For the second time in a week, a team representing St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School of North Vancouver forced a Kelowna team to settle for silver at a provincial girls basketball championship.
The Fighting Saints, three of whom a week earlier led their team to a Grade 9 provincial pennant with a win over the KLO Cougars, added a junior title on Saturday in Langley with a 49-27 victory over Kelowna Owls.
Six-foot-1 Grade 9 forward Jessica Clarke scored 15 points in leading the junior Saints to a second St. Thomas title, overshadowing a player-of-the-game performance by Kelowna’s Jaeli Ibbetson, who scored 21 points in a losing cause.
The Owls, seeded No. 1 in the province going into the four-day tournament at the Langley Events Centre, had won three straight games prior to the title matchup on Saturday, but couldn’t handle the superior height of the Fighting Saints in the final.
Ibbetson also was named to the tournament’s first all-star team while teammate Jordan Kemper was selected as a second-team all-star.
Owls' head coach, Kim Przybyl (Whelpton) conceded that her team struggled to perform to the standards they displayed for most of an outstanding season.
"We played tight like this in our only other loss this season," she said. "We had trouble with basic skills and they (Saints) were just in our heads. STA played a great game and were the better team on the day."
Przybyl noted the at the Owls never set a goal to win a provincial championship
"We simply wanted to get better every day — work hard, improve our basketball skills and IQ and compete hard.
She and assistant coach, Brady Ibbetson, hope their team learned from the season and will use it to fuel them in their summer training.
"Having this experience to take into a competitive senior team will be a huge asset for the KSS program."
Meanwhile, Okanagan Mission Huskies, ranked 10th in the pre-tournament seedings, lost 56-48 on Saturday to the No. 9 Seycove Seyhawks of North Vancouver to finish eighth among the 24 teams competing in the junior tournament.
The Huskies won two of five games during the four-day event.
Injuries finally caught up to the Okanagan Mission Huskies at B.C. School Sports senior AA girls basketball championship tournament in Langley on Saturday.
With only eight players in the lineup, the Huskies stayed close, but couldn’t quite keep up with the Duchess Park Condors of Prince George and fell 56-49 in their final game of the provincial tournament.
The loss dropped the Huskies’ record at the Langley Events Centre to 2-2 and left the Okanagan Valley representatives in 10th place in the 16-team playdown.
OKM, seeded eighth going into the four-day event, played Saturday’s game without key contributors in Malley Richardson, Emma Parmar and Jenna Robinson, but again displayed their grit despite the setback.
Head coach, Meghan Faust, said her team “ran out of gas” against Duchess Park, who were ranked seventh prior to the B.C. tournament and boasted a deep bench. But she was “incredibly proud” of the Huskies’ season.
“Making it to provincials two years in a row is a huge accomplishment for the OKM program,” noted Faust. “The girls grew so much and learned a ton. These girls truly were a family — every game was a complete team effort. It’s a special group.
“This is the best a team OKM has ever finished so the girls should be proud of themselves as well.”
Faust, assisted by Cassidy deVeer and Lisa Nevoral, made a point of lauding the play of Grade 12s Kiara Gaspari, Hannah Walline and Marin Felt.
“They are the most decorated and dedicated basketball players OKM has ever had. We are very proud of how they have paved the way for the future of our program.”
The Huskies won the Central Okanagan AA championship for the first time, defeating the Immaculata Mustangs in three of the four games they played each other this season. While they finished fourth among a deep feld of teams at Okanagan Valley championship tournament on home court, the Huskies earned a berth at provincials by winning a wildcard game.
Meanwhile, fifth-seed Immaculata also finished with a 2-2 record at the B.C. championship, coming out on the short end of a 65-59 decision to the No. 10 Britannia Bruins of Vancouver in their final game on Saturday. The Bruins nailed down the No. 5 spot in the final provincial standings while the Mustangs settled for sixth place among the 16 teams. Ashlyn Day of the Mustangs was selected as an honourable mention all-star.
The Vernon Panthers claimed the silver medal, losing 69-54 to the Seycove Seyhawks of Vancouver
The Kelowna Owls finished where they were ranked going into the B.C. School Sports senior AAA girls basketball tournament.
With a 67-42 loss to Oak Bay of Victoria on Saturday, the Okanagan Valley champions settled for sixth place among the 16 teams at the four-day event in Langley.
Grade 10 Kennedy Dickie scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds to earn player-of-the-game honours in a losing cause. Senior Alley Corrado closed out her high school career with eight points and seven steals while Chelsea Espenberg and Dez Day netted six points apiece.
Dickie was also selected as an honourable-mention all-star for the Owls, who finished with a 2-2 record at the Langley Events Centre.
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