The Abbotsford Panthers knocked off a high school basketball dynasty on Friday, and now have a chance to win a provincial senior girls title for the first time since 1984.
Abbotsford took down the three-time defending champion Brookswood Bobcats with a thrilling 69-65 win in the senior girls AAA provincial semi-final at the Langley Events Centre.
The Panthers trailed for much of the game, falling behind 20-14 after one quarter, and 41-33 at the half. Abbotsford cut the lead to two points after three quarters, and then on the back of star Sienna Lenz took over in the fourth.
To the Finals!!!Abby comes back 69-65 Win!! pic.twitter.com/VpsG61EtlT
— AbbyPanther (@AbbyPanther) March 4, 2017
Sienna grabbed 31 points and 18 rebounds, while younger sister Marin Lenz added 14. Sydney Fetterly contributed with 10 points, with Kelsey Roufosse grabbing 11 rebounds and nine points.
The win advances the Panthers to the senior girls provincial final, the first team a senior girls team from the high school has reached the big game since 1984, The Panthers defeated Penticton 47-45 at the provincial final 33 years ago.
The senior girls AAA provincial final tips off at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday) at the LEC.
In other local basketball news, the Rick Hansen Hurricanes are Fraser Valley senior boys champions after defeating the Robert Bateman Timberwolves 80-62 in Surrey tonight.
The Hurricanes will enter next week’s AAA senior boys tournament as the number one seed in the Fraser Valley.
Visit abbynews.com for continued coverage from the provincials.
