Work ethic carries No. 1 Oak Bay into playoffs

Senior girls basketball team takes aim at playoffs

Oak Bay High senior basketball players Sophie de Goede and Imogen White lead Oak Bay in preparation for city and Island playoffs. Undefeated on the season, the team is working hard with an eye to earning a berth to the B.C. championships.

Oak Bay High senior basketball players Sophie de Goede and Imogen White lead Oak Bay in preparation for city and Island playoffs. Undefeated on the season, the team is working hard with an eye to earning a berth to the B.C. championships.




Oak Bay High’s senior girls basketball team boasts a perfect record heading into playoffs, but the players are not taking anything for granted.

Oak Bay is undefeated through league play and won all three tournaments this season, giving them a No. 1 ranking with the city championships on the horizon, says coach Rob Kinnear.

“I think we definitely have a good chance,” Kinnear says, but adds, “we’ve upset teams in years past and we’ve been upset.”

With four Grade 12s, led by third-year team members Sophie de Goede and Imogen White, five Grade 11s and a talented Grade 9 international student from Spain, the team has good leadership along with a promising core of returning players for next year, Kinnear says.

Despite their success, the “athletic, talented group of girls” continues to work hard, keeping a collective eye on the ball – and B.C.s

“I think with this group, for all the success they’ve had, they’re still playing like they’re the underdog,” Kinnear says.

It’s rare, he adds, “but I think that’s why they’ve accomplished what they have.”

The Islands follow the city championships, with teams vying for two berths to provincials. A wildcard spot will also be up for grabs, Kinnear says.

As a young team last year, they had the experience of going through the Islands before finishing third at the B.C. championships, and they bring that experience forward.

Here in Greater Victoria, a talented Claremont team likely poses their biggest competition, with a friendly rivalry and friendships growing between the teams over the years, Kinnear says. Up Island, Nanaimo’s Dover Bay also boasts a formidable program.

The city championships get under way Feb. 9 to 11 and Islands follow Feb. 16 to 18.

 

 

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