The Princess Margaret Mustangs senior girls’ basketball team punched their ticket to the provincial championship by defeating Fulton 69-43.
The Mustangs took advantage of playing at home to advance as the third seed from the Okanagan. Against the Fulton Lady Maroons, the Mustangs had 10 players hit the scoresheet, led by Megan Admussen-Blair with 16 points, 14 rebounds and eight steals. Riley McKinlay chipped in 11 points, Taylor Corrie 10 and Kenzi Haberstock scored eight to go with 12 rebounds.
“We were the deeper and more experienced team,” said Mustangs co-coach Jeff Goodis. “We were able to pressure them and create easy baskets.”
The Mustangs overcame a heart-breaking 55-54 overtime loss to the Sa-Hali Sabres Friday night in the semi-final. Sa-Hali scored in the last seven seconds of regulation to tie the game, then made a desperation shot from long distance at the buzzer to win. Admussen-Blair rang up 30 points with 10 rebounds, while Danielle Ruocco added 14 points.
Goodis said the players understood they could still qualify by finishing third. They showed up Saturday morning and defeated the Westsyde Wundas 84-50 after taking a 30-8 first-quarter lead. Four Mustangs reached double digit scoring led by Callan Cooper with 18, while Maddie Winter added 15. The Mustangs opened the Valley Championship by defeating the Pleasant Valley (Armstrong) Secondary Panthers 66-45. Ruocco led all scorers with 13 points and seven steals. Megan Admussen-Blair grabbed 13 rebounds, while netting 12 points.
“The girls played hard all four games and showed they could rebound from a tough loss and remain mentally focused,” said Goodis.
The Mustangs travel to Langley March 5-8 to compete in the AA provincials and are joined by Okanagan Valley champions Vernon and Sa-Hali.
Senior boys
The Mustangs senior boys fell short in their pursuit of the AA provincial championship.
The Mustangs finished fourth in the AA Okanagan Valley championship after losing to the Fulton Maroons 64-41. Mustangs assistant coach Brian Hurst said the players couldn’t match their shooting from early Saturday afternoon. The Maroons pulled away in the final quarter to earn the final berth.
“A great effort by the whole team over the entire weekend,” said Hurst.
The Mustangs opened with a loss to Kamloops’ Valleyview Vikings, the eventual Okanagan Valley champs, 78-62. In Game 2, Hurst said the Mustangs came out with great intensity to roll past Summerland Rockets 85-54. They also defeated Westsyde 80-60 with the help of strong shooting.
Valleyview took the championship with a 71-69 win over South Okanagan.
