Karley Fugel drained 19 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as the VSS Panthers ambushed the Fulton Maroons 63-38 in North Zone Senior AA Girls Basketball League play Wednesday night.
Quinsy Leier chipped in with 15 points and 13 rebounds at the Panther Pit, while Jenna Marrion netted 10 points. The Cats, coached by Bobby Mitchell and Lonny Mazaruk, are ranked No. 10 in the province.
“Everyone contributed,” said Mitchell. “Madison Sawka and Christine Furrer gave us great energy off the bench that seemed to spark the entire team. We have been talking lots about consistency and tonight we put together 38 minutes of Panther basketball, so we are getting there. We understand there is a lot more work to be done.”
Said Fulton coach Doug Rogers: “VSS is a tall and skilled team and played very well – full credit to them for the win. I’m proud of the way our team played. As we progress in practice, we will get better and be ready for the playoffs.”
Next up for VSS are the Princess Margaret Mustangs of Penticton, today at the Sa-Hali Sabres Invitational in Kamloops. The Sabres are rated No. 5 in the province.
In senior AA boys play, Fulton grounded the Panthers 87-28 as they warmed up for their 11th annual Corporate Classic.
Dustin Popoff rung up 28 points and 14 rebounds for the Maroons, while Mitch Rouault canned 18 points and eight assists and Clay Mottus supplied 14 points.
Fulton opened the eight-team Classic Thursday against Princess Margaret and meet the College Heights Cougars of Prince George today at 1:30 p.m. before battling the L.V. Rogers Bombers of Nelson at 7:30 p.m.
The championship final goes Saturday at 2:15 p.m. with the consolation game at 12:30 p.m. The Pen-Hi Lakers, Sa-Hali, South Okanagan Hornets and Duchess Park Condors of Prince George round out the tournament.
Both Fulton and Princess Margaret received honourable mentions in this week’s top-10. The Misson Roadrunners top the poll ahead of the G.W. Graham Grizzlies of Chilliwack.
Major sponsors of the Classic are the Holiday Inn Express, Concept Physiotherapy, Tim Hortons and Buy-Low Foods.
The VSS Grade 8 Panthers went 3-1 and placed third in the prestigious 24-team Abby Traditional Tournament, stopping the host Titans 27-20 in Saturday’s consolation final.
Game MVP Kendra Cooper and Jordynne Tomiak were clutch in the Panther win.
Dave Tetrault’s Cats opened the Abbotsford tourney by brushing back the Semiahmoo Totems of Surrey 26-24 with tourney all-star Anna Rice and Kristy Fugel each dialing up nine points. Katie McGillivray chipped in with four points, while Courtney Becker was game MVP.
VSS parlayed 10 points from game MVP Fugel into a 33-27 quarterfinal victory over the Brookswood Bobcats of Langley. Teal Hadland and Rice each sank six points.
The Carson Graham Eagles of North Vancouver iced the Panthers 37-34 in an overtime semifinal. The Baby Cats were down by 11 early, but came back to force extra time, getting stellar defensive play from Latisha Baker and key buckets from Jessica Melvin.
“This group is working very hard to get better,” said Tetrault. “It was a great weekend of basketball, giving us a chance to play some coastal teams. It will help us to focus on the skills we need to improve.”
The Charles Bloom Timberwolves junior girls tournament opens today at 2:15 with Bloom taking on Heritage Christian School Saints of Kelowna.
The T-Wolves face the George Elliot Coyotes of Lake Country at 6 p.m. The final of the six-team tourney goes Saturday at 5 p.m.
