Ballenas Secondary School’s senior basketball teams both saw their seasons come to an end recently.
The girls wrapped up their campaign on the courts in Port Alberni, as they finished the eight-team AAA Island championships tied for fifth — the same result as last year.
The Whaler girls lost their tournament opener to the Stelly’s Stingers 57-28.
“We came out flat … Stelly’s half court pressure defence rattled us and we just never recovered,” Ballenas coach Kevin McMillen surmised recently.
The Whalers rebounded with a 48-26 win over the Vanier Towhees. Darcy Bennett led the charge with a game-high 23 points including four three-balls, and Emma Greig chipped in with 9.
That win put the Whalers in the Saturday morning elimination game against Oak Bay. The Bays, ranked 14th in the province and the No. 2 seed from the South, were upset by Spectrum the day before and brought their A-game, beating Ballenas 71-47.
“Overall it was a successful season,” said coach McMillen, pointing out the team, which will lose eight of its 13 players to graduation, finished the season with an overall record of 19-11.
“I thought we competed very well … good group of girls,” he said, then added, “other than that we probably had the most vocal and supportive fans at the tournament, for sure.”
Earning props from their coach for their steady play were Kayla Mohr and Jenna Peachey and Kim Watson.
The tournament’s top two teams — Spectrum and Claremont — automatically advance to the BCs, while third place Oak Bay will play a challenge game against a Mainland team to determine the final berth.
B-BALL UPDATE
Ballenas’ senior boys team is done for the season. The Whalers went 2-2 and finished fifth at the North Island’s (played out at Wellington Secondary in Nanaimo), then lost by 16 points in a wildcard game against Belmont, with the winner moving on to the AAA Island finals in Victoria.
