The Kelowna Owls confirmed their reputation as one of the teams to beat in B.C. high school girls basketball by capturing the Skyline Invitational last weekend in Abbotsford.
Paced by national program candidates Taya Hanson and Kennedy Dickie, the Owls, ranked No. 2 in AAA, earned four straight convincing victories at the 12-team tourney hosted by University of the Fraser Valley.
In Saturday’s final, Dickie scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Owls to a 75-53 victory over the fifth-ranked Abbotsford Panthers. Jaeli Ibbetson also scored 23 points in the title-clinching win.
Dickie, who scored 79 points during the tournament, was named to the tournament’s first all-star team.
Hanson scored 75 points during the weekend and was named the tournament’s MVP.
The Owls are coached this season by Darren and Heather Semeniuk.
Heather, the former head coach of the UBC Okanagan Heat women, said the Owls of 2017-18 possess plenty of skill, depth and experience.
“This really is a talented group,” said Heather Semeniuk. “They’ve been playing the game a long time, right back to the club level. Taya and Kennedy lead the way for us, but everybody on this team plays and contributes.”
Both Dickie and Hanson are off to Toronto this week for Basketball Canada’s Cadet U17 and Junior U18 assessment camps which will run until Dec. 19.
Led by Hanson’s 26 points and 20 from Dickie, the Owls advanced to the Abbotsford tourney final with an 85-40 win over G.W. Graham in the semis.
KSS also defeated WJ Mouat 92-40 and the Semiamhoo Totems 86-60 in the quarterfinal round.
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