by Gary Ahuja/Langley Events Centre
A pair of Kelowna teams as well as six Fraser Valley squads remain in the hunt for the AAA senior girls championship title.
Day one of the B.C. Secondary School Girls AAA Basketball Championships on Wednesday at Langley Events Centre is in the books with all eight top seeds advancing, including two Langley squads.
Thursday’s quarter-final round will see No. 4 Yale vs. No. 5 Kelowna (the defending champion) and No. 1 seed Semiahmoo against No. 8 Okanagan Mission. The bottom half of the draw features No. 3 Riverside and No. 6 Brookswood and No. 2 Walnut Grove face No. 7 Robert Bateman. The first game goes at 11:45 a.m.
For full results for all 16 teams, click here.
A quick look at the action from day one:
No. 3 Riverside Rapids 108 No. 14 Royal Bay Ravens 49
A barrage of three-pointers – 21 to be exact – helped the Riverside Rapids (Port Coquitlam) overwhelm the Royal Bay Ravens (Victoria) at the senior girls provincial championships.
Jessica Parker led the barrage with 29 points while Sammy Shields had 25 as Riverside had four players reach double figures.
For Royal Bay, Emilie Daitl scored 13 points to lead the Ravens.
No. 6 Brookswood Bobcats 70 No. 11 R.A. McMath Wildcats 68
The closest game of the day saw the Brookswood Bobcats (Langley) hold off the R.A. McMath Wildcats (Richmond) after the Wildcats missed a chance to force overtime with a pair of failed free throw attempts.
The Bobcats were up 11 at the half but the Wildcats cut the deficit to two points after three quarters and led by six in the fourth before Brookswood rallied to outscore McMath 18-10 down the stretch.
Jenna Dick (24 points) and Jenessa Knapp (20 points) were the one-two offensive punch for Brookswood with Knapp also pulling down a dozen rebounds. Jayna Wilson led McMath with 28 points and eight rebounds.
No. 7 Robert Bateman Timberwolves 87 No. 10 Argyle Pipers 48
Playing their first game ever at the provincial championships, the Robert Bateman Timberwolves (Abbotsford) were wire-to-wire winners over the Argyle Pipers (North Vancouver).
Jayden Gill (19 points, 15 rebounds) and Amira Jensen (16 points) led a balanced T-Wolves attack which saw four players score in double figures. Hope Pearman (13 points) and Camie Ward (12 points) led the Pipers.
No. 2 Walnut Grove Gators 102 No. 15 Lord Byng Grey Ghosts 54
A three-headed attack of Tavia Rowell (27 points, five rebounds, five assists), Jessica Wisotzki (26 points, 13 rebounds) and Sophia Wisotzki (21 points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists) powered the Walnut Grove Gators (Langley) to a 102-54 thrashing of the Lord Byng Grey Ghosts.
Maggie MacKay had 18 points and Juliette Kladko and Sierra Jaggs had 14 apiece for Lord Byng.
No. 5 Kelowna Owls 94 No. 12 Mount Baker Wild 46
The defending champion Kelowna Owls put this one to bed early with a 26-3 first quarter on their way to the convincing 94-46 win over the Mount Baker Wild (Cranbrook).
Jaeli Ibbetson had 28 points, eight rebounds and four steals and Kennedy Dickie had 23 points and 11 boards for the Owls. Kiara Ker led the Wild with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
No. 4 Yale Lions 107 No. 13 Nanaimo District Islanders 44
Thirty-four points and 14 rebounds from Tana Pankratz helped the Yale Lions crush the Nanaimo District Islanders 107-44. Yale shot more than 40 per cent from the field and scored 20+ points in each of the quarters.
Five Yale players reached double digits in the game.
Sessaly Buck’s 14 points led the Islanders.
No. 8 Okanagan Mission Huskies 91 No. 9 Abbotsford Panthers 77
The Okanagan Mission Huskies (Kelowna) hit 13 three-pointers to advance to round two thanks to a 91-77 win over the Abbotsford Panthers.
The Huskies used a balanced attack with Melaina Corrado and Jordan Robb scoring 19 points apiece and Jenna Robison (17 points) and Makenna Jacklin (15 points) also reaching double figures.
Marin Lenz had a monster game for the Panthers with 41 points, six rebounds, eight steals and four assists.
No. 1 Semiahmoo Totems 90 No. 16 North Peace Grizzlies 29
A 25-point, 11-rebound, six-steal and five-assist game from Tara Wallack led the top seeded Semiahmoo Totems past the North Peace Grizzlies (Fort St. John).
Izzy Forsyth (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Faith Dut (17 points, 17 rebounds) also has big games as the Totems dominated from start to finish.
Celine Quigley scored 11 points to lead North Peace.
