Gliding to the irons, St. Thomas Aquinas' rising senior standout Rory Goodwin was a key force in his North Vancouver team's battle with Prince Rupert's Charles Hays Rainmakers during the quarterfinals of the B.C. senior boys Double-A basketball championships earlier this month at the LEC. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

B.C. 2-A 2020-21 preseason rankings: It’s crowded at the top, but battle-tested St. Thomas Aquinas’ rising trio makes Fighting Saints our pick at No. 1

LANGLEY — A funny thing happened along the way to an inspiring season-ending string of 10 games for North Vancouver’s youthful St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints. They got better and better, even though they got a whole lot younger.

STA's Gemma Cutler (left) is opposed by Britannia's Tiana Sacco during B.C. 2A Final Four clash Friday at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

BC 2A Final Four: With equal parts hearts, and help-side defence, Britannia’s Bruins hold off STA for first finals appearance since 2012

LANGLEY — No deficit seems too dire if you’re East Vancouver’s Britannia Bruins.The No. 2 seeds here at the B.C. senior girls Double A basketball championships may have been secretly sweating the details of the 14-point deficit they were facing just seconds into the second half against the No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints […]

Notre Dame's Adamo Scacchia (right) leaps in celebration as he is congratulated by his teammates following a late second-half goal which salted away a 2-0 win over St. Thomas Aquinas in Wednesday's B.C. senior boys Double-A soccer final at Burnaby Lake. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Soccer

Joy in Jugglersville! Notre Dame strikes early, tops STA’s Fighting Saints to capture first B.C. senior boys AA soccer title in 12 years

BURNABY — One full cycle, in grade school years, can be long enough to take your breath away, and thus 12 full seasons after he last pulled the trick, Dennis Pavan’s response to victory tinged with emotion.“It’s so fantastic,” the head coach of East Vancouver’s Notre Dame Jugglers senior boys soccer team explained Wednesday afternoon […]

St. Thomas Aquinas strikers Lucas Borejszo and Henry Cromack have provided consistent goal scoring for a Fighting Saints team which Wednesday, plays for its first provincial title since 2013. On Tuesday. Cromack bagged the semifinal winner in a 1-0 victory over defending B.C. champion Langley Fundamental Titans. (Photo by Michael Ferguson property of St. Thomas Aquinas athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Soccer

B.C. boys AA soccer Final Four: St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints, Notre Dame Jugglers punch tickets to Friday’s golden finale

BURNABY — The old saying says that you never underestimate the heart of a champion.North Vancouver’s St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints seemed to be holding that sentiment close to their hearts as they took to the turf at Burnaby Lake on Tuesday afternoon in the semifinals of the B.C. senior boys Double A soccer championships.A […]

St. Thomas Aquinas' 6-foot-3 Grade 11 forward Jessica Clarke showed the rest of the country what her potential is all about as the youngest of four B.C. players at the inaugural BioSteel girls national all-star game played at the University of Toronto. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Riverside's Alanya Davignon and the rest of PoCo's Rapids hold on to No. 3 in the latest B.C. AAA basketball rankings. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

02.06.19 B.C. girls hoop rankings: Brookswood back in Triple A top four, Semiahmoo & STA remain LEC faves

LANGLEY — The top three teams at each of B.C.’s three senior varsity girls basketball tiers held court this past week. Here’s a look at all three:

Semiahmoo's Grade 12 forward Faith Dut (centre) helped her Totems past Walnut Grove in the Gators Classic final, then later joined teammate Deja Lee on the all-star team. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

01.09.18 B.C. girls hoop ranks: No. 1 Semi tops No. 2 Walnut Grove in Gators tourney final; Aquinas is AA’s new No. 1

LANGLEY — It was a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown at the highest tier of B.C. senior girls basketball this past weekend, and in the end, the rankings held true.

Riverside's Sammy Shields (right) tries to bring the ball back into safety against St. Thomas Aquinas' Caelan Prescott during Friday's TBI quarterfinal played at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

TBI 2018: PoCo’s Final Four-bound Riverside Rapids play “…like the Kansas City Chiefs” of B.C. girls high school hoops

LANGLEY — Head coaches of high school girls basketball teams don’t often throw out NFL teams when they’re looking for comparables.

Kelowna's Taya Hanson (left) has graduated but the Owls will still have a tremendous rivalry this season with Tavia Rowell and the rest of the Walnut Grove Gators. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

Senior girls preseason basketball rankings: Defending champion Kelowna Owls, South Kam Titans retain top spots heading into 2018-19

Pollsters were given the option of revamping preseason B.C. senior girls high school basketball rankings from those published following the 2017-18 chapionships last March. Here are the latest preseason Triple-A and Double-A rankings courtesy of the B.C. Secondary Schools Girls Basketball Association.

The 2018-19 Kelowna Owls, including Jaeli Ibbetson (left) and Kennedy Dickie will help headline the 2018 Tsumura Basketball Invitational this December at the LEC. It will be the Owls' first trip back since they won it all last March. (Photo by Garrett James property of Langley Events Centre)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

Tsumura Basketball Invitational: Our 2018 girls tournament brings the best of B.C.’s present and future talent to the LEC

LANGLEY — Gold, silver, bronze and the future beyond? That’s the theme moving forward as the countdown begins for the senior girls 2018 Tsumura Basketball Invitational, set to tip-off a three-day engagement Dec. 13-15 at the Langley Events Centre.