Final four set for Junior Girls Provincial Basketball Invitational Tournament

Brookswood junior girls’ Imaan Lalli
Photo courtesy of Paul Yates Vancouver Sports Pictures

WHILE one semifinal features the No. 2 and 3 seeds, the other has the No. 1 seed up against the upstart No. 13 squad as it is down to the final four at the Junior Girls Basketball Provincial Invitational Tournament at Langley Events Centre.

The No. 1 Terry Fox Ravens remain perfect on the season with the No. 13 MEI Eagles standing in their way of a spot in Saturday’s championship game. On the other side of the draw the No. 2 Kelowna Owls go up against the No. 3 Riverside Rapids.

The semifinals are set for Friday at 6:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

For full results from all day two for all 24 teams, click here.

 

No. 3 Riverside Rapids 50 No. 11 Okanagan Mission Huskies 45

Trailing 38-34 late in the third quarter, the Riverside Rapids (Port Coquitlam) held the Okanagan Mission Huskies (Kelowna) to just seven fourth-quarter points, rallying for the 50-45 victory.

The third-seeded Rapids overcame a slow start as they scored just nine points in the first quarter, scoring 15 in the second and then 13 in both quarters of the second half.  The Huskies held the lead for much of the game but were plagued by turnovers and four missed free-throw attempts in the final eight minutes as the No. 11 seed looked for a second-straight upset victory.

The trio of Maria Kim (17 points), Lucy Caldwell (13 points) and Franscine Basiga (12 points) all reached double figures for the Rapids. Tatum Wade’s 16 points led the Huskies.

 

No. 2 Kelowna Owls 53 No. 10 Fleetwood Park Dragons 35

A 20-4 first quarter was largely the difference as the No. 2 seed Kelowna Owls advanced to the semifinals 53-35 over the No. 10 Fleetwood Park Dragons (Surrey).

The teams played to a standstill in the second quarter, each scoring 17 points, and the second half was low scoring with 16 points for Kelowna and 14 for Fleetwood Park.

Tessa Bentley led the Owls with 14 points and Avery Chalmers chipped in with a dozen. Keerat Sidhu had 13 for the Dragons.

 

No. 13 MEI Eagles 71 No. 12 Yale Lions 63

The MEI Eagles may have won the all-Abbotsford battle but the Yale Lions definitely had the support of those without a rooting interest in either team. The Lions, who only had six players available to begin with, were forced to play the end of regulation and then two three-minute overtime periods with just three players on the floor. Eventually, the Eagles were able to take advantage of the two extra bodies, outscoring the under-manned Lions by eight points in the second bonus period.

Makenna Reimer (21 points) and Gracie Corneau (19 points) led MEI.

Marissa Rodde led the Lions with 32 points, keeping her team in the game thanks to hitting 14 of her 16 foul shots in the fourth quarter and overtime. Julie Dueck hit a trio of three-pointers and finished with 21 points before fouling out.

 

No. Terry Fox 76 No. 9 Claremont Spartans 30

Four Terry Fox Ravens (Port Coquitlam) players scored in double figures as the tournament’s top seed continues their quest for a perfect season.

Lauren Clements (17 points), and Emily Sussex (15 points) led the way with another 13 points from Ana-Maria Misic and 11 from Cerys Merton.

Defensively, the Ravens did not surrender much, never allowing more than 10 points in a quarter.

Claremont’s Charlotte Westhaver had more than half her team’s points, scoring 16 of the 30.