Favourites advance at provincial finals
Top- ranked teams all make it through to the quarter- final round at Capilano University
There were few surprises on the first day of the B. C. TripleA Girls Basketball Provincial Championships Wednesday at Capilano University in North Vancouver.
Entering the tournament as the No. 1- ranked team and 2012 Fraser Valley champs, the Riverside Rapids opened up with a 104- 43 win over the Mount Baker Wild of Cranbrook, and have advanced to today’s quarterfinal round.
Led by Michelle Spacek’s game- high 21 point effort, which included going five- fornine from beyond the arc, the Rapids jumped out to a 22- 0 lead early in the first quarter and never slowed down.
“They pressed the tempo and it’s interesting because [ Mount Baker] took us out of our comfort zone, actually,” said Rapids head coach Paul Langford.
“They pressed and pressed, and a lot of teams don’t press us because we’re considered to be a quick, skilful team. They wanted us to play up tempo all game. We very rarely ever score 100 points, but I thought out girls played well.”
The Rapids’ biggest rivals, the Brookswood Bobcats of Langley — the team Riverside defeated in the Fraser Valley finals at the end of February — also got off to a good start in their quest for a B. C. title.
They handed the Prince George Polars an 84- 28 defeat, again, jumping out to a quick lead, all the while trying to maintain their pace of play against a developing program.
“Games like that, it’s sometimes hard to stay focused and I’ll say as coaches that was our focus, to keep the kids focused,” said Bobcats coach Chris Veal.
“I think that can be difficult when you’re dealing with professionals. When you’re talking about a 16- or 17- year- old girl, they can look past it and lose focus. We tried to be on our kids so that we’re always expecting a certain level.”
If the Bobcats are to make it into the provincial semifinals, the task will be to get past a difficult Yale Lions team in the quarters. The two teams met in the semifinal of the Fraser Valley tournament, with Brookswood coming out of what Veal called a “bruising” game 74- 52.
“We came out of that game beat up, bruised, battered,” said Veal of the semifinal win over Yale. “They are a tough team. It’s not an advantage in the game, but an advantage of preparing for the game because we probably know them better.”
Playing in the tournament opener at 8: 30 a. m., the Claremont Spartans of Victoria also moved on to the next round, with a 48- 38 win over the Gleneagle Talons of Coquitlam.
The South Kamloops Titans flexed their muscles over the Terry Fox Ravens for a final score of 68- 25, despite the fact neither team got on the scoreboard until close to two minutes in. Emma Wolfram had a game- high 18 points and 23 rebounds for the Titans, while Katie Devaney had 14 points in a losing cause for Terry Fox.
The eight winning teams from Wednesday’s round of 16 advance to today’s quarter- final round, which begins at 3: 30 p. m. at Capilano.
The Claremont Spartans will meet Vancouver’s York House Tigers, who pulled away in the second quarter en route to a 80- 52 win over the Kelowna Owls.
Laura Baker was a force at both ends of the court for York House. She had 17 points and 16 rebounds, while teammate Alisha Roberts had a game- high 18 points and nine rebounds.