LANGLEY TOWNSHIP — Welcome to Day 1 of the 2026 B.C. senior girls Single-A basketball championship, coming to you from the Langley Events Centre.
Please check back here reguarly as our team of writers provide first-hand game coverage from the eight sudden-elimination games being contested at this tier.
Thanks for your loyalty!
Howard Tsumura
SINGLE A (AT R.E. MOUNTAIN)
NO. 14 BULKLEY VALLEY 69 NO. 3 DUNCAN CHRISTIAN 40
By Gary Ahuja (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – No pressure.
That was the message from coach James Horner to his 14th seeded Bulkley Valley Christian Royals ahead of their opening round game at the 2026 B.C. Senior Girls Single-A Championships.
The Royals scored the upset win, taking down the third-seed Duncan Christian Chargers 69-40.
The Royals were the Northwest runner up and faced a wild-card game just to qualify.
“We knew we were under-seeded. Last year we finished 8th in the tournament, and we improved and brought back a lot of our players,” said Royals coach James Horner. “We just had an up and down year with some girls playing volleyball and haven’t had the normal trajectory and results that you can have.”
The lower ranking actually helped the team, he offered.
“We were supposed to lose, it’s ok: we don’t have to worry about the results, we just have to worry about playing our game. If shots fall, they fall. The girls bought into that,” Horner said.
Bulkley Valley led 21-12 but only scored five points in the second quarter, leading by a basket at the half. The second half was a different story, however, with the Royals outscoring the Chargers 43-16 over the final 20 minutes.
“We just controlled the ball well, passed around their zone and found the open person, whether that was a shot or down from the post. We were scoring multiple ways in our half-court set and that is what the difference was,” Horner said.
With no Grade 12s on the roster – and just four Grade 11s – the coach said the experience the young team gained at last year’s tournament was invaluable in dealing with nerves.
“They got to see the gym, see the banquet, the whole energy. We don’t play (in environments) like this up north, the big gyms and all the announcers and stuff like that,” he said.
No. 2 CEDARS CHRISTIAN 88 VS. No. 15 ST. MARGARET’S SCHOOL 34
By Gary Ahuja (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – It was unfamiliar territory for Prince George’s Cedars Christian Eagles.
The North Central champions and No. 2 seed tipped off the 2026 B.C. Senior Girls Single-A Championships bright and early, taking the court at R.E. Mountain Secondary for an 8:30 a.m. start.
The Eagles had not played that early all season, and for a roster featuring just one true senior and one Grade 11, the provincial stage was new territory.
“It was good to get that first one out of the way. A lot of our girls are first-time here. Shake off the nerves and hopefully now get into a rhythm,” said coach Jordan Johnson following his team’s dominant 88-34 win over the St. Margaret’s School Cardinals. “It’s also nice not to be waiting around and to get that first game out of the way.”
The No. 15-seeded Cardinals from Victoria struck first with the game’s opening two baskets and trailed just 16-12 after the first eight minutes. But the Eagles tightened up defensively in the second quarter, allowing just one field goal and four points to seize full control.
Cadence Hooft, a 5-foot-10 Grade 10 forward, earned Player of the Game honours with a commanding 28-point performance.
“She’s a workhorse for us. She does the hard stuff, the gritty things, the rebounding. She’s very physical inside for us,” Johnson said.
Senior Chloe McEwan added 23 points for the Eagles.
St. Margaret’s was led by Abby Nicholson with 16 points, while Ciara McKenzie chipped in 13.
NO. 10 IMMACULATA 81 NO. 7 SOUTHPOINTE ACADEMY 52
By Gary Ahuja (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – A strong finish to the season carried over into the provincial championships for Kelowna’s Immaculata Mustangs.
The Thompson-Okanagan continued their late-season surge. After a slow start to the campaign, the Mustangs entered the 2026 B.C. Senior Girls Single-A Championships riding an eight-game winning streak and carried that momentum into a dominant second half performance against Delta’s Southpointe Academy, winning 81-52
The game was tightly contested early, with Immaculata holding a slim two-point edge at halftime. But the Mustangs blew it open to start the third quarter, unleashing a decisive 22-0 run that put the game out of reach.
Grade 11 point guard Lotte Kruger led the way with 22 points, while Grade 10 guard Sloane Fuglestveit added 19. Natalia Postolka paced Southpointe Academy with 18 points.
NO. 6 DASMESH 56 NO. 11 KING DAVID 36
By Gary Ahuja (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – Two years ago, Taneesh Sran was competing in this tournament. On Wednesday, she was pacing the sidelines — guiding the upstart Dasmesh Falcons to a milestone moment in program history.
Making their debut at the B.C. Girls Single-A Basketball Championships at R.E. Mountain Secondary, the Abbotsford squad delivered a statement performance, defeating Vancouver’s King David Lions 56-36.
The Falcons needed a quarter to settle in, holding a narrow 10-8 lead after the opening frame. They stretched the margin to 29-19 by halftime before taking full control in the third quarter, where they clamped down defensively and limited the Lions to just two field goals.
Dasmesh was powered by a trio of Mahals. Grade 10 guard Gurjaan Mahal poured in 27 points, while her older sister, Grade 11 forward Gurnoor Mahal, added 10. Their cousin, Grade 10 guard Japreet Mahal, chipped in nine more.
Family ties run deep within the program. Sran is joined on the bench by her twin sister, Janeesh, who recently wrapped up her collegiate season with the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack. The sisters took over the Falcons last season when the program was competing at the junior level.
With no Grade 12’s on the roster and many players relatively new to the sport in 2024-25, early growing pains were expected. But the experience only fueled their hunger. Limited gym availability meant practices often came early in the morning or late at night — whenever they could secure court time
“They were just so eager. Throughout the summer, all of them put in work,” Taneesh said. “Our work ethic got us here. They are all hard workers and dogs on defence.
“Our goal was to place at provincials, and that’s still our team goal.”
Davey Kallner led the Lions with 14 points in the loss.
NO. 12 EBENEZER 50 NO. 5 NANAIMO CHRISTIAN 44
By Gary Ahuja (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – Welcome to the show, Ebenezer Timbers.
Making their first appearance at the B.C. Girls Single-A Basketball Championships at R.E. Mountain Secondary, the Northwest champions from Smithers announced their arrival in dramatic fashion, advancing on the winner’s side of the bracket in the tightest game of the day in the tier.
After controlling much of the contest, the Timbers suddenly found themselves trailing 44-42 late in the third quarter. But despite their inexperience on the provincial stage, they showed poise down the stretch, closing the game on an 8-0 run to secure a 50-44 victory over the Nanaimo Christian Trail Blazers.
Ebenezer entered the tournament as the No. 12 seed, while Nanaimo Christian — the Vancouver Island No. 2 representative — was seeded fourth.
Mirriam Penninga and Megan Bisschop delivered in the final frame, each scoring six points in the fourth quarter. Penninga finished with 17 points, while Bisschop added 11.
Gabby Kingsley led the Trail Blazers with 18 points, and Coby Campbell chipped in 13 in the loss.
NO. 4 NECHAKO VALLEY 42 NO. 13 ABERDEEN HALL 31
By Gary Ahuja (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – A defensive masterclass propelled the Nechako Valley Viqueens to victory, as they limited their opponent to just 19 points over the final three quarters.
Trailing 12-6 after the opening period, the Viqueens flipped the script with relentless pressure and disciplined half-court defence, earning a 42-31 win over Kelowna’s Aberdeen Hall Gryphons in their B.C. Girls Single-A Basketball Championships opener at R.E. Mountain Secondary.
While the defence set the tone, Mya Hutt (15 points), Ariana Scott-Unger (12) and Abby Dykstra (11) powered the offence, combining for 38 of the team’s 42 points.
Lily Allen led the Gryphons with 17 points in the loss.
NO. 8 ST. JOHN’S 68 NO. 9 JOHN KNOX CHRISTIAN 63
By Gary Ahuja (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – Vancouver’s St. John’s School Eagles are off to the quarterfinals after edging New Westminster’s John Knox Christian Hawks in an all–Lower Mainland showdown.
The No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup on opening day of the B.C. Girls Single-A Basketball Championships at R.E. Mountain Secondary lived up to its billing, with the Eagles pulling out a 68-63 victory.
The teams were deadlocked at 43 midway through the third quarter before St. John’s regained the lead and carried that edge into the final 10 minutes, closing it out down the stretch.
Kareena Sandhu paced the Eagles with 22 points, while Liv Sveinson and Eleni Irinakis added 13 each. Hannah Young poured in a game-high 25 points for the Hawks in the loss.
NO. 1 ACWSALCTA 82 NO. 16 GRAND FORKS 46
By Gary Ahuja (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – Led by a dominant trio in Kashlyn Mack and twin sisters Ayanna and Annika Parr, Bella Coola’s Acwsalcta Thunder opened the tournament in emphatic fashion with an 82-46 victory over the Grand Forks Wolves.
Annika Parr poured in 30 points, Mack added 24, and Ayanna Parr chipped in 14 as the top seed in the B.C. Girls Single-A Basketball Championships capped the day’s final game at R.E. Mountain Secondary with a statement win.
Grade 10 guard Samara Profili paced Grand Forks with 22 points in the loss.
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