The Brookswood Bobcats ramped up the defensive intensity while finding their offensive rhythm, resulting in their 12th straight Langley district junior girls’ basketball title.
The ’Cats, ranked second in the province, won going away, downing the Walnut Grove Gators 69-26.
The two teams squared off in the district championship final on Thursday night at the Langley Events Centre.
Brookswood led 17-10 after the first quarter, but extended the lead to 17 points by the half. And then they shut down Walnut Grove on defence, liming the Gators to 10 second-half points.
“Offensively, we didn’t really get going until the second half,” said coach Chris Veale. “We missed a lot of easy one-foot lay-ups.
“We just capitalized on their turnovers better and locked it down defensively.”
The win caps off a dominant regular season for Brookswood, as the team’s smallest margin of victory was 25 points.
Winning districts comes as no surprise then.
“We always feel confident,” Veale said. “At the start of the year, we talk about our goals and what it takes to achieve them and the sacrifices it takes.”
The Fraser Valley regional championships got underway on Monday, with Brookswood winning their opener, 70-28 over Enver Creek. The game was played at Brookswood.
The ’Cats are the second seed, behind only the Riverside Rapids, who are also ranked first in the province. The teams med three times during the season with Riverside winning twice.
But Veale likes his team’s chances in the playoffs.
“I truly believe, if we play like I know we can, I don’t think anyone can touch us,” he said. “We have to beat our demons of not being ready to play.”
Walnut Grove also won their Fraser Valley game, downing Elgin Park 44-32.
Brookswood plays Chilliwack in the round of 16 while Walnut Grove battles Earl Marriott. Both games are Wednesday (Feb. 23) and will be played at Brookswood.
The winners advance to the main draw of the Fraser Valley championships, which run Thursday to Saturday at Brookswood.
Langley Christian was eliminated on Monday, losing 57-16 to Riverside, while Credo Christian also saw their season end, 70-39 to the W.J. Mouat Hawks.
