In the opening round, held in Langley: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Kelowna Owls pounded the 16th-seeded Port Moody Heritage Woods Kodiaks 87-51 after leading 18-10, 46-16 and 74-36 at the quarters. The Owls capitalized heavily on their recently-install full-court press. “We didn’t put in the press in until quite late in our season,” Owls coach Darren Semeniuk told Varsity letters. “I thought we could just throw it in there and the players would understand it a bit easier than they did. But the concept of when to go and trap is not as easy as it looks. … We only had a handful of games where we were needing to really play urgent. In a lot of games, we were fine in the half court. We could turn up the juice and it would generate a break, but against the better teams we weren’t getting (turnovers), those live balls that lead to transition. We thought right then that we needed to start playing the game more in the middle of the floor. … I thought we did a good job of getting their ball handler out of control and then coming in from the back side. You have to give credit to whichever girl we had on the ball for getting the ball-handler’s vision down. But the games just keep getting tougher and what looks good today might not look good tomorrow. But we’re going to stay with it. We think it can be a strength for us.” Taya Hanson paced the Owls with 28. Jaeli Ibbetson added 10, player of the game Kasey Patchell 15, Kennedy Dickie 8, Rachel Hare 7, Dez Day 5 and Kassidy Day 4, while Paige Watson, Kyara Klempner, Jordon Kemper, Rylee Semeniuk and Jenna Holland were scoreless. Hailey Counsell led the Kodiaks with 19. Maddy Counsell added 12, Emily Instant 8, Breona Martin 6, Natalie Fast 4 and Rachael Tomlinson 2, while Catrin Jones, Maddy Falk, Olivia Tero, Lauren Tomlinson, Jayden Nielsen, Amanda Blake, Heidi Mueckel, Paige Gant and Juliette Alvarez were scoreless. The Kodiaks (coached by Ross Tomlinson and Don Blake) also included Jenna Griffin. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded North Vancouver Argyle Pipers dispatched the 9th-seeded Abbotsford Yale Lions 67-62. The Lions led 20-13, 36-28 and 49-44 at the quarters. Georgia Swant paced the Pipers with 28. Camie Ward added 14, Lauren Parr 8, Laura Holt 7, along with 10 boards, Chloe Walton 6, Kayla Escat 2 and Ella Mellinghaus 2, while Sahar Balanji, Teagan Mackay, Julia Tancon, Meg Howitt, Kayla Williams and Halie McAndrew were scoreless. Madison Draayers scored 17 to pace the Lions (coached by Celeste Dyck, Hailey Kendall and Theresa Chan, manager Kiara Okonkwo), along with 11 boards. Sapna Deo added 10, Tana Pankratz 9, Jessica Daley 8, Brooklyn White 6, Chelsea Paivarinta 6, Sarah Thiessen 4 and Emmy Curtis 2. …………………………………………………… The 13th-seeded Langley Brookswood Bobcats stunned the 4th-seeded Victoria Oak Bay Breakers 85-80. The Breakers led 29-19 after one quarter and 45-41 at the half. The Bobcats led 59-58 after three quarters. Bobcats guard Jenna Dick stepped up at a critical moment, hitting a trey, driving for a layup and hitting four free throws as Brookswood held off the Breakers. “This is a win that will really pick us up,” Dick told Varsity Letters. “We needed to figure things out today and we did, and so I hope this gets us going again.” Rookie Bobcats coach Chris Veale said the 5-6 guard, “for a little person, she has big shoulders, eh? When we brought Jenna up last year as a Grade 10, we were looking for bodies. and then she blossoms into this player. Last year, Lou (Gonzaga freshman Louise Forsyth) took a lot of the focus and that was good for Jenna. But now she is the focus and to think that when she has a bad game, she still scores like 15 points. It’s been pretty crazy.” Georgia Alexander’s two free throws with 14.7 seconds left had pulled the Breakers to within 82-80, but post Brooklyn Golt hit a free throw and post Karsen Look tipped home the miss of Golt’s second free throw to wrap up the scoring. Jenna Dick paced the Bobcats with 27. Brooklyn Golt added 17, along with 11 boards, Jenessa Knapp 15, Neyha Lali 13, Tavia Jasper 7, Karsen Look 5 and Olivia Ohlmann 1, while Ashleigh Kirby, Jamie Retting, Andrea Tsang, Tanya Phy, Emily Povey, Maria Jemna, Alexa Ahrens and Lyric Custodio were scoreless. Georgia Alexander led the Breakers with 22. Natalie Froese added 18, Katie Elsner 16, Jasmine Lambert 12, Marika Shafonsky 10 and Judy Cristante 2, while Lynden Taylor, MacKenzie Dawson, Ella Calder, Evie Arber, Ariel Schellenberger and Sadie McMillan-Stowards were scoreless. The Breakers (coached by Rob Kinnear and Rick Griffin) also included Rileigh Grahame-McMullan. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Surrey Semiahmoo Totems dumped the 12th-seeded New Westminster Hyacks 76-60. The Totems broke to an 8-1 lead but the Hyacks rallied to knot the score at 14 after one quarter. The Totems promptly ripped-off an 8-0 run but the Hyacks rallied to within 28-24 at the half. The Totems led 51-38 after three quarters. Totems coach Allison McNeill told Varsity Letters.ca that her troops were anxious early. “I didn’t see too much in that first quarter. They came out maybe too energized and with that said, they ended up being flat. But by halftime they had all settled in pretty well.” Hyacks coach Doug Woodward told the New Westminster Record that “they didn’t do anything we didn’t know about. We told them about (Semiahmoo’s Izzy Forsyth), but their big girl (six-foot-three Faith Dut) was just too big. She played in New West two years ago and played a very good game. She has a nice touch and made a lot of good moves. … We just didn’t have enough. We had no finish today and a lot of turnovers, and that was a big thing. There wasn’t any, I don’t know, we didn’t have a lot of jump today. I knew it would be hard to do a full-court press because they’re so well-coached.” Izzy Forsyth paced the Totems with 35. Faith Dut added 20, Deja Lee 8, Tara Wallack 6, Raushan Bindra 5 and Priya Gillan 2, while Brooke Sinclair, Jennifer Tinnes, Emily Wubs, Tiffany Lin, Aareet Kaur and Nicole Pajic were scoreless. Sarah Forgie scored 20 to pace the Hyacks (coached by Doug Woodward and Krista Woodward, managers Mrs. D. Woodward, Madison Obrovan and Emma Forgie). Devin Strome added 19, Millanna Obrovac 9, Kanon Imachi 6, Jamie Butts 3, Tianna Gough 2 and Kaylee Colville 1, while Natalie Natase, Nikki Nicin and Kahadija Allen were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Abbotsford Panthers clocked the 15th-seeded Fort St. John North Peace Oscars 101-43 after leading 22-18, 56-21 and 94-33 at the quarters. The Panthers 37-3 second quarter put the outcome well out of the Oscars reach. Sienna Lenz led the Panthers with what appeared to be 35 (according to a poorly kept scoresheet). Marin Lenz added 20, Sydney Fetterly 14, Kelsey Roufosse 10, Lindsey Roufosse 10, Beryl Kithinji 6, Sarah Johnson 4 and Marissa Dick 2, while Jessica Walton and Bronwyn Dumerton were scoreless. Celine Quigley scored 10 to lead the Oscars (coached by Colin Ziebart, Belinda Ziebart and Eugene Concepcion). Jamie Harder added 8, Claire Turner 6, Tea Brown 6, D Peever 6, Devyn Peever 4, Jessie Copes 2, Grace Giesbrecht 2 and Alexis Ziebart 2, while Maria Giesbrecht, Azaria Richards and Krystina Rea were scoreless. The scorekeeper allocated 46 points but the Oscars scored just 43. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Surrey Sullivan Heights Stars edged the 10th-seeded North Vancouver Carson Graham Eagles 69-64. The score was knotted at 16 after one quarter. The Stars led 32-28 at the half and 51-43 after three quarters. Stars coach Lani Kramer told Varsity Letters that her squad did a better job of boxing-out on the boards in the second half. “We talked about boxing out at the half. That was the key against them. We had to get defensive rebounds and that was all that was hurting us. … We were nervous to start and you could see it. But we’re a defensive, stopping team and that is how we win. We won’t always score a lot but the girls work hard and they left it all out on the court for me.” Emma Kramer paced the Stars with 24. Player of the game Sophia Kramer added 20, Joti Khangura 15, Baldeep Mattu 8 and Gisha Sangha 2, while Jasmine Ram, Mehtaab Deol, Jenine Hira, Jasmine Sidhu and Jessica Hernandez were scoreless. Tanis Metcalfe scored 18 to pace the Eagles (coached by Cameron Nelson and Alex Bill, manager Lauren Grey), while nabbing 17 boards. Chloe Brebner added 14, Alex Walker 12, along with 9 boards and 9 assists, Gabby Channon 12, along with 17 boards, and Mauvy Allan 8, while Tessa Black, Hannah Channon, Sophia Cross, Mackenzie Twist, Kaitlyn Elliott, Maddy Kalshnikov and Zekeya Beguinon were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Langley Walnut Grove Gators stomped the 14th-seeded Cranbrook Mount Baker Wild 102-50 after lead 27-12, 59-26 and 80-32 at the quarters. Jessica Wisotzki paced the Gators with 34. Tavia Rowell added 26, Natalie Rathler 21, Rolande Taylor 9, Alex Tadic 5, Sophia Wisotzki 3 and Manami Ushijima 2, while Jenna Stea, Emma Slade, Amanda Cowley and Leah Fortin were scoreless and 2 points were unallocated. Sydney Marlow scored 28 to pace the Wild (coached by Al Nutini and Kate Nutini, manager Kiera Whitaker). Jacynda Conroy added 6, Gabby Baker 4, Natalie Armstrong 4, Mackenzie Nelson 4, Camryn Spring 2 and Sharlene Parsons 2, while Jessica Armstrong and Victoria Hall were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Port Coquitlam Riverside Rapids dispatched the 11th-seeded Victoria Claremont Spartans 86-76. The Spartans led 23-15 after one quarter. The Rapids led 42-35 at the half. The Spartans led 68-56 after three quarters but the Rapids off an 18-0 run to take command. “If I were you, I would have left, too,” Rapid coach Paul Langford told Varsity Letters. “Our season has been like that … All our kids were good, but I would say the motor of Alanya (Davignon), plus (Jessica) Parker showed some great desire and Sammy (Shields) made a huge steal and hoop. I think it was a collective of all five of our starters.” Jessica Parker led the Rapids with 30. Sammy Shields added 91, Tessa Burton 14, Adrienne Willems 10, Alanya Davignon 9 and Keimi Cuellar 4, while Sarah Wade, Adelyn Ho and Veronica Moino were scoreless. Chloe Scaber scored 21 to lead the Spartans (coached by Darren Reisig, Tara Beaucamp and Marissa Dheensaw, manager Selena Fong). Marin Abe added 13, Sierra Reisig 12, Maki Jenner 10, Abby McMillan-Beaucamp 8, Maddie Manns 5, Makenzie Messelink 3, Eve Collombin 2 and Kamryn Allen 2, while Minami Kato, Thea Matthews, Kayleigh Rehman and Marrissa Murray were scoreless.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Kelowna Owls blasted the 8th-seeded North Vancouver Argyle Pipers 85-55 after leading 20-11, 42-18 and 68-33 at the quarters. Player of the game Taya Hanson paced the Owls with 29 points, 13 boards, 4 assists and 5 steals. Jaeli Ibbetson added 18, Kasey Patchell 12, Kennedy Dickie 11, Dez Day 8 and Rylee Semeniuk 4, while Kassidy Day, Paige Watson, Rachel Hare, Kyara Klempner, Jordan Kemper, Jenna Holland and Quentin Thiessen were scoreless and 3 points were unallocated by the scorekeeper. Georgia Swant scored 24 to pace the Pipers (coached by Anthony Beyrouti, Anthony Fortunaso, Sue Kennedy, Sean White and Steve White, manager Aiko Williams). Lauren Parr added 8, Camie Ward 7, Laura Holt 6, Kayla Escat 5, Chloe Walton 4 and Halie McAndrew 1, while Sahar Balanji, Teagan Mackay, Julia Tancon, Meg Howitt, Ella Mellinghaus and Kayla Williams were scoreless.
The 5th-seeded Surrey Semiahmoo Totems spanked the 13th-seeded Langley Brookswood Bobcats 87-56. The Bobcats led 17-12 after one quarter. The Totems led 34-25 at the half and 61-36 after three quarters. Scrappy Totem post Faith Dut dominated the floor. “I used to be really awkward, so tall and lanky, but then I grew into my body,” said Dut, who’d a year earlier forayed to Lyden, Washington, and led their high school to a state title. “I am definitely still growing. I am definitely growing. I don’t want to stay with one thing. And sometimes you have to switch things up. I know that when my shot is not falling, I have to get big and strong.” Totems coach Allison McNeill said “I’ve coached some pretty good players on the national team. This is Faith’s third season of basketball, but she’s maybe played a season-and-a-half. But she just works so hard and she is one of the brightest players I have ever coached. It’s unreal how she picks things up. She didn’t know how to do a duck-in at the start of the year now she times them all.” Deja Lee paced the Totems with 25. Izzy Forsyth added 22, Faith Dut 18, along with 16 boards and 4 blocks, Nicole Pajic 8, Raushan Bindra 6, Tara Wallack 4 and Emily Wubs 4, while Tiffany Lin, Priya Gillan and Aareet Kaur were scoreless. Jenna Dick scored 18 to pace the Bobcats. Jenessa Knapp added 14, Neyha Lali 9, Olivia Ohlmann 4, Karsen Look 4, Brooklyn Golt 4 and Tavia Jasper 3, while Ashleigh Kirby, Jamie Retting, Andrea Tsang, Tanya Phu, Emily Povey, Maria Jemna, Alexa Ahrens and Lyric Custodio were scoreless. The Bobcats (coached by Chris Veale, Luca Schmidt and Chelsea Sinkaruk) also included Danielle Jack.
The 2nd-seeded Abbotsford Panthers defeated the 7th-seeded Surrey Sullivan Heights Stars 63-55 after leading 25-13, 42-26 and 56-40 at the quarters. Panthers guard Sienna Lenz, who’d torn an ACL during the 2017 campaign, yet played with the injury and led her squad to the provincial final, notched a near-triple-double in leading Abbotsford to the win. “I’m good, I’m feeling strong again,” Lenz told Varsity Letters. “There were some frustrating points for me in coming back. You’re not playing much at first, so it feels choppy when you get out there. And then it takes you a while to start to get your rhythm back.” Panthers coach Prentice Lenz said “I hadn’t looked at last year versus this year because there are new dynamics. But I am happy with the way we have transitioned and the way we came out of December with Sienna’s limited minutes. So to put ourselves in a position to play in a semifinal is fantastic.” Sienna Lenz said “our main group is older, we’ve played more together and we’ve all improved as individual players. All of that has helped us out, it’s helped this whole team out as a group.” Marin Lenz paced the Panthers with 23. Sienna Lenz added 21, along with 15 boards and 7 assists, Beryl Kithinji 12, Sydney Fetterly 3, Kelsey Roufosse 2 and Lindsey Roufosse 2, while Jessica Walton, Browyn Dumerton, Sarah Johnson and Marissa Dick were scoreless. Emma Kramer scored 22 to pace the Stars (coached by Lani Kramer). Gisha Sangha added 14, Joti Khangura 8, Mehtaab Deol 4, Baldeep Mattu 4 and Sophia Kramer 3, while Jasmine Ram, Jenine Hira, Jasmine Sidhu and Jessica Hernandez were scoreless.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Langley Walnut Grove Gators whipped the 6th-seeded Port Coquitlam Riverside Rapids 96-67 after leading 23-19, 52-41 and 67-59 at the quarters. The Gators closed out the affair with a 29-8 run as their zone defence stymied the Rapids. “I think this year we come in with a whole new respect for the game,” Gators forward Natalie Rathler told Varsity Letters. “Last year the feeling was that we were a top team and that we could win it. We came in a bit too confident in ourselves. This year, we know that the team that shows up and works the hardest is going to be the one that wins it. … We took a time out and we had a little team talk. We kind of realized that we were going to have to work and push ourselves.” Gators coach Darren Rowell said “we have taken another big step after one year. There is a lot more maturity and they all work so well together. It’s been nice to see that growth over the last four years.” Tavia Rowell paced the Gators with 34. Jessica Wisotzki added 31, Natalie Rathler 21, along with 16 boards, Rolande Taylor 7 and Alex Tadic 3, while Jenna Stea, Sophia Wisotzki, Emma Slade, Manami Ushijima, Amanda Cowley and Leah Fortin were scoreless. Tessa Burton scored 20 to pace the Rapids (coached by Paul Langford, Jeremy Neufeld, Kelli Langford, Caitlin Langford and Elvis Balic, manager Jayden Linkletter). Sammy Shields added 17, Jessica Parker 15, Alanya Davignon 9, Adrienne Willems 4 and Keimi Cuellar 2, while Sarah Wade, Adelyn Ho and Veronica Moino were scoreless.
In the semis, the top-seeded Kelowna Owls crushed the 5th-seeded Surrey Semiahmoo Totems 81-59 after leading 24-7, 43-23 and 67-40 at the quarters. Forward Jaeli Ibbetson and Taya Hanson executed the pick-and-roll to perfection on numerous occasions as the Owls dismantled the Totems. “I love being the post, being able to screen hard and roll to the basket,” Ibbetson told Varsity Letters. “I love rolling to the basket and being there for rebounds. I also love being able to pop out for shots.” Owls coach Darren Semeniuk said Ibbetson “is deceivingly strong. When she gets into her steps as she goes to the hoop, you might think that she gets off balance easily, but she stays strong and she knows how to finish. “She has come up to work with Taya on those ball screens, and although it’s still not where we want it, I thought today, it definitely pulled Faith (Dut, the Totems power forward) up into that action, and that opened up the middle for us.” Taya Hanson paced the Owls with 26, along with 10 boards. Kennedy Dickie added 25, along with 14 boards, player of the game Jaeli Ibbetson 23, Kasey Patchell 3, Rachel Hare 2 and Dez Day 2, while Kassidy Day, Paige Watson, Kyara Klempner, Jordon Kemper, Rylee Semeniuk and Jenna Holland were scoreless. Izzy Forsyth led the Totems with 21. Raushan Bindra added 10, Faith Dut 10, Deja Lee 7, Nicole Pajic 6, Tara Wallack 3 and Emily Wubs 2, while Brooke Sinclair, Jennifer Tinnes, Tiffany Lin, Priya Gillan, Aareet Kaur and Nika Mohsenian were scoreless.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Langley Walnut Grove Gators stunned the 2nd-seeded Abbotsford Panthers 88-71 after leading 29-20 49-40 and 62-59 at the quarters. The Gators built a 45-25 lead as post Natalie Rathler dominated the paint and the boards but midway through the third quarter, she picked her fourth foul and was forced to the bench. The Panthers promptly countered with a 15-4 run, and eventually knotted the score at 59 on a 12-foot pull-up jumper by Sienna Lenz. Rathler returned to the floor and soon drew Abbotsford post Kelsey Roufosse’s fifth foul and then scored three straight buckets through a combination of cut, fakes, pivots and face-up dribble-drive action. It gave the Gators a 72-65 lead with four minutes to play and then pulled away down the stretch. Rathler told Varsity Letters that picking up her fourth foul “was a heartbreaker for me. I definitely needed to get my mental state back up. I felt hopeless, like I had let my team down. I just told myself I had to play smart the rest of the game and not pick up another. I had to give myself a mental talk, I had to make sure I was moving my feet and not my arms. I changed my game as to how I was moving and playing defence.” Gators coach Darren Rowell called it a “huge risk” to put Rathler back on the floor. “But we couldn’t defend, we couldn’t rebound and we couldn’t score, so we had to go all in. Nat is so mature and plays with so much poise. It was fitting for her to come out here, on the biggest stage, against one of the best teams in the province, and play the way that she did.” Point guard Tavia Rowell paced the Gators with 31 points, 10 boards and 10 assists. Jessica Wisotzki added 23, Natalie Rathier 22, along with 12 boards, Sophia Wisotzki 9 and Rolande Taylor 3, while Jenna Stea, Emma Slade, Manami Ushijima, Amanda Cowley, Alex Tadic and Leah Fortin were scoreless. Sienna Lenz led the Panthers with 25. Marin Lenz added 22, Beryl Kithinji 8, Kelsey Roufosse 8, Sydney Fetterly 6 and Lindsey Roufosse 2, while Jessica Walton, Bronwyn Dumerton, Sarah Johnson and Marissa Dick were scoreless.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Abbotsford Panthers dispatched the 5th-seeded Surrey Semiahmoo Totems 82-74 after leading 21-14, 43-34 and 64-53 at the quarters. Marin Lenz and Sienna Lenz each scored 32 to pace the Panthers. Sydney Fetterly added 8, Kelsey Roufosse 6 and Beryl Kithinji 4, while Jessica Walton, Bronwyn Dumerton, Lindsey Roufosse, Sarah Johnson and Marissa Dick were scoreless. Faith Dut paced the Totems with 24. Izzy Forsyth added 17, Tara Wallack 11, Deja Lee 10, Raushan Bindra 7 and Emily Wubs 5, while Brooke Sinclair, Tiffany Lin, Priya Gillan, Aareet Kaur and Nicole Pajic were scoreless. The Totems (coached by Allison McNeill, Lori Pajic and Rob Wilson) also included Jennifer Tinnes and Nika Mohsenian.
In the final, the top-seeded Kelowna Owls defeated the 3rd-seeded Langley Walnut Grove Gators 67-61. The Gators led 20-11 after one quarter. The Owls led 35-30 at the half and 56-43 after three quarters. “The final wasn’t my best scoring game in the whole tournament, but I just knew I had to stay composed and lead my team well — and just control the game, which I’m pretty proud of myself because I felt like I did that,” Tournament MVP Taya Hanson told the Kelowna Daily Courier. “But it came down to a team effort and it was a great moment to share. It was just such a fun experience. … That final game, we faced some difficulty in the beginning and we were down, but that second quarter we just turned it on. Everybody was playing as a unit and we just kept grinding. Our defence is what won that game. The saying ‘offence wins games, defence wins championships’ has never rung so true in my life, until that moment. The preparation that we did, little did we know that’s what coach (Darren Semeniuk) was planning for all along . . . to come out on top in that final game. It’s definitely something that I will always remember. I think one day it’ll just hit me and I’ll realize how huge that was. … It’s such an important moment for Kelowna, and just going forward to show that the little town from the east, we’ve got something to offer. It’s a defining moment in Kelowna history, in sport. It impacted us, but I’m hoping it made an impact on the whole community and the young ballers coming up.” In avenging two regular season losses to Walnut Grove, the Owls rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit by picking up their pressure full-court on each Gator possession, a move that coach Darren Semeniuk told Kelowna News was the brainchild of assistant Darren Semeniuk. “He’s been in my ear about it, and it obviously paid off in the end. The girls started getting really good at it. Their quickness improved and hey started to understand the rotation really well. “Walnut Grove had never seen it from us before because we were always playing safe against them, because they were the best team in the province. We weren’t sure that we wouldn’t get exposed if we put ourselves out there. It really paid off. It was definitely the difference in the final.” The Gators rallied to within 35-34 in the third quarter but Owls forward Kennedy Dickie scored 8 unanswered, including back-to-back treys, to give Kelowna 43-34 lead. The Gators rallied no closer than 59-55 with 4:40 to play on a Sophia Wisotzki trey. But Dez Day promptly nailed a trey and the Owls romped to the win. Semeniuk told Varsity Letters that “we started with the full-court stuff only at Christmas and they all bought in. I knew we were pretty mobile across five players and I thought we could play fast and pressure. But doing the full-court stuff seemed to have a way of making our half-court (defence) better, too, because our rotations are the same, just over a smaller place.” Taya Hanson said “we’ve worked so hard it (the press), we’ve been relentless. Doing all of those slides hurt, but they show in a game and they worked. Coach is such an amazing coach and he knew us so well.” Semeniuk said Hanson proved an exceptional leader. “It’s so much more than what she does on the floor. She took over leadership responsibilities right away. She’s such an unselfish player. She wants to score for her team, but she is so happy when others do. When she came home, it just gave us that extra edge we needed to compete against the tough teams. And she brings out so much of that in the other players, too. … (Meanwhile) “Kennedy has been up and down all year, but for her to have that game, in the biggest game of her career, I was astonished.” Dickie said “I don’t know what happened, but it was crazy. It just happened.” Owls assistant Heather Semeniuk told Kelowna Now that “Darren talked before the game about what got us to the semifinal and how we needed to continue doing the same things to make it to the championship game. We needed solid defence, trust in each other and sustained high energy and intensity. The girls came through with flying colours.” Gators coach Darren Rowell told Varsity Letters that “they took us out of our game and disrupted us more than we wanted. When we beat them two previous times, we didn’t see that pressure defence. We didn’t see the full-court defence. What really stuck with us was their offence. Today it was their defence. I thought we did an OK job of competing with them, but that defence of theirs was at another level.” Player of the game Kennedy Dickie paced the Owls with 21 points and 14 boards. Arizona State-bound Taya Hanson added 18, along with 11 boards and 6 assists, Dez Day 11, Jaeli Ibbetson 8, Kasey Patchell 5 and Rachel Hare 4, while Kassidy Day, Paige Watson, Kyara Klempner, Jordan Kemper, Rylee Semeniuk and Jenna Holland were scoreless. Tavia Rowell led the Gators with 19. Natalie Rathler added 14, along with 16 boards, defensive player of the tournament Sophia Wisotzki 13, Jessica Wisotzki 11 and Rolande Taylor 4, while Jenna Stea, Emma Slade, Manami Ushijima, Amanda Cowley, Alex Tadic and Leah Fortin were scoreless. The Owls committed 13 turnovers and the Gators 29.
The all-tournament team featured MVP Taya Hanson (Kelowna); Sienna Lenz (Abbotsford); Izzy Forsyth (Semiahmoo); Kennedy Dickie (Kelowna); Natalie Rathler (Walnut Grove); and Tavia Rowell (Walnut Grove).
The 2nd-team featured Marin Lenz (Abbotsford); Jenna Dick (Brookswood); Jaeli Ibbetson (Kelowna); Faith Dut (Semiahmoo); and Jessica Wisotzki (Walnut Grove)
The honorable mention selections were: Georgia Swant (Argyle); Tanis Metcalfe (Carson Graham); Georgia Alexander (Oak Bay); Jessica Parker (Riverside); and Emma Kramer (Sullivan Heights).
The bronze medalist Abbotsford Panthers: Marin Lenz; Jessica Walton; Sienna Lenz; Sydney Fetterly; Kelsey Roufosse; Browyn Dumerton; Lindsey Roufosse; Sarah Johnson; Marissa Dick; Beryl Kithinji; coach Prentice Lenz; assistant Elmore Abraham; manager Theresa Buis; manager Dean Fetterly
The silver medalist Langley Walnut Grove Gators: Jenna Stea; Sophia Wisotzki; Emma Slade; Manami Ushijima; Amanda Cowley; Jessica Wisotzki; Rolande Taylor; Tavia Rowell; Alex Tadic; Leah Fortin; Natalie Rathler; coach Darren Rowell; assistant Juanita Rowell; assistant Marilyn Wisotzki; manager Tia Rowell; trainer Guide Wisotzki
The gold medalist Kelowna Owls: Kasey Patchell; Kassidy Day; Paige Watson; Rachel Hare; Taya Hanson; Dez Day; Kennedy Dickie; Kyara Klempner; Jaeli Ibbetson; Jordan Kemper; Rylee Semeniuk; Jenna Holland; coach Darren Semeniuk; assistant Heather Semeniuk; assistant Quentin Thiessen