We’ve gone final from Day 3 of the 2025 B.C. girls high school basketball championships with complete reports from today’s two semifinals.
NO. 1 PACIFIC CHRISTIAN 50 NO. 4 UNITY CHRISTIAN 23
By GARY KINGSTON (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – Boss Bakery in Vancouver’s Chinatown makes legendary turnovers, apple ones being the best sellers.
At the Langley Events Centre on Friday, the Unity Christian Flames senior girls basketball team could have given Boss a run for its money – hoops style – in a provincial Single A semifinal.
Sloppy ball handling and the quick hands of No. 1 seeded Pacific Christian, plus the Pacers intuitive ability to get into passing lanes, led to the Flames making turnovers faster than Boss’s best baker can create his tasty treats. A whopping 25 in the first half alone.
As a result, the Pacers, who lost to the Flames in last year’s final, raced to a 20-2 first quarter lead and a 30-12 advantage at halftime before coasting to the finish and a 50-23 victory.
“They play as a unit, that’s the biggest key,” Pacific Christian head coach John Stewart said of the ability to disrupt an opponent’s defence with full court pressure. “To be able to know when to cover, to move forward to the top of the passing lane, to know when to be ready to cover for somebody else when they need some help.
“We love that intensity.”
The Pacers defence and devastating running game is keyed by dynamic Grade 11 guard Kealayna Tupas-Singh, quite likely the fastest player in the province. She won the provincial 100-metre final last spring.
“We definitely wanted to come out like dogs in the beginning,” said Tupas-Singh, who had 10 steals in the first half and 11 for the game. “It was amazing. It set the energy immediately for the rest of the game.”
Well, maybe not for the full 40 minutes.
The Flames never got the deficit to below 14 points the rest of the way. And when Pacific Christian took its foot of the gas in the second half, slowing the pace, abandoning the full court pressure and substituting liberally it led to some uninspiring basketball. Even the crowd of about 100 seemed to show as much energy and enthusiasm as a church crowd.
“We were trying to save legs and be fresh as we can for the final,” said Stewarts. “And for everybody to be able to play in a provincial semifinal is a huge honor.”
The game was a rematch of the 2024 final, with Unity winning that one 83-75. The Pacers also lost the 2023 Double A final.
“We really want the W this time,” said Tupas-Singh
Tupas-Singh led the Pacers with 21 points, showing a natural ability to attack the rim with either hand after slashing to the basket like she was shot out of a rocket.
“She is lightning fast,” said Stewart. “There is no one faster in this game. And that’s not an exaggeration. She has that provincial championship in the 100 metres already.”
Tupas-Singh was ably supported offensively by diminutive Grade 12 guard Anabel Martinez. The 5-foot-3 sharpshooter had three treys in the first quarter, finishing with four in the game and 14 points.
Unity had only five players hit the scoresheet, with Kenna Friesen leading the way with seven points.
Pacific Christian will be the winner of Sir Alexander Mackenzie-Credo Christian in Saturday’s 1 p.m. final in the Langley Events Centre’s Arena Bowl.
NO. 2 SIR ALEXANDER MACKENZIE 62 NO. 3 CREDO CHRISTIAN 59
By GARY KINGSTON (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY – As a provincial basketball championships, the annual high school hoops tournament has a long history of inclusion, providing a lifetime of memories for schools from the farthest reaches of B.C.
It’s particularly noticeable in the Single A tier – for schools with 78 or fewer girls in Grades 11 and 12 – with representatives from such far-flung towns as Smithers, Fernie, Salmo and Fort St. James.
But no school has a smaller profile and student base than Sir Alexander Mackenzie Secondary School from tiny Hagensborg. And, stunningly, the all-native Grizzlies, led by a set of Grade 11 twins, advanced to the senior girls Single A title game Friday with a spine-tingling 62-59 triumph over Credo Christian from Langley.
Never heard of Hagensborg, which was settled by Norwegians from Minnesota and Wisconsin in the late 1890s. You’re probably not alone?
It’s an unincorporated community in the Bella Coola Valley in the west-central part of the province, 60 kilometres from Bella Coola itself (where the vast majority of players and coaches live) and a 12-hour drive over gravel and paved roads to the Langley Events Centre.
And the school has just 85 students total in Grades 8 through 12. The Grade 11 class has just ten students.
But thanks to the bulldog brilliance of Annika Parr (game highs in points 26 and rebounds 13, and the complementary play of her sister Ayanna (17 points), are through to Saturday’s final against the No. 1 seed Pacific Christian of Victoria.
“I’m so happy right now,” said an exhausted Annika Parr, who needed to drain a couple of clutch free throws with eight seconds left to clinch the win.
“It was really intense. We had to fight right to the end, work together. We’ve got a lot of bruises, a lot of injuries. It was tough.”
Will they have anything left for Friday’s final?
“We just have to relax tonight, get a lot of sleep and eat well,” said Annika.
The Grizzlies led 18-5 after one quarter and 34-20 at the half before hanging on at the end after a furious Credo Christian rally, sparked by the tenacious inside play of six-foot-centre Alexa Leyenhorst and some clutch second-half three-pointers from Kenzie Rapp and Hailey Stam. Stam had a chance to tie it at end but her desperation, off-balance heave clanged off the front of the rim.
“We wanted this game so badly,” said Credo Christian head coach Kayla Vanderhorst. “We lost to them in a bit of a heartbreaker last year (in the third place game). So that makes this doubly painful.”
For the Grizzlies it was pure elation as the buzzer sounded as they gathered in a raucous group hug near the sideline. Despite playing just a handful of games each year, mostly in tournaments, against other senior girls teams, the group is battle-tested having won back-to-back U17 titles at the highly competitive B.C. All-Native championships.
“These girls have been together since they were six years old,” said Ryan Parr, the Grizzlies’ head coach and father of dynamic twins. “They’ve been in pressure games all their lives.”
Ryan Parr said the girls were satisfied to get as far as they did last year. This year the mindset was definitely different.
“Last year, we were just happy to make the semifinals. When we made the semis this year, we wanted to take it one step more. We weren’t going to go ‘Whew, we’re happy with that.’ We want the big prize.”
And what would that B.C. title mean to a school, located in a village of just 250 people. (Most of the students and coaches commute from Bella Coola daily).
“It would mean a lot . . . the next generation of girls is watching,” said Ryan Parr. “The girls may not realize it but they are role models in our community and I hope the next generation that comes aspires to be like them.
“It’s such a hurdle just to get here. Our community back home supports us through fundraisers. The grammas, the grandpas, the aunties, the uncles, everybody’s willing to support this team and hold them high. The belief has been there since Day One.”
Annika Parr’s eyes nearly popped out of her head when asked about the opportunity on Saturday to win a title and return to Hagensborg as conquering heroines.
“It would mean the world.”
For a tiny speck of a village that most British Columbians would be hard-pressed to locate on a map.
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