The Mark Isfeld Ice junior girls basketball team won three of four games at the North Island championships last week to finish third and qualify for the Vancouver Island championships, which they are hosting this week.
The girls came out flying on Thursday and never looked back, opening the tournament with a decisive 59-16 win over Nanaimo District Secondary. Shimen Fayad led the scoring with 14, Michaela Ashlee tallied 10 while Danielle Vanbergen and Jessica Drummond added eight points each.
In the semifinals, in a hard physical game, the Ice battled back from an early deficit but came up four points short, losing to rival Ballenas 41-37. Avery Snider canned 17 while Ashlee dropped in nine points.
Saturday morning Isfeld played physically tough Wellington from Nanaimo in an elimination game. The Ice started slowly but led 13-8 at the quarter and 23-14 at the half. Good team spirit, hard work on defence and timely shots led to 14-point lead in the second half.
But the Wellington girls showed determination and whittled the lead down to six with the Ice holding on to a 36-30 victory, advancing them to the consolation championship game. Snider dropped in 17 points while Vanbergen hit two big treys to kill momentum for the Wildcats.
Defensive prowess was shown by Leah Cicon, Camille Bourget, Yasmine Boillard, Jessica Drummond at the forward positions. An intensely played defensive role was highlighted by guard Melia Irvine and Ashlee as well.
In the consolation final Isfeld faced rival Kwalikum Secondary without guard Ashlee, who was injured, and forward Fayad. The Ice played confidently from the start and jumped to 12-3 early lead.
A second quarter late nap by the Ice allowed Kwalikum to narrow the lead to 28-24. An injury to tough Drummond seemed to inspire the Ice. A change of defensive strategy putting full court pressure allowed the Ice to jump to a 44-28 lead leading to a 52-38 final score. Many contributions were made in this game by the entire team with Leah Cicon leading all scorers with 14 points, Snider with 12 and Irvine with and and MacKenzie Kirk with 8. Strong hustle by Hana, Yasmine, Danielle and Camille were also significant factors in the win.
The Island championships start Thursday, Feb. 23 and run through to Saturday, Feb. 25. The host Ice face Claremount Secondary from Victoria (No. 2 South Island seed) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and invite all basketball enthusiasts to attend and enjoy girls basketball at its best.
– Isfeld Ice basketball
