Riverside's Sammy Shields (right) tries to bring the ball back into safety against St. Thomas Aquinas' Caelan Prescott during Friday's TBI quarterfinal played at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

TBI 2018: PoCo’s Final Four-bound Riverside Rapids play “…like the Kansas City Chiefs” of B.C. girls high school hoops

LANGLEY — Head coaches of high school girls basketball teams don’t often throw out NFL teams when they’re looking for comparables.

Kelowna senior Jaeli Ibbetson hits the pine to maintain hold of a loose ball and gets into a battle with Abbotsford's Grade 11 star Marin Lenz on Friday at the TBI quarters, staged at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

TBI 2018: En route to Final Four, Ibbetson and Kelowna’s parliament of Owls show a wisdom worthy of defending B.C. AAA champs

LANGLEY — Kennedy Dickie had Canada Basketball duty this weekend, and thus had to pass on the 2018 Tsumura Basketball Invitational.

Brookswood senior guard Jenna Dick (left) wins hard-fought loose ball scramble with McMath's Jayna Wilson during TBI quarters on Friday at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

TBI 2018: Brookswood guard Jenna Dick speaks to virtues of single-minded purpose as her ‘Cats use fourth-quarter jets, fly to Final 4

LANGLEY — Single-minded purpose. Back in about 10th grade, when Jenna Dick made a huge senior varsity splash with the Brookswood Bobcats, she might not have been capable of encapsulating her thoughts on what needs to happen for a team to raise the level of their collective mercury in order to win a basketball game.

Few anywhere play the game with the same outward joy of Walnut Grove senior Tavia Rowell (centre), pictured as she explodes to the hoop off the dribble against Langley Christian's Makenna Gardner (left) and Hailey Van Roekel. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved) (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

TBI 2018: Now Final Four-bound, Walnut Grove senior star Tavia Rowell says her Gators play every game “…like it’s our last game”

LANGLEY — Point out a box on her team’s list still to receive a check mark and Walnut Grove’s star senior guard Tavia Rowell takes no offence.Instead, following an 86-59 win over the Langley Christian Lightning on Friday in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Tsumura Basketball Invitational, Rowell noted that the process her team is […]

Breona Martin of Heritage Woods drives against Valleyview's Kenzie Petting (right) during consolation round action Thursday at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

Tsumura Basketball Invitational 2018: Day 2 live reports from the LEC

NOTE TO READERS — All of today’s consolation-round games are covered below.For reports from quarterfinals today click on the following links for individual postings:WALNUT GROVE 86 LANGLEY CHRISTIAN 59BROOKSWOOD 79 R.A. MCAMTH 58KELOWNA 73 ABBOTSFORD 50RIVERSIDE 77 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 44–Howard

R.A. McMath's Liz Kennedy prepares to shoot under the watch of South Kam's Kendra McDonald during TBI opening-round action Thursday at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
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FINAL EDITION: Tsumura Basketball 2018 Day 1: Complete Sweet 16 game reports, plus Friday’s full 8-game schedule

LANGLEY — Welcome to Day 1 from the 2018 TBI! We’ve got reports from all eight games played today. And at the bottom of this posting, we’ve got Friday’s full schedule of consolation and championship round games:

The jersey number of Byrne Creek's Bithow Wan says it all. He and his Bulldogs are the new No. 1-ranked team in B.C. senior boys AAA basketball. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

12.12.18 December madness edition: Tweedy, South share Quad A’s No. 1 ranking, plus all four polls have new No. 1 teams

LANGLEY — It’s been a crazy atop the four B.C. senior boys provincial polls. In what may well be a first since the BCHSBBA went to four tiers of competition, there is a new No. 1 atop each of the rankings.

Thirteen of the 16 teams taking part in this week's TBI at the Langley Events Centre, are either ranked or honourable mention in the latest AAA and AA B.C. polls. (TFSE graphic)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

12.12.18 edition: Semiahmoo Totems carve out a new spot atop B.C. girls AAA rankings, South Kam holds AA No. 1

TFSELANGLEY — The Semiahmoo Totems, by virtue of its championship finals win over the defending B.C. AAA champion Kelowna Owls at the UFV Cascades Classic on Saturday, are the new No. 1 at B.C.’s largest tier.

Walnut Grove's Tavia Rowell leads the Gators' into the TBI 2018's 16-team field beginning Thursday at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

Tsumura Basketball 2018 girls: With a hungry senior trio bolstered by its next wave of youthful stars, Walnut Grove Gators look to defend TBI crown

LANGLEY — High school basketball careers have always concluded, in some measure, with their own kinds of final chapters. A game which remains in constant renewal is never shy for that next engrossing plot line.

Lord Tweedsmuir's Alex Le hit eight treys and scored a game-high 33-points in a win at home over the Terry Fox Ravens on Tuesday in Surrey. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2018. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

So who is B.C.’s No. 1-ranked Quad-A team? Tweedy rebounds from loss to Gators with huge win Tuesday over Terry Fox

SURREY — Who is the No. 1 team going to be this week in B.C. senior boys Quad A basketball?“Ah, good luck with that!” Lord Tweedsmuir head coach Drew Gallacher said after a rollercoaster five-day ride for his team ended with an impressive 104-97 victory Tuesday over the visiting Terry Fox Ravens as part of […]