Depth proved the difference as the Okanagan Mission Huskies dominated the second half en route to an 80-55 victory over the Immaculata Mustangs in Central Okanagan senior AA girls basketball play on Wednesday.
While the provincially No. 4-ranked Mustangs pulled to within two points (34-32) at half, the No. 5 Huskies widened the gap considerably with a 27-point performance in the third quarter (61-45) and cruised to their third straight triumph over Immaculata this season.
The win earned the Huskies the right to host the Okanagan Valley AA championship tournament Feb. 16-18. At least two, and possibly four of the Okanagan teams, will qualify for the provincial championship in March.
OKM, who defeated Immaculata by 20 points early in the season and by one point in overtime in their previous meeting, had 10 players score on Wednesday and seven of them netted more than seven points.
Jordan Robb led the winners with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Kiara Gaspari added 12 points and seven boards. Malley Richardson and Sarah Howald contributed 11 points a piece.
The Mustangs, coming off a provincial Catholic championship, were led again the by the provincial-U17 duo of Kate Johnson (33 points) and Ashlyn Day (20).
Huskies head coach, Meghan Faust, said one of the team’s key goals going into the season was to win the Central Okanagan zone championship, so she was proud of the girls’ accomplishment.
“They’ve put in a lot of hard work this season, so the win was well-deserved,” she said. “But, while this was a great first step and a great team effort, we still have a lot of work to do if we’re going to achieve the rest of our goals.”
The Huskies, expected to leapfrog Immaculata in the provincial rankings with Wednesday win, resume play this weekend when they take part in the York House Tigers’ tournament in Vancouver. They’ll meet No. 14 Southronie of Surrey in the opening game, hoping to advance against No. 9 G.W. Graham of Chilliwack, and eventually, a meeting with No 2 Semicoke of North Vancouver in the final.
The Kelowna Owls lived up to their No. 1 ranking in the province by winning the sixth annual Sweet 16 junior girls basketball tournament at Immaculata High School on the weekend.
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Four straight victories, including a 38-37 decision over the unranked Semiahmoo Totems in the final, earned the Kelowna Secondary School representatives the tournament title and a bye into the provincial championship tournament in Langley next month.
The Owls downed the Panorama Ridge Thunder of Surrey 65-29 in one semifinal while Semiahmoo earned its berth in the title game with a 54-35 semifinal win over the Penticton Lakers.
KSS opened the 16-team event by winning 51-15 over the Riverbend, Alta. and followed up with a 53-39 victory against the Kelowna Christian School Knights.
Owls’ head coach, Kim Whelpton, said her team’s win over No. 13 Panorama was the most impressive.
“We were clicking at every aspect of the game. When we play like that we are tough to beat,” noted Whelpton. “We struggled to score in the final and relied on our defensive effort to keep us in it.”
The Owls trailed by five points at the half against Semiahmoo, but went on an 11-2 run in the third quarter to come back for the victory.
“The win was a gutsy one,” added Whelpton. “It didn’t come easy and we were very happy with the girls’ commitment to hard work in spite of our offensive challenges.
“We need to continue to work hard on our mental toughness and on pushing ourselves to achieve our best possible basketball . . . regardless of who our opponents are.”
Winning three of four games (their only loss was a 45-44 decision to Semiahmoo), the co-host Okanagan Mission Huskies placed fifth overall while the KCS Knights finished in eighth place among the 16 teams.
Jaeli Ibbetson of the KSS Owls was selected as the most valuable player in the tournament while teammate Kyara Klempner was named a first-team all-star along with Kali Doell of Penticton. Among the second-team all-stars were OKM’s Lily Pink, Naomi Kent of Kelowna Christian and Kali Lowen of Penticton.
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