In the opening round, held in Langley: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded North Vancouver Seycove Seahawks bombed the 16th-seeded Invermere David Thompson Lakers 64-12. The Seahawks broke to a 32-1 lead. Lindsay Bott and Kayla Krug each scored 14 to pace the Seahawks. Sage Stobbart and Naomi Bradshaw each added 12. Shelbie Clark led the Lakers with 6, along with 15 boards. The Lakers also included Zoe Gerlib, Emily Danyluk, Kelsey Turner, Chelsia Agaton, Tori Maybuck, Marcia Paget, Linnea Wrazej, Samantha Mauthner and Chelsea Pirz. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Parksville Ballenas Whalers clipped the 8th-seeded Kelowna Okanagan Mission Huskies 65-53 as Constanze Ehrmeier scored 23, while nabbing 15 boards. Kate Reynolds added 17 and Makayala Hoey 13. Hannah Walline led the Huskies with 11. Marin Felt added 9, along with 6 boards. The Huskies (coached by Meghan Faust, assisted by Cassidy deVeer and Lisa Nevoral) also included Malley Richardson, Jordan Robb, Jenna Robinson, Sarah Howald, Emma Parmar, Reanne Mitchell, Karina Bagi, Jordyn Pink and Kiara Gaspari. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded South Kamloops Titans nipped the 13th-seeded Surrey Southridge Storm 74-72 as Adrianna Bissonnette notched a bucket on a perfect feed from Maddy Gobiel with one second to play. Maddy Gobeil led the Titans with 31. Olivia Morgan-Cherchas added 12, along with 8 boards, Ally Lincoln 11, along with 14 boards and 8 blocks, and Bailey Schmidt 11. Cassie Penalosa led the Storm with 15. Jayda Anderson added 14 and Hannah Morrison 10. The Storm (coached by Paul Chiarenza) also included Madisen Muncey-Buckley, Katherine Toy, Sarah Vereschegan, Stephanie Pak, Andrea Otamendi, Mikaela Wilson, Amanda Eng, Kate Wells, Linda Otamendi, Ingrid Rumm and Georgina Adams. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Kelowna Immaculata Mustangs clocked the 12th-seeded Prince George College Heights Cougars 83-63 as Kate Johnson scored 45, while nabbing 23 boards. Ashlyn Day added 34, while nabbing 12 boards. Jessica Nhycholat paced the Cougars with 28, along with 10 boards. The Cougars (coached by Mandy Botham, assisted by Chantal Nicholson) also included Anika Rai, Brooklyn Nicholson, Isabel Fuller, Courtney Hauck, Laura Appleby, Jasmine Cutler, Laura Olson, Alysha Madsen, Lila Mansour and Ariana Bonafine. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Langley Christian Lightning stomped the 15th-seeded Victoria St. Michaels University Blue Jaguars 61-33 as Katelyn Mallette scored 16, Liesl van Wyk 14 and Hanna Krepp 10, along with 10 boards. The Lightning held the Jaguars to 2 points in the second quarter. Taylor Noel led the Blue Jaguars with 16, while Zoe Lott nabbed 11 boards. The Blue Jaguars (coached by Lindsay Brooke) also included Emily Stone, Georgia Haydock, Julia Southgate, Jessica Lineham, Judy Kim, Samantha Cuell, Isabella Leong, Laura Williams and Meredith Selwood. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Vancouver Brittania Bruins stunned the 7th-seeded Prince George Duchess Park Condors 65-54. “We started four guards and a post player, so we played four-out and tried to space the floor, creating gaps and cutting hard to the basket. Then we went with two bigs and that made it two in and three out,” Bruins coach Mike Evans told VarsityLetters.ca. “When we did that, one of their guards had to check one of our bigs and that resulted in the mismatches.” Shemaiah Abatayo paced the Bruins with 18. Saffron van der Linde added 16, along with 13 boards, Lucy Guan 11, along with 7 assists, post Malena Mokhovikova 10, along with 8 boards, and Surprise Munie 6, along with 8 steals and 6 boards. “Shemaiah is a tremendous athlete,” said Evans. “Super quick and a great shooter. She might get caught in the size game down the road, but she plays way taller than she is, if you know what I mean.” The Bruins led by as many as 18. Logan Cruz paced the Condors with 9. Litsanna Thanos added 8 and Kayla Gregory 7. The Condors (coached by Louise Holmes) also included Isabelle Zimmerman, Jade Reynolds, Rebecca Landry, Sydney Lopez, Emma Williams, Brynn Dergousoff, Rachel Holmes, Gabrielle Caillier and Sydney Batham. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Vernon Panthers rolled the 14th-seeded Prince Rupert Charles Hays Hurricanes 98-31 as Megan Roualt scored 27, including 5 treys and 9 assists. Brianna Falk added 22, along with 15 boards, and Mackenzie Horst 20. The Panthers led 51-12 at the half. Ruby Mason led the Rainmakers with 17. The Panthers trailed 4-2 but then exploded for 29 unanswered points to take command. “Our role players had some great hustle stats this game as Emilia Durfeld had 15 rebounds and five steals, Maddy Smith five rebounds and four steals, Megan Wiebe 11 rebounds and Kelsey Watts six rebounds,” said Mazurek told B.C. Local News.com. “It was a great job by these players to get us extra possessions.” The Rainmakers (coached by Anna Ashley, assisted by Sarah McChesney) also included Brooke Andreesen, Brittany Waite, Carly Cochrane, Suttira Johansen, Lilliam Gregorie, Tara Robinson, Alanna Robinson and Rebecca Sampson. …………………………………………………… The 11th-seeded North Vancouver Windsor Dukes upset the 6th-seeded Chilliwack G.W. Graham Grizzlies 58-50. “We’re bracket busters, baby,” Dukes coach James Legault told VarsityLetters.ca. “We knew going in that it was going to be physical, and in the end, we wore them down with our physicality.” Madison Legault led the Dukes with 22, along with 11 boards. Devon Wood added 22, along with 12 boards. The Grizzlies made a late run behind Deanna Tuchscherer, who notched a four-point play down the stretch and score 21, while nabbing 12 boards. Jaya Bannerman added 12. The Grizzlies (coached by Sarah Mouritzen) also included Sydney Fraess, Sofia Armengual, Gracyn Anderson, Aliza Dueck, Julia Sprott, Lauren Campbell, Kennedy Mannel, Erin Brezden and Michaela Read.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded North Vancouver Seycove Seahawks whipped the 9th-seeded Parksville Ballenas Whalers 89-64. “It was a good win tonight, glad we got a chance to get everyone in the game tonight,” said Seycove Seahawks coach Darcy Grant. “But moving forward we need to clean up our defense and I don’t think we have played our best basketball yet.” The Whalers (coached by Bryan Spray) included Amanda Greenshields, Emma Canil, Constanze Ehrmeier, Makayla Hoey, Abigail Becker, Avi Franklin, Sophie Dugas, Samantha Dimter, Jules Clark, Kate Reynolds, Mackenzie Hudson and Taiya McLellan.
The 4th-seeded South Kamloops Titans dusted the 5th-seeded Kelowna Immaculata Mustangs 89-57. “It was the best game we’ve played this year,” said Titans coach Ken Olynyk. Player of the game Ally Lincoln scored 19, nabbed 20 boards, dished 8 assists and blocked 7 shots. Maddy Gobiel led the Titans with 27, along with 11 boards, Olivia Morgan-Cherchas 19, along with 13 boards, and Bailey Schmidt 11, along with 5 assists. Olynyk said Schmidt did a good job directing the offence while keeping Immaculata’s main scoring threat in check. The Mustangs (coached by Andrew Gini) included Kataraina Routley, Justine Puno, Kate Johnson, Mikayla Holroyd, Teaghan Wallace, Grace Gorges, Tianna Routley, Gabby Cocar, Ashlyn Day and Maeve Koebel.
The 2nd-seeded Langley Christian Lightning clipped the 10th-seeded Vancouver Brittania Bruins 67-59. The Bruins (coached by Mike Evans) included Shemaiah Abatayo, Lucy Guan, Donna Pham, Iftu Taju, Devon Herrin, Surprise Munie, Saffron van der Linde, Jennifer Hoang, Sarah Humchitt, Karalee Antoine and Malena Mokhovikova.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Vernon Panthers whipped the 11th-seeded North Vancouver Windsor Dukes 72-52. The Dukes (coached by James Legault) included Sabrina Mason, Paige Lehto, Lena Henniges, Gabbie Francis, Claire MacDonald, Kate Pendreigh, Kelsey Fisher, Gina Rocosa, Devon Wood, Maddie Legault, Mikaela Janzen and Jennifer Yamamoto.
In the semis, the top-seeded North Vancouver Seycove Seahawks dispatched the 4th-seeded South Kamloops Titans 67-60. The Seahawks struggled from the arc (shooting just 6-30) but down the stretch, effectively pounded the ball into the post. “Our shots weren’t falling whatsoever, and we said that we have to win it in the paint,” Seahawks coach Darcy Grant told VarsityLetters.ca. “We had to be extremely aggressive down low and it took time, but slowly we got our groove back.” Seycove scored just 9 in the third quarter but 23 in the fourth as Sage Stobbart began scoring in the blocks. “We just said during a time-out that we have to lock down and do this,” said 6-2 Stobbart, who scored 25, nabbed 17 boards and blocked 5 shots. Kayla Krug added 19, along with 7 assists. “We just left everything on the floor.” Seycove led 18-7 after one quarter but the titans rallied to take a 5-point lead in the third quarter. Maddy Gobeil led the Titans with 29. “She is one of the premier players in the province and as she gets better and becomes more of a finesse player, it’s going to be really hard to stop her,” Titans coach Ken Olynyk said. The Titans’ 6-5 post Olivia Morgan-Cherchas scored 10 and nabbed 11 boards.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Vernon Panthers defeated the 2nd-seeded Langley Christian Lightning 73-66. Although comprised of only 7 players, the Panthers “are tough as nails,” coach Lonny Mazurak told VarsityLetters.ca. “We’ve shown up with five for a game. They are warriors, so mentally and physically tough. They play a lot of minutes so they are used to it.” Post Brianna Falk led the Panthers with 21, along with 10 boards. Forward Mackenzie Horst added 15, along with 8 boards. Falk notched an and-one in the blocks and Horst hit a mid-range jumper in traffic as the Panthers gained a measure of separation down the stretch. “They are two big, strong kids down there,” said Mazurak. “The pressure (from Langley Christian) was good up top in their zone (defence) and they were taking away our three-point shooting. So it was nice to have a couple of options down there, from players who can take a hit and finish.” Kelsey Falk added 19, along with 6 boards, and Megan Roualt added 18 on 5-16 from the floor and 4 steals. She also hit 5 free throws down the stretch. “That young lady,” said Mazurak. “Ice in her veins.” The Lightning led by 6 in the first half and by 50-48 after three quarters. Katelyn Mallett led the Lightning with 21, along with 13 boards. Liesl van Wyk added 12 and Makenna Gardner 12.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Langley Christian Lightning spanked the 4th-seeded South Kamloops Titans 85-68. The Titans (coached by Ken Olynyk) included Maddy Gobeil, Lexi Foley-Norris, Bailey Schmidt, Adrianna Bissonnette, Max Kopytko, Eva Fitschezen, Olivia Morgan-Cherchas, Kayla Pehl and Ally Lincoln.
In the final, the top-seeded North Vancouver Seycove Seahawks clocked the 3rd-seeded Vernon Panthers 69-54. “This is definitely the dream,” Seahawks point guard Kayla Krug, who scored 17, told VarsityLetters.ca. “This is the best team I have ever played for and I wouldn’t have wanted to win this with anyone else. Today, everything turned out the way it was supposed to.” Coach Darcy Grant said “this was one year in the making. We didn’t have our best game yesterday, but at shootaround this morning, we went through the game plan and every girl on this team was so dialed in. We set a goal and today, we achieved it.” Sage Stobbart scored 26 and was chosen both tournament MVP and defensive MVP of the tournament. The Seahawks led 35-19 at the half. Mackenzie Horst paced the Panthers with 20. Megan Roualt added 19 and Brianna Falk 10. “We always knew there was something special about this group,” Grant said. “You never know if you will get to a provincial championship, but we believed in the process and hard work. We just went to work each day and in the end it all came together.” Grant told the North Shore News that “they were so focused, they were so dialed in to what they wanted to achieve. Once we got to tipoff, we took a lead and never relinquished it.” Stobbart, he added “saved her best game for last. Offensively for the entire tournament she was a force. She contributed in every way. I think she really showed in the final how good of a basketball player she is and how great of a leader she is. … She played great defence and had a ton of blocks. She was very deserving of both awards.” Point guard Kayla Krug, meanwhile, “shot the ball well, she made great decisions. She was one of the best players on the court.” The team also recalled a loss in the 2016 final, Grant said. “Losing a year ago, it left us with a little unfinished business. I think the girls knew that, the girls were aware of that the entire time and they really had one goal left in their high school basketball careers.”
The bronze medalist Langley Christian Lightning: Emma Hansen, Jayden Bontkes; Liesl vanWyk; Shaina Hummelman; Hannah Krepp; Grace Wergeland; Katelyn Mallette; Natasha Dickhof; Hannah Miller; Julianna Antinsen; Makenna Gardner;
The silver medalist Vernon Panthers: Emilia Durfeld; Megan Rouault; Megan Wiebe; Kelsey Watts; Mackenzie Horst; Kelsey Falk; Maddy Smith; Brianna Falk; coach Lonny Mazurak; assistant Dave Tetreault
The gold medalist North Vancouver Seycove Seahawks: Camille Arrigo, Ashley Bradshaw, Samantha Whyte, Sage Stobbart, Naomi Bradshaw, Kaitlyn Heeps, Kayla Krug, Jessie Smedstad, Stephanie Laube, Lindsey Bott, coach Darcy Grant, assistant Brittany Parker, assistant Geoff Russell