In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Surrey Semiahmoo Totems torched the 16th-seeded Prince George Polars 126-27 after leading 39-10, 71-10 (a breathtaking 32-0 second-quarter run) and 97-19 at the quarters. Totems coach Allison McNeill told Varsity Letters that “I played in this tournament way back when, and now coaching in it, everybody’s nervous because it means something to you. I think we had to get a few nerves out, and it was good for us. We tried to run through a few things and see if we could challenge ourselves to find different things in our offence, and not transition so much. And I thought they went hard to the boards, so we had to do a good job blocking them out.” Polars coach Jeff Parish said “we knew it was going to be tough. It’s a good experience for the kids, and some good memories. They’re a well-developed team, they’re structured, and they’ve got great skills. Great team.” McNeill said “their team never quit – they worked hard, and they’re tough,” McNeill said of the Polars. “They played us almost straight man-to-man, and that builds kids.” Tara Wallack paced the Totems with 26, while nabbing 11 boards. Izzy Forsyth notched 24, Madelyn McKinnon 20, Raushan Bindra 15, Emily Wubs 12, Deja Lee 11, Nicole Pajic 11, Angel Sauorine 3, Mya Yakasovich 2 and Maria Zhang 2. The Totems hit 61-99 (.616) from the floor, 2-10 from the arc and 2-7 (.286) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 6 fouls, 27 assists, 3 turnovers and 22 steals. Nina Gajic paced the Polars with 11. Julia Kreitz added 6, Quinn Daku 3, Gurveet Thandhi 3, Bailey Larson 2 and Kaylin Parish 2, while Jordynne Schneider, Amy Heinze, Lalya McKenzie, Jordyn Wood, Brooke Larsen and Baylie Anderson were scoreless. The Polars (coach Jeff Parish, assistants Jody Matters and Christine Wood, manager Elisa Braccia) hit 11-49 (.224) from the floor, 4-13 (.308) from the arc and 1-3 from the line, while garnering 21 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 7 fouls, 3 assists, 41 turnovers and 2 steals. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Port Moody Heritage Woods Kodiaks clocked the 9th-seeded Surrey Earl Marriott Mariners 81-53 after leading 22-9, 47-16 and 65-36 at the quarters. The Kodiaks exacted a generous measure of turnovers and runouts with their full-court pressure early, then shifted to a 2-3 zone, while 6-2 Kiara Kozak dominated the paint, and ultimately coasted to an easy win. Guard Jenna Griffin told Varsity Letters that “our defence matters so much to us. A lot of the reason why we win is because of how hard we work on the defensive end. And it really, really flows into our offence.” Jenna Griffin paced the Kodiaks with 26. Maddie Falk added 18, Kiara Kozak 12, along with 15 boards, Lauren Tomlinson 9, Olivia Pero 6, Nyah Courchesne 4, Rebecca Green 3 and Rachel Hall 3, while Atrina Shadgan, Maddy Counsell and Jenna Oakley were scoreless. The Kodiaks hit 29-82 (.354) from the floor, 9-36 (.290) from the arc and 14-19 (.737) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 11 assists, 19 turnovers and 14 fouls. Sydney Chapman led the Mariners with 14. Esmeray Demibas added 13, Elana Sireni 11, Mina Djordjevic 10, Veronica Phillips 4 and Ann Peng 1, while Taylor Allen, Rachel MacDonald-Sowerby and Robyn Alexander were scoreless. The Mariners (coaches John Sowerby and Gord Wiebe, manager Tanja Phillips) hit 20-66 (.303) from the floor, 4-15 (.267) from the arc and 9-27 (.333) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 4 assists, 20 turnovers and 9 steals. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Langley Walnut Grove Gators spanked the 13th-seeded Duncan Cowichan Thunderbirds 84-53 after leading 12-2 early and 16-10, 52-16 and 66-40 at the quarters. Gator Sophia Wisotzki dominated the first half, scoring 26. “That was a special outing for her,” Gators coach Darren Rowell told Varsity Letters. “This year she’s been really distributing well, pushing the pace, and maybe scoring a little bit less because she’s trying to get everybody else so involved. She’s very unselfish – she looks for her teammates before she looks for her own shot. We were telling her today to attack and take the shots that are there.” Sophia Wisotzki paced the Gators with 33. Fania Taylor added 22, Kiera Pemberton 14, Julianna Jacobs 8, Tia Rowell 5 and Tabitha Knoedel 2, while Alba Garcia, Reigna Jacobs, Kait Samec and Anneke Cairnie were scoreless. The Gators hit 34-84 (.405) from the floor, 6-28 (.214) from the arc and 10-15 from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 15 assists, 11 turnovers, 1 block and 20 steals. Mackenzie Hall paced the Thunderbirds with 15. Alyssa Klotz added 14, Eden Funk 14, Jessica Castle 5, Tayah Poole 4 and Zoe Johnson 1, while Chloe Cizeron, Margo Blumel, Lili Bigotte-Bruhn, Karen Smith and Anika Juergensen were scoreless. The Thunderbirds (coached by Sandeep Heer) hit 23-68 (.338) from the floor, 1-7 from the arc and 6-15 (.400) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 2 assists, 30 turnovers and 7 steals. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Kelowna Owls clubbed the 12th-seeded Victoria Claremont Spartans 85-34 after leading 12-7, 38-15 and 61-23 at the quarters. “We haven’t played a game for a little while,” Owls coach Darren Semeniuk told Varsity Letters that his troops were rusty early, having not played in nearly a month. “Our zone, we didn’t have a playoffs basically – all the other teams just kind of let us go. So we haven’t had that warm-up. The first quarter-and-a-half, we got our feet wet a little bit and we could see some nervousness and rust shed off. It was good to see some girls get comfortable and shoot the ball like they know they can, and we got out in transition a little bit.” Rylee Semeniuk paced the Owls with 19. Katrina Fink added 13, Shiah Holmes 12, along with 10 boards, Paris Kirk 10, Japleen Chahal 7, Kassidy Day 7, Chelsey Macaulay 7, Nicole Torozan 6 and Tessa Bentley 4, while Abbey McCann and Avery Chalmers were scoreless. The Owls hit 37-81 (.457) from the floor, 6-20 (.200) from the arc and 5-11 (.455) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 26 fouls, 8 assists, 10 turnovers and 6 steals. Reese Manns paced the Spartans with 16. Charlotte Westhaver added 6, Payton Henderson 4, Eve Collombin 3, Kamryn Allen 3 and Payton Scaber 2, while Claudia Pearson, Holly Dodds, Jaya Takhar, Olina Ross, Sylvi Jenne and Aubrey Alexander were scoreless. The Spartans (coached by Darren Reisig, Marissa Dheensaw and Amira Giannttasio, manager Dana Manns) hit 12-50 (.240) from the floor, 1-6 (.167) from the arc and 9-27 (.333) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 1 assist, 20 turnovers and 5 steals. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens dusted the 15th Vancouver John Oliver Jokers 69-37 after leading 25-8, 33-13 and 48-26 at the quarters. Ravens grade 10 guard Karin Khuong, suffering a recurrence of stage four cancer, appeared on the court with 30.5 seconds to play. “January has been a rough time for our team,” Ravens coach Mike Carkner told Varsity Letters. “But we managed to get it together and get through the zones and play well. I think the kids are realizing Karin gets a lot of joy just being on the bench with our team. It’s been such a heavy month, and it was nice to see her get into the game tonight.” Khuong said “I haven’t played in a while, and they wanted to make this moment special for me, and they definitely did. It meant a lot.” Alisha Weloy paced the Ravens with 16. Ana-Maria Misic added 15, Emily Sussez 12, Cerys Merton 9, Kianna Frost 9, Lauren Clements 6 and Taylor Matthews 2, while Karin Khuong, Marj Reyes, Julia Robledano, Hannah Rao, Chelan Slater, Paige Cameron and Amy Duplantis were scoreless. The Ravens hit 27-78 (.346) from the floor, 8-38 (.211) from the arc and 7-12 (.583) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 2 assists, 18 turnovers, 8 blocks and 14 steals. Rachel Labrador paced the Jokers with 20. Queenie Salazar added 7, Kaila Fona 6, Hannah Whitty 2, Phina Tu 1 and Chanice Noauiera 1, while Nikki Espiritu, Janalyn Manuel, Romlyne Gascon, Amrit Chohan, Jhesly DeGuzman, Donna Pimental, Serena Taing, Shirley Phan, Talia Smith and Alfa Paanas were scoreless. The Jokers (coaches Pat Lee and Greg Eng, assistants Reylyn Labrador and Tiffani Martinez, managers Jessica Dahan, Rita Do, Ghielene Fetiza, Shania Lopez, Alexa Placencia, Komal Puri and Katrina Valdez) hit 10-66 (.152) from the floor, 0-14 from the arc and 17-26 (.654) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 8 fouls, 2 assists, 28 turnovers, 1 block and 8 steals. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Surrey Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers stunned the 7th-seeded Burnaby South Rebels 85-42 after leading 19-10, 39-23 and 57-32 at the quarters. “We’ve been up against it the last few games, and the girls have responded really well,” Panthers coach Mike Mitro told Varsity Letters. “Our leaders have led, and that’s been a key for us. … The sisters (India and Alyza Aikins have) … been huge.” The Panthers took a double-digit lead in the second quarter but Diya Sehgal notched two treys and two free throws to trim the margin to 22-19. But Alyza Aikins countered with a pair of steals for runouts to ignite a 17-4 Panthers run and they eventually exploded to a 40-point lead. India Aikins paced the Panthers with 25, while nabbing 11 boards. Alyza Aikins added 18, Puneet Dhindsa 13, Sahnya Gill 7, Sevene Grewal 6, Paige Young 4, Ella Jeffrey 4, Taya Sutill 3, Anna Bodnar 3 and Hailey Dahl 2, while Simrin Sidhu and Joely Mah were scoreless. The Panthers hit 33-79 (.418) from the floor, 9-23 (.391) from the arc and 10-14 (.714) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 12 assists, 24 turnovers, 2 blocks and 11 steals. Awek Deng paced the Rebels with 16. Diya Sehgal added 11, Nadia Singh 5, Laini Glover 3, Kirsten Cajalne 2, Emma Habing 2, Maho Shimada 2 and Mega Obuyes 1, while Sophie Quilatan, Kailey Cheung, Reya Sandhu, Katelyn Malmquist, Charmaine Prado, Zrye Aspiras and Casandra Cabillan were scoreless. The Rebels (coached by Cody Cormack, Karl Brysch and Steve Glover, manager Candi Glover) hit 12-72 (.167) from the floor, 4-21 (.190) from the arc and 14-25 (.560) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 6 assists, 25 turnovers and 11 steals. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Port Coquitlam Riverside Rapids smacked the 14th-seed Cranbrook Mount Baker Wild 106-44 after leading 29-11, 52-22 and 83-40 at the quarters. Sammy Shields notched a pair of triples as the Rapids took command in the first quarter and romped to an easy win. “I just wanted to get out there and be strong in our first game,” Shields told Varsity Letters. “Just get all the nerves out and just start out strong. I think we accomplished that. It was a good first game for us, good win. … I have a lot of confidence in my teammates. Brooke (Kendal) and Maria (Kim), they drive it hard to the rim, and we have a lot of shooters on our team, like Francine (Basiga) and Lucy (Caldwell). I have a lot of confidence in them scoring for us.” Brooke Kendal paced the Rapids with 27. Sammy Shields added 25, Lucy Caldwell 12, Venica Davignon 12, Francine Bsiga 11, Breelyn Plesha 7, Maria Kim 5, Anasha Thomas 4 and Jane MacKinnon 3, while Alexa Kinnard was scoreless. The Rapids hit 42-96 (.438) from the floor, 18-50 (.360) from the arc and 4-12 from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 24 assists, 9 turnovers and 15 steals. Josie Mackie paced the Wild with 17. Ashley Giesbrecht added 13, Kylee Conroy 6, Kaliana Ewaskow 4, Summer Blackmore 2 and Ravyn Cherepak 2, while Antonio Phlaume, Kenda Statham, Hallie Miller and Demi Willumeit were scoreless. The Wild (coach Alan Nutini, assistant Jamie Jones, manager Barry Cherepak) hit 18-50 (.360) from the floor, 2-11 (.182) from the arc and 6-14 (.429) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 2 assists, 31 turnovers and 1 steal. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Abbotsford Yale Lions crushed the 11th-seeded North Vancouver Handsworth Royals 75-36 after leading 7-0 early and 20-6, 40-20 and 55-31 at the quarters. “we score by committee, and it changes every game,” Lions coach Bobby Braich told Varsity Letters. “Today it was Julie Dueck who stepped up, and tomorrow it’ll be somebody else. We had (current UVic Vike) Tana Pankratz last year, and we’ve had to replace her with eight or nine slashers who work hard on defence. We really stress the team concept, so they share the ball. Everything on offence for us comes out of good defence, so we tend to put a lot of emphasis on defence to hopefully springboard in transition. … One of the disadvantages going into this game for both teams, we hadn’t seen each other this season at all, even from a distance,” Braich noted. “No tape, no film, very little in terms of scouting. We’re kind of going on other coaches’ hearsay. So we switched it up between man and zone (defences), and we were able to kind of slow them down a little bit.” Julie Dueck paced the Lions with 17. Karishma Rai added 17, Kyleigh Boldt 15, Madi Makara 10, Jayden White 6, Neelam Rai 6, Olivia Thind 2 and Lucia Romeo 2, while Maggy Curtis, Lily Borseth, Marissa Rodde and Anoop Sidhu were scoreless. The Lions hit 32-85 (.376) from the floor, 7-33 (.212) from the arc and 4-4 from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 13 assists, 10 turnovers, 1 block and 12 steals. Sam Mark paced the Royals with 10. Francesca Roccuzzo added 8, Aidan Chubb 8, Kylie Passant 6, Gabby Rumsby 2, Elly Raham 1 and Amytis Saghafi 1, while Abby Watters, Claire Ambrozic, Lexi Newbigin, Michelle Sue, Iris Park and Sophia Ocana were scoreless. The Royals (coaches Rick Mark, Cameron Nelson, Craig Chubb and Alayna Mark) hit 15-55 (.273) from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 4-13 (.308) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 3 fouls, 3 assists, 20 turnovers and 3 steals.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Surrey Semiahmoo Totems whipped the 8th-seeded Port Moody Heritage Woods Kodiaks 87-48 after leading 20-10, 44-18 and 65-33 at the quarters. The Totems argued that no win is routine. “No, not really,” guard Deja Lee told Varsity Letters. “The score is just not indicative of how we play. And so, honestly, as long as the compete level is high, it’s always fun to be out there. … We’re trying a lot more to be on each other. Our compete level at practice translates into how we play. And that’s how we keep our intensity so high.” Totems coach Allison McNeill said “we’re very much built on a kind of inside-out game and we have versatile players. We can shoot a three, I just don’t allow them to shoot any three. We’re not (NBA bombers) Houston (Rockets). In the second half, I was like ‘look, their defence, everyone’s collapsing in the interior, so if you have an open three, shoot it’.” Tara Wallack paced the Totems with 24. Deja Lee added 21, Izzy Forsyth 17, Emily Wubs 10, Madelyn McKinnon 7, Raushan Bindra 6 and Mya Yakasovich 2, while Maria Zhang, Angel Sauorine and Nicole Pajic were scoreless. Jenna Griffin scored 14 to pace the Kodiaks (coached by Ross Tomlinson). Lauren Tomlinson added 8, Kiara Kozak 8, Rachel hall 6, Olivia Pero 5, Nyah Courchesne 4 and Maddie Falk 3, while Rebecca Green, Atrina Shadgan, Maddy Counsell and Jenna Oakley were scoreless.
The 4th-seeded Langley Walnut Grove Gators clipped the 5th-seeded Kelowna Owls 88-76 after leading 30-13, 44-25 and 67-57 at the quarters. The Gators nearly squandered a 20-point third-quarter lead after the Owls had rallied from dismal first-half shooting. But they countered with a 13-2 run keyed by aggressive takes from guard Fania Taylor. “She’s been phenomenal all season,” Gators coach Darren Rowell told Varsity Letters. “She’s just such a gritty tough kid. She can slash like nobody in the province. And being a lefty helps.” Taylor and wing Kiera Pemberton “really give us a young nucleus. It’s going to be fun,” he added. Kiera Pemberton paced the Gators with 24. Fania Taylor added 23, Sophia Wisotzki 17, Anneke Cairnie 15, Juliana Jacobs 7 and Tia Rowell 2, while Alba Garcia, Reigna Jacobs, Tabitha Knoedel and Kait Samec were scoreless. Rylee Semeniuk scored 17 to pace the Owls (coached by Darren Semeniuk). Shiah Holmes added 16, Katrina Fink 15, Japleen Chahal 9, Nicole Torozan 6, Paris Kirk 6, Kassidy Day 4, Avery Chalmers 2 and Tessa Bentley 1, while Abbey McCAnn and Chelsey Macaulay were scoreless.
The 2nd-seeded Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens edged the Surrey Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers 76-73. The Ravens led 22-21 after one quarter and 36-32 at the half. The Panthers led 55-52 after three quarters. The Ravens rallied from a five-point deficit with three minutes to play, taking a 75-73 lead on trey by Alisha Weloy and icing it with a free throw from point guard Cerys Merton after a steal and foul. “The Bad News Bears, that’s what we call these guys,” Ravens coach Mike Carkner told Varsity Letters. “They just don’t know how to say no. They’re hilarious. … They’re such a resilient group of kids. And they’ve played in a lot of big, pressure situations. And so we always laugh, we actually call them the Bad News Bears. They just keep going. They never drop their heads. They just keep pushing forward, a fun team to coach.” The Panthers opened the second half with an 8-0 run. The Ravens answered with an 8-2 run. The Panthers countered with a 9-0 run capped by a trey from Anna Bodnar with 4:49 to play to make the score 67-62. Carkner said “it looked like we were losing the momentum and (the coaching staff) were laughing that we should have called a time out. And the kids just got their heads together. I think it would be better if we just let them play and didn’t coach them.” On the next possession, Kianna Frost drained a trey, and then post Emily Sussex got a bucket in the paint and Lauren Clements hit a baseline jumper to set the stage for Weloy’s winning trey. Merton said “others can feed off (my defensive pressure) and we can advance the ball in transition and get the easy scores. … We’ve been in stressful situations before and it’s just like an actual habit,” she said. “We stayed strong. And we’re never going to give up until the final buzzer goes.” Carkner said Merton is “unbelievable. Last year in the junior final, she literally took it over herself. She likes the big stage and she does that every day in practice. She’s such an energy person for us. A wonderful kid and a wonderful competitor.” Lauren Clements led the Ravens with 18. Emily Sussex added 16, Cerys Merton 14, Alisha Weloy 14, Ana-Maria Misci 11 and Kianna Frost 3, while Karin Khuong, Marj Reyes, Julia Robledano, Hannah Rao, Chelan Slater, Taylor Matthews, Paige Cameron and Amy Duplantis were scoreless. The Ravens hit 7-34 from the arc. India Aikins scored 24 to pace the Panthers (coached by Mike Mitro, assisted by Gary Pawluk and Luke Jon, manager Kristina Bonface). Alyza Aikins added 11, Sahnya Gill 10, Anna Bodnar 10, Taya Suttill 7, Paige Young 6 and Puneet Dhindsa 5, while Simrin Sidhu, Sevene Grewal, Hailey Dahl, Ella Jeffrey and Joely Mah were scoreless.
In the last quarterfinal, the 6th-seeded Yale Abbotsford Lions dusted the 3rd-seeded Port Coquitlam Riverside Rapids 74-52 after leading 21-5, 35-29 and 54-46 at the quarters. They ripped a 6-0 run to open the final frame and although Sammy Shields drained a trey in response, the closed it out with treys from Karishma Rai and Neelam Rai and a pair of aggressive takes by Julie Dueck. Lions coach Bobby Braich drew the ire of Rapids coach Paul Langford for calling a timeout with 30 seconds to play and his team leading by 22. “I know (Langford) wasn’t happy,” Braich told Varsity Letters. “But (my players) were dead tired and I know they just needed to hear something positive because they’re always saying ‘Coach, all we hear is the yelling. So I said ‘I called this timeout to tell you one thing. I love you and you’re going to the Final Four.’ That’s why you heard that little eruption there.” Lions post Jayden White said “even when Sammy Shields went off (after fouling out), we worked even harder. Neelam Rai told us ‘Just because she’s off doesn’t mean we can let off. We have to go at it harder. We can increase the lead’.” Braich said White has served as an inspiration for the Lions. “Last summer, she had a bone chip the size of a bottle cap taken out of her knee. She didn’t play her Grade 10 January-February season and we didn’t know we would have her back. But that kid is the most loved kid on the team. She just plays one speed, all out, battles, never says no. I’m just so happy for her success.” Jayden White paced the Lions with 27, while nabbing 18 boards. Neelam Rai notched 15, Karishma Rai 10, Julie Dueck 9, Kyleigh Boldt 9, Maggy Curtis 2 and Lily Borseth 2, along with 10 boards, while Olivia Thind, Lucie Romeo, Marissa Rodde, Madi Makara and Anoop Sidhu were scoreless. The Lions hit 31-75 (.413) from the floor, 5-18 (.278) from the arc and 7-14 from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 5 assists, 17 turnovers, 1 block and 9 steals. Sammy Shields paced the Rapids with 19. Maria Kim added 9, Brooke Kendal 8, Venica Davignon 7, Alexa Kinnard 4, Francine Basiga 3 and Lucy Caldwell 2, while Breelyn Plesha, Jane MacKinnon and Anasha Thomas were scoreless. The Rapids (coached by Paul Langford and Jeremy Neufeld, managers Emma Schumeister and Stephanie Paraoan) hit 19-87 (.218) from the floor, 4-40 (.100) from the arc and 10-24 (.417) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 4 assists, 17 turnovers, 1 block and 10 steals.
In the semis, the top-seeded Surrey Semiahmoo Totems stomped the 4th-seeded Langley Walnut Grove Gators 105-78 after leading 25-17, 51-33 and 82-56 at the quarters. “We work hard and that’s what gets you anything,” Totems coach Allison McNeill told Varsity Letters. “We rebounded hard, we defended hard, we ran hard.” McNeill added the Totems depth also proved an asset. “We has Izzy (Forsyth) and Deja (Lee) out with foul trouble and kids stepped up. Raushan (Bindra) stepped up, Nicole (Pajic) stepped up, and Emma Wubs stepped up. Those are kids no one talks about, but they’re great players.” Point guard Deja Lee said the Totems’ experience was also an asset, having not lost to a B.C. foe since the 2018 semis. “We’re definitely more experienced and because of that we kind of know what we’re getting ourselves into. We’ve all been through this not once, but twice here at the senior tournament. … Honestly, just knowing that there’s not much time left (for a team of grade 11s with just one more year together). With that in mind, you just give everything you have to give so you don’t have any regrets.” Tara Wallack paced the Totems with 27. Izzy Forsyth added 25, Raushan Bindra 20 on 6-12 from the arc, Deja Lee 17, Emily Wubs 6, Nicole Pajic 6 and Madelyn McKinnon 4, while Mya Yakasovich, Maria Zhang and Angel Sauorine were scoreless. Kiera Pemberton paced the Gators with 28. Sophia Wisotzki added 20, Fania Taylor 12, Anneke Cairnie 12 and Juliana Jacobs 6, while Alba Garcia, Tia Rowell, Reigna Jacobs, Tabitha Knoedel and Kait Samec were scoreless.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens clipped the 6th-seeded Abbotsford Yale Lions 81-69. The Lions led 24-22 after one quarter. The Ravens led 40-37 at the half and 63-61 after three quarters. They took command with a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter. “That was the big game changer,” Ravens point guard Cerys Merton, who notched a pair of driving layups and and an and-one during the run, told Varsity Letters. “It gave us the momentum and the energy to set us up for the win.” The run started with 6:58 remaining on a jump shot by Ana-Maria Misic, and closed with 5:30 left on a pair of Emily Sussex free throws. Ravens coach Mike Carkner said of Merton “what can you say about her? She is the heart and soul of her team. She is like that at practice every day. She just leaves nothing on the floor, and she is just a wonderful leader for our team. She makes our engine go.” Carkner told Tri-City News that “these kids have been resilient.” Cerys Merton paced the Ravens with 25. Ana-Maria Misic added 19, Lauren Clements 15, Emily Sussex 14, Taylor Matthews 5 and Alisha Weloy 3, while Karin Khuong, Kianna Frost, Marj Reyes, Julia Robledano, Hannah Rao, Chelan Slater, Paige Cameron and Amy Duplantis were scoreless. Neelam Rai paced the Lions with 15. Karishma Rai added 15, Lily Borseth 10, Julie Dueck 9, Maggy Curtis 9, Kyleigh Boldt 6 and Jayden White 5, while Olivia Thind, Lucie Romeo, Marissa Rodde, Madi Makara and Anoop Sidhu were scoreless.
In the bronze medal match, the 6th-seeded Abbotsford Yale Lions dispatched the 4th-seeded Langley Walnut Grove Gators 86-67 after leading 18-10, 44-27 and 66-54 at the quarters. Karishma Rai paced the Lions with 25. Kyleigh Boldt added 16, Neelam Rai 14, Julie Dueck 11, Jayden White 10, Maggy Curtis 8 and Lily Borseth 2, while Olivia Thind, Lucie Romeo, Marissa Rodde, Madi Makara and Anoop Sidhu were scoreless. Sophia Wisotzki scored 20 to pace the Gators (coaches Darren Rowell, Juanita Rowell and Marilyn Wisotzki). Fania Taylor added 14, Kiera Pemberton 13, Tia Roweel 6, Anneke Cairnie 5, Tabitha Knoedel 4, Juliana Jacobs 3 and Kait Samec 2, while Alba Garcia and Regina Jacobs were scoreless.
In the final, the top-seeded Surrey Semiahmoo Totems capped an undefeated season and captured their second consecutive crown by annihilating the 2nd-seeded Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens 114-62. The 52-point margin broke the tournament record for a final (previously 38 in North Vancouver Windsor’s 1990 win over Cranbrook Mount Baker). The win was the Totems 57th-consecutive against BC competition. “We came out on fire,” Totems coach Allison McNeill told Varsity Letters. “(Terry Fox) is a hard-working team, a tough defensive team, but we just made shots. We were just so ready. We’ve been striving for this night all year long. … I’ve always said this group was versatile. We can post up Deja (Lee), Tara (Wallack) can play the point and Izzy (Forsyth) can bring the ball up the floor.” The Totems, whose core eight players were all in grade 11, led 28-11 after one quarter, 66-28 at the half and by as many as 65. They shot .444 from the floor, .409 from the arc and 17-21 from the line. They outrebounded the Ravens 65-22. Tournament MVP Tara Wallack notched 29 on 12-18 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 23 boards, 8 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Izzy Forsyth added 20, while notching 8 boards and 5 assists. Nicole Pajic scored 18 on 6-9 from the arc, 7 boards and 3 assists. Deja Lee scored 15, while notching 7 boards and 5 assists. Raushan Bindra added 11 and Emily Wubs 10, along with 6 boards. Wallack said she’d set as her goal for the season winning the tournament’s top laurel. “Deja won it last year, so I wanted to see if I could do it this year. I really worked hard and so it was great to get the outcome. This was definitely a goal.” McNeill said that “as a coach you hope to peak at the right time. We were lucky we didn’t have injuries, and maybe playing up (in 2017-18 at senior varsity) in Grade 9 helped us. I’m not sure that we necessarily wanted to do that, but with (2019 grad and current Florida Gators freshman) Faith (Dut), we had to bring up a team with her. So this year was our third time at the B.C.’s. We knew what it was all about.” Cerys Merton paced the Ravens with 15, while nabbing 5 boards. Emily Sussex added 13, along with 5 boards, while guard Alisha Weloy was named defensive player of the tournament. Ravens coach Mike Carkner said “I was proud of the kids. We knew going into this game that we were facing a phenomenal group of athletes and a first-class team. I thought our kids battled hard. Without (forward) Lauren (Clements, who sprained an ankle in the semis), we knew we didn’t have a chance because she is such a big part of our physical aspect. Our kids, I think, play harder than any team. We don’t have national team-level athletes but I thought we matched their intensity. We’ll be back.” Carkner told the Tri-City News that “this game was kinda secondary to our season. It’s been a bit of a challenge.” Karin Kuong had suffered a recurrence of Canada, while wing Lauren Clements was lost to injury in the semis. But the Ravens continued to battle, Carkner said. “They’re just such a competitive, resilient team. … We didn’t expect to win this game. We were pretty clear we’re excited to be number two. … We just wanted them to have fun and enjoy this stage.” Wallack told BCHighschoolbasketballchampionships.com that depth proved the difference. “Everyone is so versatile on our team it makes everything so much easier and a lot more fun. … I never imagined we could do this, but hard work pays off.” McNeill said “last year, I didn’t know (whether the Totems were the best team in the province). We had played well but I didn’t know where we were at. But this year, I had a better indication and we were the team everyone was aiming at. I am just proud because we have taken everyone’s best shot.”
The all-tournament team featured MVP Tara Wallack (Semiahmoo); Izzy Forsyth (Semiahmoo); Deja Lee (Semiahmoo); Cerys Merton (Terry Fox); Ana-Maria Misic (Terry Fox); and Karishma Rai (Yale)
The 2nd-team featured: Sammy Shields (Riverside); Rylee Semeniuk (Kelowna); Sophia Wisotzki (Walnut Grove); Kiera Pemberton (Walnut Grove); and Neelam Rai (Yale).
The bronze medalist Abbotsford Yale Lions: Julie Dueck; Maggy Curtis; Olivia Thind; Lucie Romeo; Karishma Rai; Neelam Rai; Lily Borseth; Marissa Rodde; Madi Makara; Kyleigh Boldt; Jayden White; Anoop Sidhu; coach Bobby Braich; assistant Jason Borseth; manager Malika Dhindsa
The silver medalist Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens: Lauren Clements; Karin Khuong; Kianna Frost; Marj Reyes; Cerys Merton; Alisha Weloy; Julia Robledano; Hannah Rao; Chelan Slater; Emily Sussex; Ana-Maria Misic; Taylor Matthews; Paige Cameron; Amy Duplantis; coach Mike Carkner; coach Teena Frost; manager Alanna Noble
The gold medalist Surrey Semiahmoo Totems: Raushan Bindra; Mya Yakasovich; Tara Wallack; Emily Wubs; Maria Zhang; Deja Lee; Angel Sauorine; Nicole Pajic; Izzy Forsyth; Madelyn McKinnon; coach Allison McNeill; assistant Lori Pajic