In the beginning, there were a dozen of them.
They came together seven years ago, when they were all in Grade 5.
Over time, the numbers decreased: two moved away to different schools, while another three chose to stop playing basketball.
But still, seven of those original 12 pull on the blue and red Brookswood Bobcats jersey.
“This is real rare,” says their coach Neil Brown, about having such a large number stick together for all five years of high school.
Looking at them, nothing jumps out: there is no player towering over her competition, or anyone who elicits fear in the hearts of her opponent.
“I kind of laugh because they are ordinary kids,” Brown says. “There is no one who is a super athlete, no one who is super tall.
“Everyone except for Zoey (Haramboure) is undersized, he says.
“They walk on the floor and other teams start giggling: ‘how can they be any good?’”
But this group of Cats is something special.
In five years of high school, this core has won three Fraser Valley championships, in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and two provincial titles, which they won in 2007 and 2009. Brown figures the team has a cumulative high school record of 167-20, including a perfect season in Grade 8, just one loss in Grade 10, and three losses this season.
Starting today, they are hoping to add one more provincial title when they begin play at the B.C. senior girls AAA championships at North Vancouver Capilano University.
They enter the tournament as the second seed out of the 16 schools.
Brown says it is a product of their hard work and effort.
“They are super committed, I don’t think there is anyone who has been in the gym more than these kids have,” he says, referring to early morning shoot-arounds in the gym even before class begins.
Factor in the regular school season, plus club basketball, and the girls routinely play upwards of 100 games a year.
Summer time is left to trying out — and in their case — making B.C. provincial age group teams.
All seven have made one of these teams at one of the various age groups.
The players bring their unique skill set to the team, and together, when they are on their game, they work like a well-oiled machine.
Christina Brown, the coach’s daughter, provides muscle as the team’s top interior defender.
Most games, she is forced to guard opponents, while giving up six to eight inches in height in some cases.
“She has to muscle them and does a great job of that,” the coach says.
Brittney Church just might be the best outside shooter in the province, by the coach’s estimation.
Katelyn Star and Samantha Van den Boogaard are also deadly accurate from the outside.
Sydney Schepikoff is a tremendous athlete, often times counted on at the defensive end.
“She was a great soccer player as a kid and that ability to move in crowds has really helped her,” Brown says.
Kayla Kilistoff may be the smallest of the bunch, but makes up for her lack of height with a great basketball IQ. Brown says she should be a coach.
“She is the smartest kid on the team by a mile,” he says. “She is a bright kid; she understands sports a little bit different than most people. She sees things happen before others do. When there is a mistake made, she has spotted it even before I can say something.”
Brown says Haramboure, another sharpshooter, is likely the most gifted of the bunch
She is off to play university ball next season with the Victoria Vikes.
Schepikoff will play for Fraser Valley, while Church and Van Den Boogaard will play for Kwantlen Polytechnic.
The other four are still weighing their post-secondary options.
The players admit it will be weird when they go their separate ways. Some of them have known each other since pre-school.
“It is great we have been together for so long,” says Star. “But next year is going to be different, a new beginning.”
“It is definitely going to be tough,” adds Schepikoff. “When you are spending as many hours in the gym as we are as a team, it is a special kind of bond we have. Basketball has brought us together.
“It is going to be hard to say goodbye.”
“It has been a long time, it is hard not to connect,” says Star.
They have become more than just classmates and teammates.
“We are like sisters,” says Kilistoff. “We know what we can and can’t do.”
“We know each other’s limits,” Christina Brown says. “And what buttons we can push.”
Church says they know each other so well, they know what to expect, whether it be on the court or off.
That trust, as well as perseverance, hard work and dedication, has gotten them this far, Haramboure says.
“It will be weird next year,” admits Van den Boogaard.
