David Thompson's Maddy Wells (left) comes in hard against South Kamloops' Kendra Kaczur during fourth-quarter action Thursday from the opening round of the B.C. senior girls basketball championships at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

FINAL EDITION! 02.27.19 Day 1 edition from the B.C. senior girls Double A basketball championships

LANGLEY — Welcome to the opening day of the B.C. senior girls Double A basketball championships. 

We’re final for the day with game reports and photos from all eight games:

First, however, here is Thursday’s quarterfinal draw

TOP HALF

3 p.m. Britannia vs. St. Thomas Aquinas; 4:45 p.m. South Kamloops vs. Seycove

BOTTOM HALF

6:30 p.m. Langley Christian vs. Duchess Park; 8:15 p.m. — G.W. Graham vs. Vernon

THURSDAY’S COMPLETE GAME REPORTS

DOUBLE A

TOP HALF DRAW

QUADRANT A

No. 1 SOUTH KAMLOOPS 90 No. 16 DAVID THOMPSON 26

Olivia Morgan-Cherchas and Maddy Gobeil are each off to U Sports’ careers next season.

On Wednesday, the pair started their high school farewell tour in impressive fashion as the defending champion and No. 1 seed Titans opened a potential repeat run with a comfortable win over David Thompson.

Morgan-Cherchas, the 6-foot-6 post headed next season to a career with the UBC Thunderbirds, shot 13-of-15 from the field en route to a game-high 26 point performance with six rebounds.

Gobeil, the point guard headed to the Fraser Valley Cascades had 21 points, six rebounds and five assists on 10-of-14 shooting. Kendra Kaczur added 13 points in the win.

David Thompson was led by six points from Maddy Wells and five apiece  from Shana Walsh and Eisley Tan.

The Titans advance to the quarterfinal round Thursday where they will face the winner of today’s game between Seycove and Lambrick Park.

An ACL injury wiped out her Grade 11 season but Seycove’s Emma Bradshaw (left) was a huge factor in her team’s Rd. 1 win over Lambrick Park on Wednesday at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)

No. 8 SEYCOVE 67 No. 9 LAMBRICK PARK 39

LANGLEY — On darker days, Emma Bradshaw might have thought a day like Wednesday wasn’t going to be possible.

Yet there she was, suited up with a heavy knee brace as a reminder that she’s now about 13 months past an ACL injury which wiped out her Grade 11 campaign last season.

It was round one of the B.C. championships, and Bradshaw, the 5-foot-9 senior guard with North Vancouver’s Seycove Seyhawks hadn’t just made it back to provincials with her team, she was excelling, finishing with 15 points and six rebounds en route to earning Player of the Game honours in a 67-39 win over Victoria’s Lambrick Park Pride.

“It’s been really difficult, ACL injuries are never easy,” Bradshaw explained after her team earned a quarterfinal berth Thursday (4:45 p.m.) against the No. 1 seed and defending B.C. champion South Kamloops Titans. “But I have had an awesome team keeping me positive through it and you need that. You can’t do this without a support system of family and friends.”

An inspiration to her teammates, like cousin Chelsea Bradshaw who led the winners with 21 points, and Jill Bowering who had 15 points and 13 rebounds, her comeback mirrors the Seyhawks’ own.

In 2017, Seycove win the B.C. title, yet failed to qualify last season.

“Full credit to the senior leadership who took it to heart that we didn’t get back last year,” said head coach Darcy Grant. “They worked incredibly hard to get here.

“And we really missed Emma last year,” continued Grant. “It’s been a long road for her, but she has worked her butt off. She is still working to get back but to have her out there was a huge lift for our team. She is learning to deal with playing with the injury, learning to be a different player. And her ability to shoot it is what sparked us in the second half.”

Destiny Hanson led Lambrick Park with 12 points.

QUADRANT B

Britannia’s Iftu Taju (left) puts up a runner, helping her team past Courtenay’s G.P. Vanier Towhees. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)

No. 4 BRITANNIA 86 vs. No. 13 G.P. VANIER 60

LANGLEY — The Britannia Bruins are hoping they can go from winning a Lower Mainland championship to winning one of the provincial variety.

Point guard Shemaiah Abatayo (11-of-33, 23 points) and forward Surprise Munie (14-of-24, 31 points) combined to score 54 points as the Bruins topped Courtenay’s G.P. Vanier Towhees, setting up a 3 p.m. clash Thursday against the winner St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Smithers.

Jasleen Bahia added 14 points and Iftu Taju 11.

Emily Calder led G.P. Vanier with 13 points.

St. Thomas Aquinas’ Gemma Cutler (left) bats the ball away from Smithers’ Melissa Alvarado-Smith on Wednesday at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)

No. 5 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 82 vs. No. 12 SMITHERS 23

LANGLEY — The Fighting Saints of North Vancouver were convincing in their opening-round win over the Gryphons.

STA prevented Smithers from reaching double-figures in each of the four quarters.

Eleven Fighting Saints hit the score sheet, including a quartet of double-digit scorers led by Gemma Cutler’s 16 points, and the 11 points and 15 rebounds of Jessica Clarke. Caelan Prescott added 11 points and Jane Darby 10 and four steals.

The Fighting Saints will now face Britannia Thursday (3 p.m.) in a rematch of the Lower Mainland won 59-39 by the Bruins just 11 days ago.

Angela Jennings led Smithers with nine points.

BOTTOM HALF DRAW

QUADRANT C

No. 10 ST. THOMAS MORE 72 NO. 7 DUCHESS PARK 39

Kate Stewart-Barnett (left) and Rhianna Parcon of the STMC Knights make life tough for Emily Schroeder of Duchess Park on Wednesday. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)

LANGLEY — STM’s Knights spent a good portion of the season in the upper reaches of the B.C. poll, yet their late slip may have put them out of mind for many.

On Wednesday, however, they reminded everyone that they’re still in it to win it.

Burnaby’s Knights came charging out of the gates to take a 21-6 lead and led wire-to-wire, beating Prince George’s Condors in decisive fashion.

A plus-24 in paint points, a plus-19 in points off turnovers, and a plus-11 in bench points, it was a night when all trends pointed the Knights’ way. The win now sets the stage for a quarterfinals clash Thursday (6:30 p.m.) against No. 2-seed Langley Christian.

Brooklyn Monks, the 6-foot-1 senior post finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Grade 11 guard Gigi Gaspar had 12 points, nine rebounds and seven steals.

Shiloh Corrales-Nelson scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

The Condors had a balanced attack but didn’t produce a double-digit scorer. Jasmin Schlick had eight points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

Kathryn New of the Langley Christian Lightning is part of a pack from both teams fighting for a loose ball Wednesday at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)

No. 2 LANGLEY CHRISTIAN 95 No. 15 WESTSYDE 35

LANGLEY — Makenna Gardner is ready to take on all comers.

The Grade 11 guard hit eight treys and a scored a game-high 33 points to carry the Lightning to a comfortable win over the Kamloops’ Whundas.

Ava Krepp (13), Taelor Coxford (11) and Lainey Shelvey (10) also hit double figures in points, Shelvey with eight rebounds and eight steals in the victory.

Kenya Reid scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the loss for Westsyde.

QUADRANT D

G.W. Graham’s Deanna Tuchscherer teamed with sister Julia to the tune of 56 points as the Grizz topped Nanaimo District. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)

No. 3 G.W. GRAHAM 92 No. 14 LITTLE FLOWER ACADEMY 56

LANGLEY — Sisters were doing it for the cause, and where the G.W. Graham Grizzlies are concerned, that cause is a fight to get back to the title game one year after settling for silver.

Senior UFV-bound 6-foot forward Deanna Tuchscherer had 26 points and 12 rebounds, but she was out-done by baby sister Julia, the 6-foot-1 Grade 9 who had 30 points and 16 rebounds.

All of those numbers helped Chilliwack’s Grizzlies to a 92-56 win over Vancouver’s Little Flower Academy Angels in the opening round of provincials.

Aliza Dueck added 11 points and nine rebounds for the winners who led 47-22 at halftime.

Kayla Canama led the Angels with 17 points while Maya Landero-Van scored 10 points.

The Grizzlies will face the No. 6-seeded Vernon Panthers in an 8:15 p.m. quarterfinal on Thursday.

Whistler Storm players Nevada Knapton (left) and JJ Deane try to slow Vernon’s Kelsey Watts during Sweet 16 clash Wednesday at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)

No. 6 VERNON 64 No. 11 WHISTLER 54

LANGLEY — The Kelsey Connection has carried the Vernon Panthers into the Elite 8 here at the B.C. championships.

Five-foot-11 senior post Kelsey Falk put up what may be the top statistical line of the day, scoring a game-high 36 points, grabbing a game-high 20 rebounds and adding five steals to help the Okanagan runners-up top the Whistler Storm.

Grade 11 point guard Kelsey Watts added another 15 points as Vernon firmed up a date in Thursday’s 8:15 p.m. quarterfinal against the winner of game between G.W. Graham and Vancouver’s Little Flower Academy.

Vernon held Whistler to just eight points in the second quarter to hold a narrow 28-25 halftime lead.

Ayden Kristmanson scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, while Jenna Tobias scored 18.

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