G.W. Graham's Sydney Owens and the rest of her Chilliwack-based Grizzlies are the Fraser Valley's highest ranked AA girls senior varsity team, checking in at No 4 provincially this week. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
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01.24.18: Gators, Titans strengthen grips on No. 1 , Kodiaks and OKM Huskies make elite climbs in B.C. girls Big 10 rankings

LANGLEY — So ably led by its trio of Tavia Rowell, Jess Wisotzki and Natalie Rathler, the Walnut Grove Gators stormed to first place at last weekend’s Top 10 Shoot-Out at Centennial Secondary, a performance which solidifies its hold on the No. 1 spot in this week’s Triple A poll.

Tavia Rowell of the No. 1-ranked Walnut Grove Gators (centre) tries to come to grips with a loose ball while being book-ended by Kelowna Owls' Kennedy Dickie (left) and Taya Hanson during championship final at Centennial's Top 10 Shoot-Out invitational Saturday evening in Coquitlam. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
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TOP 10 SHOOT-OUT ’18: Rowell’s excellence, Rathler’s rugged spirit carry No. 1-ranked, 24-0 Walnut Grove Gators past No. 2 Kelowna Owls

COQUITLAM — There was a moment late in the third quarter of Saturday’s Top 10 Shoot-Out championship final, when Walnut Gators’ senior forward Natalie Rathler seemed to be checking to make sure she still had all of her teeth.

Duchess Park Condors' Rebecca Landry (left) gives chase to Centennial Centaurs' Grace Killins during early Saturday morning action from Centennial's own Top 10 Shoot-Out in Coquitlam. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
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Top 10 Shoot Out Saturday at Centennial: Varsity Letters’ live reports from the heart of Coquitlam

COQUITLAM — Welcome to the final day of the 2018 Centennial Top 10 Shoot-Out! Today we find one of the most enduring invitational sites in B.C. girls high school history in a state of flux. With construction continuing towards the ‘new’ Centennial Secondary, we’re down to one gym!

Simon Fraser women's basketball brings three explosive guards to the fore as part of its 2018 recruiting class in (left to right) Sienna Lenz, Emma Kramer and Georgia Swant. (Varsity Letters photos by Howard Tsumura)
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The power of three! How SFU’s 2018 recruits Lenz, Swant & Kramer will flip the script and re-fortify depth of Clan women’s hoops

BURNABY — College basketball is filled with unexpected contingencies, the likes of which can, in the course of one offseason, drastically change the fabric of a program. Take the Simon Fraser Clan women’s basketball team as a prime example of that.

Tanis Metcalfe is averaging 26 ppg as she leads her Carson Graham Eagles into this week's Top 10 Shoot-Out tournament at Coquitlam's Centennial Secondary beginning Thursday. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
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Tanis Metcalfe: Carson Graham’s UBC-bound hoops star brings new-and-old school talents to Centennial Top 10 Shoot-Out tourney

NORTH VANCOUVER — It’s one thing for a high school basketball talent to surface in her senior season with a skill set on the court so varied she is able to affect the game at virtual any part of its dimensions. Yet it’s something entirely different when that surfacing reveals what is commonly referred to as […]

Argyle Secondary's Georgia Swant is one of B.C.'s most dynamic players. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
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Georgia’s on their minds, yet foes still can’t slow the swath of Argyle’s SFU-bound Swant

LANGLEY — Argyle Pipers’ head coach Anthony Beyrouti offered up Willis Read and his dramatic entrance, limping onto the court to join the New York Knicks before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals. Sure, it wasn’t quite the same story line which brought his senior star Georgia Swant onto the court this past Saturday afternoon […]

Veteran Britannia Bruins' head coach Mike Evans addresses his team, including senior guard Devon Herrin, during a time-out on Day 1 of the 2017 TBI last Thursday at the LEC. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
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12.20.17: Abby, Semiahmoo make huge strides in girls AAA hoops poll, South Kam, Brit hold ground at AA

LANGLEY — The final B.C. girls high school basketball rankings of the 2017 calendar year reflect the impact of last week’s TBI at the Langley Events Centre.

Walnut Grove's Jessica Wisotzki (9) is congratulated by teammate Tavia Rowell on Saturday as the LEC hosted the championship finale of the 2017 Tsumura Basketball Invitational. (Wilson Wong photo/UBC athletics)
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TBI 2017: Nobody beats the Wiz! New star born in Gator Country, as Jess Wisotzki scores 41 in Walnut Grove’s title finale win over Abby

LANGLEY — In the Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy wanted to get back to her most familiar and comfortable place, she put on her ruby red slippers and uttered the famous line “Click your heels together three times and say ‘There’s no place like home’ and you’ll be there.”

Riverside Rapids' Grade 11 guard Tessa Burton hits the deck while trying to play keep-away from Abbotsford Panther guards Sienna Lenz and Sydney Fetterly (obscured) during TBI semifinals Saturday morning in Langley. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
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TBI 2017: It’s No. 1 Walnut Grove vs. No. 5 Abbotsford in a battle for early-season B.C. girls hoops supremacy

LANGLEY — They don’t have a ton of history as far as each other is concerned, but the No. 1 Walnut Grove Gators of Langley and the No. 5 Abbotsford Panthers just might write the first chapter on Saturday night (8 p.m.).