Top seed South Kamloops still alive in repeat quest

Deanna Tuchscherer of the G.W. Graham Grizzlies leads the fast break during quarter-final action vs. Vernon at the B.C. AA girls basketball championships at the Langley Events Centre on Thursday.
Photo courtesy of Dan Kinvig

THE defending champion South Kamloops Titans are one victory away from playing for a second consecutive provincial title.

The Titans, the top seed, will face the fifth seeded-St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints in one of the semifinals on Friday, while the No. 2 Langley Christian are up against the No. 3 G.W. Graham Grizzlies at the B.C. Secondary School Girls AA Basketball Championships at Langley Events Centre.

The first game goes at 3:30 p.m. and the other at 5:15 p.m.

For full results from all day two for all 16 teams, click here.

 

No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints 72 No. 4 Britannia Bruins 66

A rematch of the Lower Mainland final went the way of the St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints (North Vancouver) as they edged the Britannia Bruins (Vancouver) 72-66.

The game was tied four different times before the Fighting Saints took the lead for good late in the fourth quarter thanks to a 6-0 run.

Jessica Clarke had a huge game with 22 points and 21 rebounds for St. Thomas Aquinas with Olivia Thorpe (17 points, six rebounds) and Pasley VanderMye (16 point, seven rebounds) also have strong games.

Surprise Munie had 23 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and eight steals for the Bruins while Shemaiah Abatayo chipped in with 13 points and Iftu Taju had a dozen.

 

No. 1 South Kamloops Titans 76 Seycove Seyhawks 59

Last year’s reigning MVP dominated Thursday’s quarter-final matchup, scoring more than half her team’s points as the South Kamloops Titans defeated North Vancouver’s Seycove Seyhawks 76-59.

Maddy Gobeil had 38 points, 13 rebounds and five assists as her team shot better than 51 per cent from the field. Olivia Morgan-Cherchas and Kendra McDonald both dropped 14 points in the victory.

The Seyhawks were led by 19 points form Emma Bradshaw and another 16 from Sofia Bergman.

 

No. 2 Langley Christian 66 No. 10 St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights 49

The Langley Christian Lightning led by double digits throughout much of Thursday’s quarter-final, culminating in a 66-49 win over Burnaby’s St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights.

The Knights were looking for a second consecutive upset victory but were in tough against the tournament’s No. 2 seed as the Lightning used a balanced attack with three players in double figures for the 17-point victory.

Free throw shooting was a big difference as the Lightning hit 18 of their 28 from the stripe compared to the Knights’ 11 for 25.

Hailey Van Roekel led Langley Christian with 19 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists and a blocked shot. Makenna Gardner was second on the team with 15 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals and Ava Krepp had a dozen points and six rebounds.

The Knights were led by 18 points from Gigi Gaspar.

 

No. 3 G.W. Graham Grizzlies 59 No. 6 Vernon Panthers 44

Deanna Tuchscherer of the G.W. Graham Grizzlies surveys the Vernon defence during quarter-final action at the B.C. AA girls basketball championships at the Langley Events Centre on Thursday.
Photo courtesy of Dan Kinvig

The Vernon Panthers cut the deficit to six points in the fourth quarter, but Chilliwack’s G.W. Graham Grizzlies but an Aliza Dueck three-pointer gave the Grizzlies some breathing room and they closed things out with eight of the final 10 points in a 59-44 victory.

Deanna (22points, 19 rebounds) and Julia Tuchscherer (14 points, 16 rebounds) led the Grizzlies attack with a combined 36 points and 35 rebounds.

Kelsey Falk led Vernon with 19 points and 16 rebounds and Sarah Butler added a dozen points.

G.W. Graham Grizzlies fans.
Photo courtesy of Gary Ahuja Langley Events Centre