COQUITLAM — We’re here at the nine-team Centennial Top 10 Shoot-Out tourament in Coquitlam.
Stay tuned for updates on this posting throughout the afternoon.
Here’s a look at what we’ve been able to see since setting foot in the gymnasium.
VALLEYVIEW 74 CLAREMONT 70
COQUITLAM — No amount of snow was going to keep the Valleyview Vikings from their appointed rounds at the 2020 Top 10 Shoot-Out this weekend at Centennial Secondary.
“This has been a hard-grind trip, but you know, life is a hard grind sometimes so we like to teach our girls the life skills of how to sleep well, how to eat well, and how to take care of yourself,” relayed veteran Vikes’ head coach Scott Reeves, the former Thompson Rivers boss whose Kamloops-based Triple A No. 8-ranked Vikes braved the weather and a host of blue-chip Quad-A schools (Semiahmoo, Brookswood, Lord Tweedsmuir) here at the Top 10 before closing out play in the 8th-9th game with a 74-70 win over Victoria’s Quad-A honourable mention Claremont Spartans.
“I am proud that it has been a great group effort,” added Reeves, who previously coached Langley’s Brookswood Bobcats to three straight top-tiered senior B.C. championship titles (2004-06). “There hasn’t been one single player that has won it for us. They might have been a little skeptical when the weather cropped up, but they said that we need to be here because we need the games and we’re trying to be at our best.”
Outstanding in the win for Valleyview was its 5-foot-6 starting point guard Indigo Learie, who poured home a game-high 25 points.
“Her skill set is coming along,” said Reeves of the Grade 11 Learie. “She is a solid shooter who understands the game and her IQ is really growing. The challenge of being the size she is, is that when you go up against taller players, the passing angles can close down quickly, but she did very well out there.”
Back-court partner McKenna Reeves was also a standout with 18 points, while Mackenzie Pittinger and Jess Orr each added 11 points.
And while the Vikes have built their edge behind a road warrior mentality all season, they just happen to hail from a Triple A Okanagan zone which this season is loaded with talent.
It starts at the top with Kelowna’s No. 1 Okanagan Mission Huskies, and also includes No. 6 Vernon and No. 9 South Kamloops.
“We’ve got four of the top 10 right now,” said Reeves of a zone which currently has one guaranteed berth but the possibility of more through continued strong play by the zone against other Triple A teams.
“I doubt whether all four of us could go, we’re just too small a zone,” continued Reeves. “But I think it’s warranted because the Okanagan has a lot of strength.”
Reese Manns led the Spartans with 19 points, while Charlotte Westhaver added 17.
No. 1 SEMIAHMOO 96 No. 2 ABBOTSFORD 66
In a battle between two of the top teams in their respective tiers, the defending B.C. champion and Quad-A No. 1 Totems were a force in the paint, powering their way to a 30-point win over the Triple-A Panthers.
Heading into the contest, Abbotsford, a one-point winner Friday evening over Riverside in the first game of the champions pool portion of the tournament, had a chance to wrap up the Top 10 Tournament title with a win.
The Totems, however, were able to get dominant performances from a pair of physical, inside performers.
Grade 11s Izzy Forsyth and Tara Wallack simply muscled their way to high-percentage inside opportunities, many of the second-chance variety, as they helped their team bolt out to a 34-12 first-quarter lead, and a 52-38 halftime advantage.
On the game, Forsyth led the way with a game-high 31 points, while Wallack added a further 25 points.
All of that means that the Totems will play PoCo’s Riverside Rapids for first place in the tourney’s 5:45 p.m. finale.
Tournament officials huddled following the contest and with its revamped tournament rulebook cited that Semiahmoo would be crowned tourney champions with a win over Riverside.
The Rapids, however, would have to beat the Totems by at least 17 points to claim first place. Semiahmoo, Riverside and Abbotsford each won their respective pools, and thus entered into a champions round where each played the other once. Point differentials were capped at 15 points in the event of a three-way tie. Following Semiahmoo’s win over Abbotsford, the Totems were a plus-15, the Panthers a minus-14 and the Rapids a minus-1.
Abbotsford’s dynamic 5-foot-6 senior guard Marin Lenz continued to deliver as both a scorer and facilitator against the Totems, scoring a team-high 29 points despite being the focus of the Semiahmoo defence.
The Panthers’ two Grade 9 stars continued to impress.
Lakresha Edwards scored 19 points, while Malia Lenz added 13 more in the loss.
Semiahmoo got 13 points from Rashaun Bindra, and nine each from Emily Wubs and Deja Lee.
No. 5 TERRY FOX 106 No. 8 BROOKSWOOD 83
Port Coquitlam’s Ravens played lock-down defence over the fourth quarter, holding Langley’s Bobcats without a field goal over the final 10 minutes of play.
Emily Sussex’s game-high 29 points led the winners, while two other Ravens reached the 20-point threshold.
Point guard Cerys Merton hit six triples on her way to 22 points while Lauren Clements added 20 more. Alisha Weloy scored 11 points.
Jamie Retting and Aleena Bassan each scored 15 in the loss for Brookswood.
Terry Fox will face No. 1 AA Langley Christian in the fourth-fifth place game at 4 p.m. Before that Valleyview faces Claremont for 7th-8th at 2:15 p.m.
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