In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded South Kamloops Titans stomped the 12th-seeded New Westminster Hyacks 70-44 after leading 26-7, 41-12 and 59-28 at the quarters. But the Titans lost 6-5 post Emma Wolfram to a right ankle injury in the second quarter. “I guess it’s a sprain,” said Titans coach Corey Yamaoka. “If she can’t play again, it will hurt us a bit but the girls stepped up really well without her.” Maya Olynyk paced the Titans with 18. Abby Grinberg added 11, Emma Wolfram 8, Katie Hubbard 8, Tessa Bantock 7, Bethany De Begio 6, along with 10 boards, Elsa Langill 5, Hailey Sigalet 3, Brook Dennill 2 and Hailey Hamer-Jackson 2, while Maddie Adams and Madi Ellis were scoreless. Ariana Sider paced the Hyacks with 26. Natasha Lazecki added 8, Jaylen Canton 4, Kelsey Lonergan 4 and Meriam Ali 2, while Izabelle Datayan, Ricci Pamintuan, Amanda Zacharuk, Camille Sangalang, Manisha Kandola, Jettie McLaughlin, Monet Dorsett, Michelle Bello and Hanna DeVos were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Port Coquitlam Riverside Rapids crushed the 13th-seeded Victoria Spectrum Thunder 97-62 after leading 19-11, 38-22 and 75-38 at the quarters. “We have to use the whole court and if the game is played below the foul line on either end, we’re in enormous trouble,” said Rapids coach Paul Langford. “Last night at the banquet, they asked our team to stand up and we were standing up. But if the game is played in the middle of the court, that where we have more of an advantage with our speed and our skill. … Everyone in the starting group played really good, but I thought that we had really good balance. We got everyone in the game and everyone almost played the same minutes. … It was close for the whole first half. We weren’t shooting well and they were very energetic and they came out pretty good.” Michelle Spacek paced the Rapids with 23. Denise Spacek added 19, Emma Thue 13, along with 10 boards, Laiken Cerenzie 13, Natalie Carkner 8, Katie Wood 6, Megan Sherwood 6, Hillary Young 6 and Nicolle Spacek 3, while Hayley Redmond and Carly Swan were scoreless. Louiza Valderama led the Thunder with 14. Lauren Yearwood added 12, along with 11 boards, Sarah Chow 9, Marina Low 8, Hayley Skene 8, Taylor White 6, Emma Cunningham 3 and Taylor Hamilton 2, while Anastasiya Vasylyeva, Jessica Jardine and Emily Wiersma were scoreless. The Thunder (coached by Tim Carlson, assisted by Mrs. Johnson and Kate Carlson? Injured player? Manager?) …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded North Vancouver Carson Graham Eagles defeated the 8th-seeded Maple Ridge Ramblers 53-40 After leading 9-5, 22-18 and 39-30 at the quarters. The hometown Eagles kept their composure, did their best to stop Grade 10 wunderkind forward Kolbie Orum, then finally got some scoring from its backcourt to pull out the win. “Our scoring troubles were once again the problem,” said Maple Ridge coach Don Herman, “as only three players hit the scoresheet. Natasha Henderson and Kolbie Orum were dominant inside. It is so frustrating to watch the girls play so hard on defence then throw the ball away on offence and not reward themselves. We played like a very nervous team for most of the game, missing easy shots and not really getting organized to run our sets on offence.” Kolbi Roper paced the Eagles with 14. Karyn Nelson added 11, Alexandra McCawley 9, Katie Wuttunee 8, Nicole Smith 4, Tessa O’Connor 3, Annabelle Hamilton 2 and Stephanie Vance 2, while Delaney Hoyle, Jackie Kent, Melissa Lasure, Nicole Erickson; Gabby Lefroy, Stephanie Strong and Alex Bill wee scoreless. Kolbie Orum paced the Ramblers with 24. Marina Casol added 9 and Lauren Lamont 7, while Kristin Ervin, Jane Grisley, Natalie Rycroft, Rae Samuelson, Zoe Yoxall, Kate Head, Natasha Henderson and Coral Lee Antaya were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks annihilated the 16th-seeded Prince George Polars 116-17 after leading 19-0, 61-9 and 91-12 at the quarters. The Hawks, who broke the tournament’s single-team scoring record of 113 set in 2004 by Brookswood, led 48-0 before the Polars hit the scoresheet. Mouat harassed Prince George into 54 turnovers and outscored the Polars 61-0 in points off turnovers. “I don’t think you can worry about it getting too high,” said Mouat head coach Paula Thompson. “You have to worry about what you are trying to do in the game, and our goal today was to push the ball and play great defence. We worked on some things and we executed them well, and when that happens, they tend to throw the ball away a lot. We didn’t full court press for a second. … You still have to remember what your responsibilities are in a game like this. Nobody can stop doing what they have to do, because when the big games roll around, you can’t afford to make mistakes.” Kayli Sartori said “in a tournament like this, you have to keep going and still push the ball and do what you do well. We tried to keep our defence really locked up and tight so we don’t have any slips when it counts.” For Thompson, the only question was how early to pull her starters. “As the game progressed, I sort of inter-mixed them and, by the end, they were all sitting and cheering. That’s what I love about this team … all five of those girls sitting on the sidelines and cheering their heads off. But you do want to make sure you keep them in there enough so they can feel their legs and feel what the gym is like.” Kayli Sartori paced the Hawks with 29 points and 16 boards. Melissa Spring added 22 points and 17 boards. Katie Brink added 19, Jaslyen Singh 18, Jennah Bryce 8, Ashleyn Sarowa 8, Jessie Gunther 5, Bipan Sidhu 4, Angie Perkins 2 and Ashleyn Singh 2, while Sam Patenaude and Kate Smith were scoreless. Mauvia Nijjier led the Polars with 12. Danielle Billings added 3 and Kayla Videgain 1, while Emily Aase, Tamara Tylor, Justina Crossan, Gabby Barredo, Dasheena Gill, Jenny Ferrier, Robin MacDonald, Morgan Reid and Megan Kashmark were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded North Vancouver Argyle Pipers whipped the 11th-seeded Mission Heritage Park Highlanders 63-44 as Stephanie Bell dominated the floor. “It’s pretty apparent to everyone what kind of basketball player she is,” said Argyle coach Digby Leigh. “But she has also become an amazing leader. When it’s not going well for her, it doesn’t matter to her, she keeps plugging away. That gives the rest of us confidence, and she has really matured over the three years that I have known her. … Our style is to extend the full game and wear them down. It got easier, but it was still a battle right to the end.” The Pipers led 16-14, 29-25 and 49-41 at the quarters. “We just lost our minds,” said Heritage Park coach Frank Chan. “We had an abundance of turnovers.” Stephanie Bell paced the Pipers with 33. Robyn Aulin-Haynes added 8, Claire Elliott 7, Danica Mitchell 5, Jessie de Boer 3, Kristen Bourne 2, Tanja Totzauer 2, Nina Neves 2 and Hailey Stuart 1, while Makayla Rittinger, Alex Aulin-Haynes, Chelsea Dekleer and Katie Watson were scoreless. Erin Chambers led the Highlanders with 25 points and 11 boards. Cassie Micona scored 7, Valerie Armstrong 4, Mackenzie Fowler 4, Meagan Stachnik 2 and Crystal Cochrane 2, while Chelsea Fowler, Kim Grewal, Amneet Gill, Mercedes McGarrigle, Lacey Service, Vipan Aulakh and Amber Ridley were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Victoria Claremont Spartans whipped the 14th-seeded Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens 77-32 after leading 29-4, 44-14 and 60-26 at the quarters. “The big thing was putting the focus on defence,” said Spartans coach Kim Graves. “Going into this game, that was No. 1. We wanted to set the tone for the whole tournament, and our defence was solid.” Claremont’s ball pressure was relentless. “Our guards have really stepped it up, and their ball pressure today, they try and make people uncomfortable,” said Graves. Shaylyn Crisp paced the Spartans with 17. Shalie Dheensaw added 14, along with 14 boards, Caitlyn Anderson 11, Melissa van Dyk 10, Jordis Wachter 8, Shannon Elder 7, Melissa Fleury 4, Nikki Turner 3, Olivia Gong 2 and Sam Lee 1, while Claire Jaenen and Ceanne Askew were scoreless. Katie Devaney paced the Ravens with 22, including eight treys, and 9 boards. Nichelle White added 10, along with 10 boards, while Manesha Pall, Jodie Vance, Nicole Bullinger; Anika Westlund, Amy Nadasdi, Kendal Huntley, Maria Fang, Amanda McArdle, Ashley Durant, Tanbir Gill, Nazak Salehi, Indra Sarju and Sarah Brisbois were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded North Vancouver Handsworth Royals edged the 11th-seeded South Surrey Elgin Park Orcas 70-63 after leading 19-8, 4023 and 54-35 at the quarters. “It has been a learning experience all year,” said Handsworth coach Scott Palmer. “It’s been a re-load year after being spoiled for a few seasons. Everyone talks about Kris and Di, but the role players we had around them were really good, too. But we have a good core group here that is only going to get better playing in this kind of pressure.” Grade 10 guard Elisa Homer was phenomenal, Palmer said. “I can’t remember a young lady, a 15-year-old, that has so many different ways to score. She hits threes, turnaround jumpers. A lot of kids have two or three things, but she has four or five thing she can do.” Elisa Horner paced the Royals with 24. Abby Dixon added 14, along with 11 boards, Jenna Vaandering 13, along with 11 boards, Jaime Hills 10, Lizzy Hamlin 3, Christine MacKenzie 3 and Allison Patterson 2, while Alex Mladen, Delaney Steel, Ali Scott, Taylor Shein and Emily Muir were scoreless. Sandy Hsu paced the Orcas with 30. Stacey Graham added 14, Jayne Alexander 7, Melissa Boettcher 4, along with 15 boards, Ami Dixon 4, Madeline Spangehl 1 and Natalie Hadikin 1, while Chloe White, Madelyn Dekerf, Leena Walia and Kelli Sturkenboom were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Langley Brookswood Bobcats slammed the 15th-seeded Cranbrook Mount Baker Wild 99-52 after leading 28-4, 56-22 and 85-38 at the quarters. The Bobcats held the Wild without a field goal in the first quarter. They also forced a bevy of turnovers and grabbed 42 offensive rebounds, leading to 38 second-chance points. “We wanted to hit a lot of threes early, but we were only able to hit one,” said Brookswood coach Neal Brown, whose team didn’t drop a bucket from distance until ace shooter Brittany Church hit one with 2.4 seconds remaining in the first quarter to put the Bobcats on top 28-4. Still, “the bottom line is that their mindset is ‘We’ll shoot our way to a championship’,” added Brown. “They have done it all their lives. Maybe that’s my fault for not having more of a defensive mindset. But what the heck, they’re going to come out and shoot the ball so you can’t change them now.” Brohad had a case of nerves heading into the opener. He had no scouting reports on the Cranbrook team and didn’t know what he was facing. “I’ll tell you point blank, I could find nothing on Mount Baker,” he said. “I had to go to Calgary and Lethbridge newspapers and websites for schools they played to find stuff on them. I’d rather have played almost anyone else in the tournament. I didn’t know what they did, how fast they were. I just saw a chart that said they had a six-footer. So I was very nervous for a couple of days.” Brittney Church paced the Bobcats with 19. Megan Pauley added 13, Zoey Harambourne 13, Sydney Schepikoff 111, Tayla Jackson 10, along with 11 boards, Luca Schmidt 7, Katelyn Star 7, San van den Boogaard 7, Christina Brown 6 and Amberlee Kavanagh 6, while Kayla Kilistoff, Jen Doan, Hidemi Kurita and Kelsey Santa Juana were scoreless. Breanna Freere paced the Wild with 17. Emily East added 10, along with 11 boards, Julie Sternig 7, Lyndsay Ravenstein 4, Chelsea Nutini 4, Kaylee Craig 3, Katie Nutini 3 and Kate Tang 2, while Mia Harris, Alyssa Watmough and Taylor Lawrence were scoreless.
In the quarterfinals, the 5th-seeded South Kamloops Titans edged the 4th-seeded Port Coquitlam Riverside Rapids 72-70 in overtime after leading 19-13, 31-24 and 52-46 at the quarters. South Kamloops squandered a 17-point third-quarter lead against Riverside and another five-point lead with one minute left in overtime before Emma Wolfram, the Titans’ 6-5 grade 10 post, stuck the final dagger in the Rapids, coached by Paul Langford. “I didn’t really feel I would be able to play but I iced it pretty much every hour,” said Wolfram, who’d injured her ankle in the opening round. “It was cool to get the winning basket. … It was a last-second thing. So I just called for it, and I was hoping it would go in.” The pass she took from the top of the key from teammate Abby Grinberg was swiftly laid home with 1.1 seconds remaining. Coach Ken Olynyk said having Wolfram in the line-up, despite an ankle sprain, was a huge boost. “If it wasn’t the provincial championships, then she wouldn’t have played. But she definitely picked us up. The girls were excited for Emma, and winning the game was huge for them.” Trailing 60-58 with 23 seconds remaining in regulation, Wolfram went to the free throw line and sank a pair of free throws to tie the game. South Kam led 70-65 with 1:01 remaining in overtime, but Riverside’s Megan Sherwood scored on a baseline layup, then hit a trey off an inbounds pass from Laiken Cerenzie to tie the score at 70 with 43 seconds left. Losing Carkner to a fifth foul with 1:22 remaining in a 65-65 game was a tough blow, and it was followed by five straight points by the Titans. Sherwood answered back with a field goal and a trey to make it 70-70 with :41 left on the clock. But Wolfram hauled in the defensive rebound off a missed Riverside three-pointer and hit the game-winning bucket with :23 seconds left. A last-gasp three-point shot by Hillary Young just missed the mark. “They’re in Grade 11 and they didn’t give up, they just didn’t give up,” said Riverside coach Paul Langford. “I am so proud of them. … We were atrocious, we were 19-of-95 [on field goals], which is unbelievable. That’s got to be a record in itself, and if you didn’t laugh, you’d cry. We jacked up a lot of shots but they just didn’t go in.” Riverside, which lives on its three-point shooting, died with an 8-for-44 performance from beyond the arc. Emma Wolfram paced the Titans with 24 points and 25 boards. Maya Olynyk added 13 points and 13 boards. Tessa Bantock added 10, Abby Grinberg 7, Elsa Langill 7, Madi Ellis 4, Hailey Hamer-Jackson 4 and Katie Hubbard 3, while Brook Dennill, Maddie Adams, Hailey Sigalet and Bethany De Begio were scoreless. Megan Sherwood paced the Rapids with 15. Michelle Spacek added 14, Laiken Cerenzie 14, Katie Wood 9, Denise Spacek 9, Natalie Carkner 5 and Hillary Young 4, while Hayley Redmond, Carly Swan, Emma Thue and Nicolle Spacek were scoreless.
The top-seeded Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks defeated the 9th-seeded North Vancouver Carson Graham Eagles 72-59. The Eagles led 20-14 after one quarter. The Hawks led 31-30 at the half. The Eagles led 51-45 after three quarters. The Hawks had to rally from a 59-50 deficit in the fourth quarter and they responded with a 22-0 run. Mouat struggled from the outset and trailed by nine points late in the first quarter with star Kayli Sartori on the bench because of foul trouble. The Hawks then came back to lead 31-30 at the half only to lose control again in the third quarter. They finally took the lead back with 3: 48 remaining when Sartori hit a pair of foul shots. “We knew that not winning was not an option,” said Mouat point guard Jaslyen Singh. “We wanted it and we knew this was our only opportunity to ever get it in our last year. In our huddles, we kept it together and collected ourselves and started trusting each other again. In the first half, we were rushing things. It was all rushing. It took us a while to get it under control but, when we did, we won. (Kolbi) Roper was awesome (for the Eagles). She kept on pounding it inside and that was our weakness. Once we tightened up our defence, we were fine.” Hawks coach Paula Thompson said Eagles point guard Alexandra McCawley also created headaches. “To be honest, what surprised me was their guards. No. 14 [McCawley] kept attacking the whole game and we weren’t prepared for that. Typically, they are weaker in their guard area. I thought in the last quarter we did wear them down and, when it really came down to it, they couldn’t keep pace.” The Eagles shot just 3-21 from the line but still led heading into the final three minutes. “They were playing basketball,” said Carson Graham coach Diana Chan. “They wanted this game with everything they had. They said to me that they were going to take this game. They played with their heart and soul.” Thompson said “sometimes we do things well individually, and then we start playing that way. What surprised me most wasn’t their posts, but their guards. They took us out of our game.” The Hawks wore the Eagles down from the charity stripe. Mouat finished the game on a 15-0 run, which included 9-12 free throw shooting over the final 2:44. Chan said despite the free throw shooting, “There are no regrets. I knew we missed a lot. I didn’t know it was 18. But I don’t think people truly understand why it can happen. When you take a beating all game and then you finally get a chance to breathe, your body is hurting. It’s like being a boxer. But like I said, there are no regrets. My girls played with their heart and their soul.” Jaslyn Sing said “I’ve never wanted anything in my life more than this championship, and (losing) was not an option. We came together, and I couldn’t have asked for more from my teammates. … In our huddles, we got together and kind of calmed each other down. We all wanted it so bad.” Thompson said the Hawks early struggles occurred because they were out of control offensively. We got overzealous. We were making these long bomb, cross-court passes, which we don’t usually do. We broke out of a lot of what we do today . . . But in all honesty, we did wear them down when it came right down to it.” Kayli Sartori paced the Hawks with 25 points and 14 boards. Katie Brink added 21 points and 10 boards. Jaslyen Singh scored 15, Melissa Spring 4, Jennah Bryce 4, Angie Perkins 2 and Ashleyn Sarowa 1, while Ashlyen Singh, Sam Patenaude, Jessie Gunther, Bipan Sidhu and Kate Smith were scoreless. Kolbi Roper paced the Eagles with 16 points and 15 boards. Annabelle Hamilton scored 11, Karyn Nelson 7, Alexandra McCawley 7, Katie Wuttunnee 6, Tessa O’Connor 6 and Stephanie Vance 6, while Delaney Hoyle, Jackie Kent, Nicole Smith, Melissa Lasure, Nicole Erickson, Gabby Lefroy, Stephanie Strong and Alex Bill were scoreless.
The 3rd-seeded Victoria Claremont Spartans dusted the 6th-seeded North Vancouver Argyle Pipers 71-50 after leading 15-10, 26-24 and 47-36 at the quarters. “We were able to fight through their aggressive play,” said Shalie Dheensaw. “They are not a dirty team, but they are very aggressive and our offense came because of our strong defensive communication.” Back-to-back treys by Jordis Wachter and Shaylyn Crisp ballooned Claremont’s lead out to 45-32 with 2:45 left in the third quarter. The Spartans then outscored the Pipers 24-14 over the final 10 minutes of play. “Argyle did such a good job of breaking our press that we had to pull back to three-quarter court,” said Claremont coach Kim Graves. “And when we did that, we stopped those easy transition baskets. But I have to hand it to Argyle. They played very well in the full court.” The Spartans balance was a major factor, Graves added. “A lot of attention goes to Shalie and Shaylyn. But we go a lot deeper than that.” Shalie Dheensaw paced the Spartans with 21 points and 20 boards. Shaylyn Crisp added 17 and 11 boards. Caitlyn Anderson scored 12, Jordis Wachter 11, Shannon Elder 4, Melissa van Dyk 4 and Sam Lee 2, while Claire Jaenen, Olivia Gong, Nikki Turner, Ceanne Askew and Melissa Fleury were scoreless. Stephanie Bell paced the Pipers with 16 points and 14 boards. Danica Mitchell scored 11, Claire Elliot 8, Kristen Bourne 8 and Robyn Aulin-Haynes 7, while Makayla Rittinger, Jessie de Boer, Alex Aulin-Haynes, Hailey Stuart, Chelsea Dekleer, Taja Totzauer, Katie Watson and Nina Neves were scoreless.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Langley Brookswood Bobcats dumped the 7th-seeded North Vancouver Handsworth Royals 75-65. Handsworth led 21-20 after one quarter. Brookswood led 36-33 at the half. Handsworth led 55-54 after three quarters. Zoey Haramboure and company struggled at the free throw line (17-of-36) and from beyond the three-point arc (8-of-37) but still had enough to top North Vancouver’s two-time defending provincial champ Handsworth. And it’s because, as Haramboure — the Victoria Vikes-bound guard-forward explains — there’s more to her team than just its reputation as a three-point shooting team. “A lot of teams think that’s all we do, so they guard us for the three. But we have made up for it by driving to the hoop. That’s what we did tonight. Even though we missed some, we just kept going there and in the second half we picked up our defence a lot.” The Fraser Valley runners-up trailed 55-54 heading into the final 10 minutes, but outscored Handsworth 21-10 down the stretch. “All credit to Handsworth,” said Brookswood coach Neil Brown. “Scott Palmer is a good coach and he gets them to play hard. Those North Shore kids start playing when they come out of the womb and they’re all pretty skilled.” Katelyn Star, Brittney Church and Sydney Schepikoff each scored 13 to pace the Bobcats. Zoey Harambourne added 11, Sam van den Boogaard 9, Luca Schmidt 5, Christina Brown 4, Megan Pauley 4 and Amberlee Kavanagh 3, while Kayla Kilistoff, Jen Doan, Hidemi Kurita, Kelsey Santa Juana and Tayla Jackson were scoreless. Jaime Hills paced the Royals with 22. Allison Patterson added 10, along with 10 boards, Jenna Vaandering 9, Abby Dixon 8, along with 10 boards, Elisa Homer 8, Christine MacKenzie 5 and Lizzy Hamlin 3, while Alex Mladen, Delaney Steel, Ali Scott, Taylor Shein and Emily Muir were scoreless.
In the semis, the top-seeded Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks nipped the 5th-seeded South Kamloops Titans 55-50. The Hawks led 13-12 after one quarter. The Titans led 22-21 at the half and 35-34 after three quarters. Mouat’s 6-1 post Kayli Sartori and forward Katie Brink were the difference maker at both ends of the court. Katie Brink’s defensive help shut down South Kam’s 6-5 Emma Wolfram. Brink also hit several critical buckets down the stretch as the Hawks rallied from a 40-39 deficit in the fourth quarter. “Katie played unreal,” said Mouat coach Paula Thompson. “Her defence on their big girl was what won us the game. Emma destroyed Riverside on Thursday so we wanted to keep her off the boards and our girls did exactly what we told them to do.” Brink admitted that Mouat’s entire defensive game plan was to stop Wolfram with double-team help from the offside guard. “We said before the game we don’t care what anybody else does as long as we shut Emma down. That’s what we were going for. It was difficult. She’s a tall girl and I just wanted to stay behind her. It was scary at the beginning but it’s definitely mission accomplished now. To be in the final is what we’ve all wished for. We’ve been playing together since Grade 6. This is amazing.” The game featured 11 lead changes and both teams in constant foul trouble. Brink had two fouls three minutes into the first quarter. Sartori picked up her fourth foul of the game with 35 seconds left in the third quarter. But coach Paul Thompson elected to keep her on the floor. “You have to take your chances in a game like this. When you have a key player, you can’t take her off the floor if you want to win.” It paid off. With both Sartori and Katie Brink able to walk the line between restraint and aggressiveness, Mouat gutted out a win. Sartori played the entire fourth quarter with four fouls while Wolfram committed her fourth early in the fourth. Fellow Titan Maya Olynyk had three in the first. When Wolfram was forced to the bench, Mouat went on a 6-0 run, building their lead to 46-40 before a stoppage in play allowed her to get on the floor. Mouat never trailed the rest of the way. “That was a tough situation,” acknowledged Titans’ coach Ken Olynyk. “We knew we had to get her in and that is the tough part about the international game. It’s hard to get those subs in when you really have to get them in. We only had one time out left so I didn’t want to have to use it with four or five minutes left in the game. But we played the No. 1 team and gave them a real fight, and we make a couple more jump shots and we’re in the final, end of story.” Sartori said two of her fouls were unnecessary. “It’s one of those games with so much intensity and so much on the line that you just want to get the ball. I just knew that I needed to be in there, that I had to be in there, that I had to be on the floor for this win. We just played as a team and it all came together.” Mouat guard Ashleyn Sarowa finally put her team up for good, 42-40, just before the midpoint of the final quarter when she completed a three-point play. It was still a three-point difference with three minutes remaining until Brink hit for two and point guard Jaslyen Singh drained a trey. South Kam coach Ken Olynyk was pleased with his team’s performance despite the loss to Mouat, noting that Thompson left Sartori on the floor with four fouls because the Titans just weren’t going away. “I think that’s a credit to our kids that they had to do that. Our kids played hard and we got honest efforts from everybody. I’m really happy about that.” Katie Brink paced the Hawks with 21 on 9-27 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 5 boards and 3 steals. Kayli Sartori added 16 on 6-17 from the floor, 4-7 from the line, 9 boards, 4 assists and 6 steals. Jaslyen Singh added 10 on 0-5 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. Ashleyn Sarowa added 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-3 from the line. Angie Perkins added 2 and Jennah Bryce 1, while Ashleyn Singh, Sam Patenaude, Jessie Gunther, Bipan Sidhu, Kate smith and Melissa Spring were scoreless. Mouat hit 18-55 (.330) from the floor, 3-12 from the arc and 10-20 from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 15 assists, 22 turnovers, 3 blocks and 15 steals. Maya Olynyk paced the Titans with 14 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 3-5 from the line. Elsa Langill added 11 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 8 boards and 2 blocks. Emma Wolfram added 8 on 4-10 from the floor, 21 boards and 6 blocks. Abby Grinberg notched 7 on 2-12 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 7 boards, 4 assists and 6 steals. Katie Hubbard scored 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 10 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Tessa Bantock added 3 and Madi Ellis 2, while Brook Dennill, Maddie Adams, Hailey-Hamer Jackson, Hailey Sigalet and Bethany De Begio were scoreless. South Kamloops hit 17-45 (.380) from the floor, 2-12 (.170) from the arc and 10-17 (.590) from the line, while garnering 53 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 10 assists, 33 turnovers, 8 blocks and 10 steals.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Victoria Claremont Spartans defeated the 2nd-seeded Langley Brookswood Bobcats 72-65 in overtime. Claremont pulled out the win despite one of their most mediocre efforts of the season. But the breaks went their way down the stretch. Brookswood led 55-53 with 19 seconds on the clock and the ball in their hands in regulation. But Spartan guard Shannon Elder stole the ball and scored a layup to tie the game with 14.9 seconds left to force overtime. “We were faced with a lot of obstacles and everyone dug deep,” admitted guard Shaylyn Crisp. “Then Shannon made the play to send the game to overtime. Everything was awesome. Right now, I am speechless.” Shalie Dheensaw took her fourth foul of the game with 6:10 remaining in the third quarter and was immediately summoned to the bench by head coach Kim Graves, that Brookswood was leading 35-34. Over the remainder of the quarter, Brookswood was only able to build its lead to 45-40. “It was a gamble,” said Graves of holding Dheensaw out for six-plus minutes. “I wanted to put her in for a minute, but thankfully I have a great assistant coach, Max Bell, who calmed me down and said ‘not the time, not the time.’ I think having him there, backing me that it was the right choice, was great. Then Shalie came out in the overtime and she laid it to them. She did a great job.” When Dheensaw returned, Claremont went on a 13-3 run to start the fourth, leading 53-49 with 4:11 left when tiny Sam Lee sunk a driving layup. Brookswood dug in its heels and peeled off a 6-0 run capped by a penetrating Sam van den Boogaard layup to lead 55-53 with 1:55 left. In the overtime, the war of attrition hit Brookswood and by game’s end four Bobcats had fouled out of the proceedings. Dheensaw went to the line 10 times in overtime. “The reality is that Brookswood is an outstanding team and we hung in there when they had us,” said Graves. “And my girls have guts, man. They dug deep and they would never give up. They were never going to let it go easy.” Brookswood coach Neil Brown said “we just didn’t shoot the ball well. Someone is going to make mistakes and it just happened to us.” The Bobcats committed four turnovers in the final minute while up by two points. Claremont tied the score with 13 seconds left and took control in overtime to win by seven. “It is my job to get the team prepared and I just didn’t get that done,” Brown said. Shaylyn Crisp paced the Spartans with 21 on 3-13 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 6-12 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Shalie Dheensaw added 16 on 2-21 from the floor, 12-17 from the line, 18 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Melissa van Dyk added 14 on 4-12 from the floor, 6-8 from the line and 14 boards. Caitlyn Anderson added 9 on 2-8 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 4 boards. Sam Lee added 4, along with 7 boards, Shannon Elder 4, along with 4 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals, and Jordis Sachter 4, along with 7 boards. Claire Jaenen, Olivia Gong, Nikki Turner, Ceanne Askew and Melissa Fleury were scoreless. Claremont hit 17-75 (.230) from the floor, 3-16 (.190) from the arc and 29-54 (.540) from the line, while garnering 85 boards, including 51 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 6 assists, 26 turnovers, 5 blocks and 11 steals. Sydney Schepikoff paced the Bobcats with 16 on 6-12 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 16 boards, 4 assists and 5 steals. Zoey Harambourne added 14 on 3-13 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 9 boards. Brittney Church added 10 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 11 boards. Luca Schmidt notched 8 on 3-15 from the floor, 2-8 from the line, 3 boards and 5 steals. San van den Boogaard scored 8 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Amberlee Kavanagh added 6, along with 6 boards, and Christina Brown 3, along with 5 boards. Kayla Kilistoff, Jen Doan, Hidemi Kurita, Kelsey Santa Juana, Katelyn Star, Megan Pauley and Tayla Jackson were scoreless. Star had 3 boards and 4 steals. Brookswood hit 20-60 (.333) from the floor, 4-18 (.220) from the arc and 13-23 (.570) from the line, while garnering 74 boards, including 29 on the offensive glass, 34 fouls, 10 assists, 34 turnovers and 17 steals.
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded South Kamloops Titans dispatched the 2nd-seeded Langley Brookswood Bobcats 71-64. Brookswood led 14-13 after one quarter. South Kamloops led 32-29 at the half and 51-50 after three quarters. Emma Wolfram paced the Titans with 23 on 4-10 from the floor, 15-18 from the line, 20 boards and 8 blocks. Katie Hubbard added 14 on 5-8 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 13 boards and 3 assists. Hailey Hamer-Jackson added 12 on 0-3 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Maya Olynyk scored 10 on 4-12 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 2-7 from the line and 11 boards. Elsa Langill added 4, along with 4 boards, Madi Ellis 3, Tessa Bantock 3 and Abby Grinberg 2, along with 5 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Brook Dennill, Maddie Adams, Hailey Sigalet and Bethany De Begio were scoreless. South Kamloops hit 14-46 (.300) from the floor, 5-19 (.260) from the ac and 28-43 (.650) from the line, while garnering 76 boards, including 28 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 14 assists, 27 turnovers, 9 blocks and 3 steals. Sydney Schepikoff paced the Bobcats with 14 on 7-14 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 8 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Brittney Church added 11 on 1-2 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Amberlee Kavanagh notched 11 on 3-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 3 boards. Zoey Harambourne notched 10 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 4 boards. Sam van den Boogaard scored 8 on 0-8 from the floor, 1-10 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 12 boards and 2 steals. Katelyn Star added 7 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-9 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Tayla Jackson scored 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 4 boards. Luca Schmidt, Kayla Kilistoff, Jen Doan, Hidemi Kurita, Kelsey Santa Juana, Christina Brown and Megan Pauley were scoreless. Schmidt nabbed 3 boards and dished 3 assists. Brookswood hit 16-53 (.300) from the floor, 7-38 (.180) from the arc and 11-16 (.690) from the line, while garnering 58 boards, including 25 on the offensive glass, 30 fouls, 11 assists, 15 turnovers, 2 blocks and 8 steals.
In the final, the top-seeded Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks edged the 3rd-seeded Victoria Claremont Spartans 69-64 after leading 16-13, 45-27 and 53-47 at the quarters. Tourney MVP Kayli Sartori summed it up succinctly: “In the fourth quarter we got our second wind, and we did it. It’s so amazing, so surreal, it doesn’t feel like it actually happened yet. … “You can see by our reaction how it feels. It’s unbelievable. I guess we’re still a little stunned. We played as a team and we stuck it out and it was amazing.” The Hawks stormed to an early 20-point lead. But the Spartans reeled off a 10-0 run in the third quarter and pulled within 51-47 on a three-point basket by senior guard Shaylyn Crisp. Mouat roared back to the life in the fourth when Sartori scooped a loose ball out of a scrum in the paint to score a layup to give the Hawks a 65-50 lead with 5:20 remaining. That set the stage for a 14-2 Claremont run that took just 3:46 off the game clock and was capped by back-to-back three-pointers by Washington State-bound Shalie Dheensaw and Crisp to make the score 67-64. “I figure everybody thought we were done,” said Claremont coach Kim Graves, “and I knew we weren’t because those girls dig deep every game and the seniors stepped up and fought hard.” A Claremont travel and a Sarowa layup iced it. “The fourth quarter is usually ours,” said Mouat coach Paula Thompson. “We usually stink it up in the third and then we power forward.” Thompson added that having a veteran line-up was an asset. “Having five seniors on the floor, you realize that it’s the experience. They know it’s a battle. … I’m so proud of them. This has been a long work in progress, years of training . . . everybody deserves some credit. … I am going to shed a few tears when I have a moment.” Point guard Jasleyn Singh, who’d broken her nose in the semi-finals, refused to wear a face shield in the final. It was indicative of the Hawks resolve. “I felt even more determined to keep going. I felt like nothing could stop me. I was more determined to go to the hoop, more determined to hit shots and more determined to win the championship, the first one in school history. … It’s a dream come true. It feels great, I love my team, and I don’t know. I just love it. … This was our dream from the beginning. We’ve been playing together for a long time, since like Grade 6, and it was awesome to come through. … I couldn’t breathe with the mask on and I couldn’t see with my peripheral vision so I didn’t use it. I felt even more determined playing with my nose broken. I felt nothing could stop me. I wouldn’t have given up playing in this game for anything. It was worth it. … I felt even more determined to keep on going. Just because it’s my nose, doesn’t mean anything. Championship on the line, first time in history for us so I had to do it.” Graves said “You know what? Mouat just wanted it. They went after the ball and they fought the whole the game and they just wouldn’t let us take it from them. Our girls played hard and they never gave up, just like I knew they wouldn’t. I’m very proud of them. It’s tough for the Grade 12 girls because that’s it for them, but they fought hard.” The Hawks entered the tournament with a 36-3 record and riding a 25-game winning streak. Mouat coach Paula Thompson said “I’m so proud of them. This has been a long work in progress, years of training. We’re making history, so it’s pretty exciting.” Kayli Sartori paced the Hawks with 27 on 11-19 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 7-11 from the line, 10 boards, 2 assists and 7 steals. Ashleyn Sarowa added 14 on 6-15 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Jaslyen Singh notched 11 on 4-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Jennah Bryce added 6 on 3-5 from the floor and 5 boards. Melissa Spring scored 6 on 2-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 9 boards. Katie Brink added 5 on 2-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Ashlyen Singh, Sam Patenaude, Jessie Gunther, Angie Perkins, Bipan Sidhu and Kate Smith were scoreless. Mouat hit 28-68 (.410) from the floor, 2-7 (.290) from the arc and 7-11 (.640) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 24 fouls, 13 assists, 16 turnovers, 1 block and 12 steals. Shaylyn Crisp paced the Spartans with 28 on 7-13 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Shalie Dheensaw added 21 on 8-14 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 15 boards and 4 blocks. Jordis Wachter added 7 on 1-11 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-8 from the line, 8 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Caitlyn Anderson added 5, Shannon Elder 2, along with 4 boards and Melissa van Dyk 1, along with 7 boards. Sam Lee, Claire Jaenen, Olivia Gong, Nikki Turner, Ceanne Askew and Melissa Fleury were scoreless. Claremont hit 18-53 (.340) from the floor, 5-13 (.380) from the arc and 13-28 (.460) from the line, while garnering 60 boards, including 28 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 13 assists, 19 turnovers, 5 blocks and 6 steals.
The bronze medalist South Kamloops Titans: Maya Olynyk; Tessa Bantock; Emma Wolfram; Abby Grinberg; Katie Hubbard; Bethany Del Begio; Elsa Langill; Hailey Hamer-Jackson; Hailey Sigalet, Brook Dennill; Madi Ellis; Maddie Adams; coach Corey Yamaoka; coach Ken Olynyk
The silver medalist Victoria Claremont Spartans: Shaylyn Crisp; Shalie Dheensaw; Melissa van Dyk; Shannon Elder; Jordis Wachter; Nikki Turner; Caitlyn Anderson; Sam Lee; Melissa Fleury; Olivia Gong; Ceanne Askew; Claire Jaenen; coach Kim Graves; assistant Max Bell
The gold medalist Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks: Kayli Sartori; Melissa Spring; Katie Brink; Jaslyen Singh; Ashleyn Sarowa; Angie Perkins; Jennah Bryce; Jessie Gunther; Bipan Sidhu; Ashlyen Singh; Sam Patenaude; Kate Smith; coach Paula Thompson; assistant Patrick Lee