The way the Royal Bay Ravens junior girls are playing basketball this season, competing in a qualifying tournament for the provincial championships seemed like a moot point.
That said, the Ravens used last weekend’s event in Duncan as another tune-up for the upcoming playoffs. The powerful squad went 3-0 to win the automatic berth into the 24-team B.C.s and gain a seed somewhere between No. 1 and 8.
Included in their victories was a 50-20 win in the tournament final over St. Thomas Aquinas of North Vancouver, a team ranked No. 2 in the province on the last rankings list. The overall results left the Ravens, who are now 28-2 on the season and have peeled off 21 straight wins, rated No. 5 in B.C.
Ravens coach Dave Awalt and his charges aren’t resting, having earned a spot into provincials, which run March 1 to 4 at the Langley Events Centre.
“It does take some pressure off,” he said of qualifying early. “But we want to keep our edge as we head into the city and Island championships. We seem to be peaking at the right time. Our focus heading into city playoffs will be on the details like help defence to stop dribble penetration, then recovering to our checks. As well as executing our offensive plays with precision cuts and passes.”
The Ravens were scheduled to wrap up league play Thursday (Feb. 2) against Spectrum, then the city playoffs run Feb. 6 to 9 at various schools. The final games start at noon at Central middle school.
Last weekend Royal Bay opened with a 62-24 win over the host Cowichan Thunderbirds. It was the first time the Ravens had played Cowichan, the top team in the mid-Island league.
They followed up with a 54-24 win over Nanaimo District in the semifinals, a game that pitted the top teams from the North and South Island together for the third time in four weeks.
Awalt said Saturday’s final offered his team a “great test which we certainly showed we were ready to pass.”
The Ravens built a 20-point lead by halftime and laid off their full-court press to start the second half. However, the team’s half-court defence produced a number of turnovers that helped the Ravens extend their lead.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
