Injuries and a short bench caught up to Kwalikum Secondary School’s scrappy squad of senior girls at the AA Island basketball championships last week, as they finished fourth out of eight teams.
In action in Victoria, with the top two advancing to the BCs and third earning a shot at a wildcard berth, KSS opened with a 73-44 loss to the South’s No. 1 ranked SMU Blue Devils. Angelina Gastaldello was the Kondors’ player of the game with a season high 18 points.
The K-Birds bounced back in game two by shredding the Parklands’ Panthers 95-44. Raini Bevilacqua earned game star honours in that one with a season high 21 points including four from outside the arc.
In game three on Saturday morning against the Wellington Wildcats, who had upset the No.1 from the North (Cedar Spartans) Friday, the Kondors dug deep and pulled off a well-earned 55-49 overtime win. Tara Freeman was the game star in that one with 19 points — six of those in overtime.
“That was a good win — real team basketball,” said KSS coach Barry Bevilacqua.
That win put the Kondors in the third-fourth game on Saturday against the Woodlands Golden Eagles with a wildcard game on the line.
Woodlands led 18-13 after the 1st, 32-27 after two, and 40-35 after three for a 57-41 win.
The Golden Eagles, said coach B “deserved to win. We just made too many mistakes, too many turnovers. It happens.”
Asked his take on the campaign, Bevilacqua made the point “that considering what we’ve gone through injury wise this season I’m very proud of how they played. In the grand scheme of things they really did well with what they were dealt. I think for me the best thing was they competed in every game they played. I’m proud of them.”
