The Walnut Grove Gators wanted a second shot at the top-ranked Semiahmoo Totems, to see just how far they had progressed against one of the province’s elite teams.
And the Gators Grade 8 girls team received their wish, but the end was still the same: a loss.
The Totems — the only Fraser Valley team to defeat Walnut Grove — handed the Gators a 73-34 loss in the Fraser Valley championship final on Monday night at Seaquam Secondary.
“We played Semiahmoo at the start of the year so we wanted to play them again so we could see how far we had come,” said coach Bailey Hubscher.
The first loss was by 41 points.
Semiahmoo won their five Fraser Valley games by an average of 50 points per game and Walnut Grove was the only team to score more than 21 points at the championships.
Her team was better offensively this time, but the defence still needed some work.
But all in all, the Fraser Valley tournament was a success for the Gators, who entered the 32-team tournament seeded third.
Walnut Grove beat North Surrey 72-12 and Pitt Meadows 77-25 in the first two rounds to advance to the championship draw.
In the quarter-finals, they defeated No. 6 Holy Cross 55-45 and then edged No. 2 W.A. Fraser 56-52.
That contest was back and forth and Hubscher said her squad did a good job of pulling together in the end.
Sophia Wisotzki was named to the all-star team for Walnut Grove.
“She is an unselfish player who is going to do what is the best for the team,” Hubscher said.
The Gators now prepare for the Grade 8 girls B.C. provincial invitational championships.
They run March 2 to 4 at Pitt Meadows Secondary.
