The Kelowna Christian School Knights returned home with some hardware from the B.C. high school girls’ A basketball championship.
Seeded fifth heading into provincials, the Knights exceeded expectations by capturing the silver medal at the 16-team event played in Abbotsford and Chilliwack.
In Saturday’s final at Columbia Bible College, the Knights fell to the host Unity Christian Flames 60-38.
The highlight of the weekend came for KCS came in the semifinal as the Knights upset No. 1 seeded Credo Christian 60-51.
“We were really happy,” head coach Ryan Linttell said of the Knights’ silver medal win. “We were especially happy with the win over Credo, that was a great effort by the girls.
“We were expecting Credo to get to 70 points, but the girls worked crazy hard and played great defense.”
KCS opened the provincials with an 85-17 win over Agassiz, then defeated Nechako Valley 66-43 to advance to the semis.
The Knights’ Naomi Kent was named the top defensive player of the provincial tournament, while KCS teammates Breanna Grando and Mallory Sader both earned all-star nods.
A former student at Kelowna Christian, Ryan Linttell won three B.C. titles with the Knights senior boys team. In his first year as coach of the girls’ program, he couldn’t have asked for a much better outcome.
“I had an awesome high school basketball experience (at KCS) and it’s nice to be able come back and coach and give something back,” he said. “I’m happy for the girls, they’ve played together for a long time and really deserved this.”
The Heritage Christian Saints went 2-2 and finished in seventh place at provincials, defeating Pemberton 51-47 in their final game.
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