St. John Brebeuf's Ashley Smith (left) tries to gain an edge on Alyssa Klotz of Duncan's Cowichan Thunderbirds during BC junior girls opening-round play on Wednesday at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters.ca)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

02.28.2018: Results from the First Round of the B.C. Junior Girls Basketball Championship Qualification Games Are In

By Aly Laube

(Special to VarsityLetters.ca)

Here’s our look at the first eight games of the day Wednesday at the 2018 B.C. junior girls basketball championships at the Langley Events Centre.

All winners advanced to Sweet 16 action Wednesday night. Results will follow later this evening.

NORTH SURREY 63 CHARLES HAYS 39

With 63 points, the North Surrey Spartans defeated Prince Ruperts’ Charles Hays Rainmakers.

The Spartans had a particularly productive second quarter, almost doubling their offensive output from what they did in the first and third with 25 points.

Sara Uppal led the winner with 22 points while Sahara Mand added 12. Other Spartans players Amie Shokar, Nisha Deol, and Esha Deol all scored between five and eight points.

Despite the loss, the Rainmakers’ top players pulled through with a fruitful third quarter after scoring only six points in the second. 

The top scorer for the Rainmakers was Kristy Innes with 17 points followed by Payton Henry with seven and both Mia Grant and Lauren Clifton with four.

The Charles Hays Rainmakers will be playing in the rivalry bracket Thursday.

LORD TWEEDSMUIR 47 ARGYLE PIPERS 46 (OT)

The Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers edged the Argyle Pipers in overtime Wednesday morning.

Ultimately, the team’s top scorers carried Tweedsmuir to victory despite a hard fight by the Pipers.

Anna Bodnar and Brooklyn Deol scored eight points for the Panthers, both in support of Samantha Ogbeiwi who scored a team-high 17.

For the Pipers, Holly Brewer scored 20 points with two of those scored in overtime. Alysha Mah and Hope Pearman scored five points each.

The Pipers will compete in the rivalry bracket at 10 a.m. Thursday, while Lord Tweedsmuir was set to move on to compete against the No. 3 seeded Yale Lions at 5 p.m.

PACIFIC CHRISTIAN 58 PRINCE GEORGE 44

It was a high-scoring, intense game for both the Prince George Polars and their Victoria rivals, the Pacific Christian Pacers.

For the Polars, Julia Kreitz scored 11 points, Nina Gajic and Gurveet Thandhi scored six points each and Paige Unger scored 11 points.

For the Pacers, the top scorers were Ella Parker with 15 points, Adaiah Tupas-Singh with 16 points, and Kailey Demetrius with 10 points.

At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Polars were set to compete against the No. 7 seed Penticton Lakers. The Pacers will play at 10 a.m. Thursday in the rivalry bracket. 

MOUNT BAKER 64 OKANAGAN MISSION 32

Cranbrook’s Mt. Baker Wild were convincing winners against Kelowna’s Okanagan Mission Huskies.

For Mount Baker, Ashley Giersbrecht scored 13 points, Kali Ewaskow scored 15 and Summer Blackmore scored eight, while Kiara Ker scored 20 points.

OKM’s Jordyn Elliot drained five triples while teammate Devon Felt added six points.

WINDSOR 32 VALLEYVIEW 30

While it was a relatively low-scoring contest, the game’s conclusion was tense and ultimately rewarding for the North Vancouver Dukes.

Kate Bourdon and Jolene Verdicchio scored seven points each for Windsor and Kayleen Flewelling scored 10.

For Kamloops’ Valleyview, Jaydyn Overwater led the way with 19 points, while McKenna Reeves added five.

The Windsor Dukes were set to play an evening contest against No. 6 seed Burnaby South. Valleyview Vikes joins the rivalry bracket in a 10 a.m. tip-off Thursday.

FRASER HEIGHTS 39 CLAREMONT 33

Teah Best scored a game-high 18 points and CJ Dacany added a dozen more, carrying Surrey’s Fraser Heights Firehawks to a six point win over Victoria’s Claremont Spartans.

Both teams scored 13 points in the second quarter, and although the Firehawks had a low-scoring first quarter, they doubled the Spartans’ points in both the third and fourth.

For the Spartans, Olina Ross scored 13 points and Reese Manns scored 14.

Now in the rivalry bracket, Claremont Spartans will be playing Thursday at 10 a.m. Fraser Heights was set to face No. 2 seed Brookswood in a Wednesday evening battle.

KELOWNA 57 NECHAKO VALLEY 25 

The Kelowna Owls reigned triumphant by over 30 points in their game against Vanderhoof’s Nechako Valley Viqueens, moving into a Wednesday night fight with Prince George’s Duchess Park Condors.

Katrina Fink was the highest-scoring Owls player of the game with 22 points followed by Japleen Chahal with 18 points.

ST. JOHN BREBEUF 49 COWICHAN 35

A hard-earned with over Duncan’s Thunderbirds ticketed Abbotsford’s St. John Brebeuf Bears for a second-round clash Wednesday against the hometown Walnut Grove Gators, the draw’s No. 1 seed.

The Bears were led by Marijke Duralia who scored 17 , Olivia Buckle who scored 14 and Ashley Smith who scored eight. The Thunderbirds were led by Mackenzie Hall with 12, Tayah Poole with seven and Alyssa Klotz with six.

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