Although winning two of three games against some of the top teams in the province, the No. 3 Kelowna Owls will likely drop a spot in the provincial junior girls basketball rankings this week.
But coach Kim Whelpton was still pleased with her team’s effort despite a 60-59 defeat at the hands of the No. 5 Sullivan Heights Stars in their final encounter of a three-game exhibition series on “Super Saturday”.
“This was a quick Friday night/Saturday morning trip so our goal going into the Sullivan game was to push ourselves to be mentally sharp when physical fatigue set it,” said Whelpton. “Other than digging ourselves a decent-size hole in the first quarter, I’m very impressed with our play and ability to respond to multiple game situations.
“The girls showcased their competitive nature over the three games and I know they will take some important lessons into our upcoming post-season.”
With about a 90-minute space between their second and third games of the day, the Owls found themselves down 17-4 in the first quarter against Sullivan. And by sinking eight treys the Stars were still up 36-27 at the half.
The fourth quarter saw the Owls push back, but each time they began to close the gap, Sullivan would answer with a run of their own.
With about three minutes remaining, the Owls’ defence went to work, forcing turnovers, capitalizing on their opportunities and narrowing the deficit to 56-51.
Following a timeout, Kennedy Dickie salvaged a miscued sideline play with a NBA-distant three-pointer making it 59-56. In an effort to steal the ball and stop the clock at seven seconds, KSS fouled. Sullivan hit the first and missed the second.
On a heads-up play, Rachel Hare got a deep three-point buzzer beater off a head-man feed from Grace Demug that dropped to make it 60-59.
Kennedy Dickie finished with 18 points to lead the Owls, who got an 11-point effort from Rachel Hare and 10 points from Dez Day.
The Owls opened the weekend by defeating the No. 8 Argyle Pipers of North Vancouver 52-29 in a game that saw the entire lineup contribute at both ends of the floor.
Hannah Koch, Jessica Landie, Karlie Stecko, Ashley Bennett, Haley Martin and Bryn Kipnis added a spark off the bench with their defensive pressure and offensive composure against the No. 8-ranked team in the province.
Game 2 saw the Kelowna Secondary School representatives down the No. 7 Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers of Surrey 59-52.
Hare and Dickie set the pace offensively with 15 points apiece, while Day netted 10 to go along with six by Martin.
The Owls had to overcome a fourth-quarter 52-46 deficit to claim the win. Hare had a timely trey and a heads-up rebound off a missed free throw by Dickie to set the wheels in motion for the Owls’ seven-point victory.
KSS is playing host to the Central Okanagan zone championship tournament beginning on Tuesday. The opening game will see the 6-0 taking on fourth-place Rutland Voodoos at 5 p.m., while the second-place Okanagan Mission Huskies take on the third-place Mt. Boucherie Bears beginning at 6:30 p.m.
On Wednesday, the semifinal winners will meet in the championship beginning at 6:30 p.m. Both teams will represent the zone at the B.C. junior girls championship tournament at the Langley Events Centre March 2-5.
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