath Wildcats defeated the 3rd-seeded Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles 51-46. The Wildcats led 22-8 in the second quarter but the Eagles double- and triple-teamed McMath post Marina Radocaj and ripped off a 14-0 run to knot the score at 22 heading into the lockers. But after Jazmin Avila picked up two quick fouls late in the third quarter, and post Marijke Meindertsma, who was selected the defensive player of the tournament, fouled out with 6:45 on the clock in the fourth quarter on a blocking call away from the play, player of the game Radocaj went on a tear, scoring eight points down the stretch to pull out the win for the Wildcats. The Eagles failed to notch a field goal in the final five minutes, scoring only four points from the free throw line. Wildcats coach Jamie Kippan told Varsity Letters that the low-scoring affair “doesn’t say much for us, does it? We haven’t been in a game like that all year. We’re used to scoring way more points. Full credit to MEI for the battle they put up. They had a good game plan and they made it hard for us to score.” Kippan added that his troops were fully aware that they were seeking the school’s first provincial title. “To do it with this group? I couldn’t ask for more. Our girls battle so hard, put in so much time. All last year when there was (a season canceled because of Covid), and there was no real reason to be in the gym, they kept coming to practice and kept working hard.” Radocaj said “it means so much. We created history. I’m so proud of this team,” she added before shouting: “WE WON THE PROVINCIAL TITLE! FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!” Eagles coach Rick Thiessen restrained himself from commenting about the officiating. “I don’t want to say what needs to be said. But I’m super proud of the girls. These girls have heart. They didn’t doubt themselves. They thought ‘We still have a chance. Even though everything is working against us we still have a chance’.” Kippan noted that “we got fortunate that a couple of their bigger bodies weren’t on the floor at the end of the game. But we’re supposed to take advantage and we did. And that’s finals. Teams are supposed to be that good. We expected a close game and that’s what we got.” Wildcat forward Caitlin Kippan said “it was a very big battle. Both teams put a lot of pressure on each other. There was just so many stops, so much back and forth.” Jamie Kippan said the Eagles “battled hard and gave us everything we could handle, and we did just enough to hang on in the end. We just did the little things right late in the game when we needed to at the right time to create a little bit of separation.” Kippan noted that tournament MVP Radocaj had “guts, courage, heart … she is so versatile and can do so much for us. She’s a nightmare to match up against; I wouldn’t want to coach against her because she is so skilled and can do so much.” Marina Radocaj paced the Wildcats with 20. Caitlin Kippan added 15, Kee Hohlweg 10, Teagan Ng 4 and Emma Bradley-Tse 2, while Aaria Johal, Andreas Chan, Tiana Maedel, Emi Nishi, Tamar Gordon, Amelia Spiteri and Sarah Carkner were scoreless. Jazmin Avila paced the Eagles with 11. Makenna Reimer added 11, Sidney Giesbrecht 10, Erin Kim 9, Bree Nefeld 3 and Marijke Meindertsma 2, while Gabbi Chan, Aileen Cheema, Jolene Bitter, Gabby Marazzi and Sarah Klassen were scoreless.
The all-tournament team featured MVP Marina Radocaj (R.A. McMath); Jade Huynh (Burnaby Central); Sahnya Gill (Brookswood); Jazmin Avila (M.E.I.); Kee Hohlweg (R.A. McMath); and Makenna Reimer (M.E.I.)
The 2nd-team featured: Cassidy Buchanan (Brookswood); Rachel Loukes (College Heights); Ankita Chopra (Burnaby Central); Marijke Meindertsma (M.E.I.); and Jayse Matonovich (Sa-Hali).
The bronze medalist Langley Brookswood Bobcats: Jaime Rettig; Natallie Nichols; Maya Cameron; Amy Straforelli; Julia Lazowchuck; Keeley Read; Bryn Symons; Danielle Jack; Emily Povey; Imaan Lali; Julia Dowle; Alexa Van Der Vlugt; Shelby McDougall; Cassidy Buchanan; Sahnya Gill; Nicole Taylor; coach Chris Veale
The silver medalist Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles: Sidney Giesbrecht; Erin Kim; Makenna Reimer; Bree Neufeld; Gabby Marazzi; Marijke Meindertsma; Jazmin Avila; Sarah Klassen; Gabbi Chan; Aileen Cheema; Jolene Bitter; coach Rick Thiessen
The gold medalist Richmond R.A. McMath Wildcats: Marina Radocaj; Caitlin Kippan; Kee Hohlweg; Aaria Johal; Emma Bradley-Tse; Tiana Maedel; Teagan Ng; Andreas Chan; Emi Nishi; Tamar Gordon; Amelia Spiteri; Sarah Carkner; coach Jamie Kippan