“We went in third, came out third,” said Neil Brown, the veteran coach of the Brookswood Bobcats girls basketball teams.
The Bobcats battled some tough teams in the four-day B.C. Girls Secondary Schools Basketball Championships, held at the Langley Events Centre March 1 to 4.
Ultimately, it was neighbouring Abbotsford that would knock the ’Cats out of contention for gold.
Abbotsford would go on to take silver, Lord Tweedsmuir gold.
But in beating Panorama Ridge for bronze, they did well, Brown said, for a team that had very few seniors.
“We’re not a very experienced team, as much as people like to think of Brookswood as higher level,” Brown said.
The team had two Grade 10 students starting, with the bulk of the players in Grade 11.
But they were solid and committed. One of those Grade 10 girls, Jenna Dick, was named a second team all-star a, with Louise Forsyth a first team all-star.
More than their skill and commitment, Brown said he was struck by their camaraderie.
“This is just one of the nicest groups of kids,” he said.
Brown retired this year from teaching, but came back to coach.
While the tournament, now in its fifth year at the LEC, has been dubbed the “Brookswood invitational,” another Langley team was also in contention at AA ranking.
The Langley Christian Lightning came third behind Seycove and Vernon secondary’s teams.
Hannah Krep of the Lightning was named a First Team All-Star and Katelyn Mallette was named to the second team.
