Morning Star Staff
Megan Rouault drained five shots from the Landing Plaza and finished with 26 points as the Fulton Maroons iced the VSS Panthers 54-33 Saturday night at Fulton.
The North Zone junior girls basketball champion Maroons will join VSS in the Valley Championships starting Friday in Kamloops.
Cayleigh Graham chipped in with eight points and four blocks for Fulton, while Nicole Olson supplied six points and six assists.
Brianna Falk drained 19 points for the Panthers. Falk dribbled just over the half line and launched a shot which was good just as the buzzer went at the end of the third quarter.
The Salmon Arm Golds claimed the North Zone junior boys title by grounding VSS 56-19.
Pressure defence was the key in the first quarter as the Golds held the Panthers to one bucket. It was 18-11 Salmon Arm at the half.
The Golds exploded for 36 points in the second half with Norman Ambauen canning 15 points. Charis Ondrik fired six points for VSS, who also qualify for the Valleys, Feb. 21-22, in Salmon Arm.
In senior girls tourney play, the injury-plagued Panthers went 0-3 at the Holy Cross Crusaders in Surrey.
“When facing these (tough) teams, we need to be firing on all cylinders if we expect to win, and injuries to Jordan Cullum last weekend and Jordan Korol this weekend, really shortened our bench and reduced our ability to compete at both ends of the floor,” said coach Lonny Mazurak, assisted by John Keeley.
After falling 56-52 to the Wellington Wildcats of Nanaimo (Kristy Fugel MVP), the Panthers lost 69-37 to the South Kamloops Titans.
Jordan Korol rolled her ankle early in the second quarter against the very big and talented Titans. Fugel sank 13 points, while Anna Rice added six points and Jessica Melvin, returning from injured reserve, netted five. Megan Prentice was the game star.
St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints of North Vancouver nailed a dozen treys in a 78-40 win over the Panthers Saturday. Fugel flushed 14 points and Anna Rice, added 10, and Jessica Melvin had six. Fugel was game MVP.
The North Zone senior girls playoffs start Friday at Fulton with Pleasant Valley Saints taking on Fulton at 5:45 p.m.
The Panthers (4-0) will face the winner Saturday at 5:15 p.m. with both teams qualifying for the Valley playdowns.
The North Zone senior boys tournament opens Thursday with the Seaton Sonics (1-3) hosting the last-place Revelstoke Rams (0-4).
The second-place Kalamalka Lakers (3-1) tangle with Pleasant Valley (2-2) Friday at 4 p.m. at Fulton with the winner meeting league champion Fulton (4-0) at 7:30 p.m.
The third-place game goes Saturday at 3:30 p.m. with the winner advancing to the Valleys. The North Zone final is at 7 p.m. with both teams earning Valley berths.
