LANGLEY — Welcome girls basketball fans!
Day 1 of the TBI Select 16 draw is upon us.
Please keep checking back throughout the day as we do our best to update this post with live games reports.
We will try to get photos from as many games as we can, but there are no guarantees.
Thanks for following along, and if you can’t make it to the Langley Events Centre, every game, all tournament long, is available on our free livestream at TFSETV.ca
Enjoy the games
NOTRE DAME 40 MAPLE RIDGE 37
(BY GARY AHUJA, Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — ‘Tis the season for celebration as many schools hold band and choir concerts for the holiday season. And the Notre Dame Jugglers are no different, with many of their basketball players partaking in both the concert festivities as well as their roles on the court.
On Wednesday morning, the team drew the early game, taking the court at Langley Events Centre at 8:30am for their opening round match against the Maple Ridge Ramblers to kick off the Select 16 Bracket at the 2024 TBI Girls Tournament.
For the first 30 minutes, the Jugglers were in full control, holding the Ramblers to single digits in each of the first three quarters as they held a 31-19 lead entering the fourth. But whether it was fatigue or something else, Maple Ridge would go on a run, getting the deficit down to three points and having possession in the final 15 seconds before turning the ball over before they could attempt a game-tying 3-pointer.
Notre Dame coach Tracy Clarke was happy with the victory but readily admitted there were areas her team needs to improve.
“The team is very young so the message will be you can’t take it for granted. They probably let down a little bit in the last quarter and decided mentally they were tired. They made that decision and didn’t work through the fatigue and thought they had it in the bag. The other team was smart and showed us we didn’t have it in the bag,” the coach added.
Notre Dame’s Emily Chan and Peyton Cagampan each had 10. Cagampan was selected as Player of the Game. Claire Catherwood had eight of her game-high 14 points for Maple Ridge in the final 10 minutes Kayleigh Mark chipped in six in the period to finish with 10.
SOUTH DELTA 84 CENTENNIAL 58
(BY GARY AHUJA, Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — In terms of opening-round games, coach Roger Millette could not have asked for much more.
Not only did his South Delta Sun Devils win convincingly, but each player was able to get significant minutes, allowing them to get some crucial early-season game action. While other teams may have the luxury of having their full complement of players practicing together for months, the Sun Devils roster features its fair share of soccer and volleyball players.
“We had time to work on our sets and get our habits down and work on how we want to play,” Millette said following a dominant 84-58 win over the Centennial Centaurs. “Getting that rhythm down for how we want to play is so huge.”
South Delta jumped ahead to an early 16-4 lead and maintained that double-digit stretch the rest of the way, scoring 31 first-quarter points and leading 53-27 at the half.
The Sun Devils height advantage – they have seven players who are 5’10 or taller compared to one for Centennial – was on full display.
“That is one of the things we have been working on. Going away a little bit from how the game is played these days to a little bit more old school with basic post-ups and those sorts of things. It is very advantageous. And of course, our length is really helpful on the defensive side of the ball,” Millette said.
The trio of Zoe Millette (22 points), Kyra Millette (20) and Jade de Fondaumiere (18) combined for 60 points as nine different South Delta players scored at least one bucket. The Centaurs’ Terricka Belanger led all scorers with 23 points while Amalie Griffiths chipped in 17.
SOUTH KAMLOOPS 55 UNITY CHRISTIAN 34
(BY GARY AHUJA, Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — A smothering defensive effort had coach Matt Robinson smiling post-game.
Robinson’s South Kamloops Titans twice held their opponent to five points in a single quarter in a convincing 55-34 win over the Unity Christian Flames.
“Our defence came out intense and kept it up. And we played a good team defence; everyone was helping, and everyone was in the right positions,” he said. “One hundred percent that is what we pride ourselves on: defensive intensity.”
With the team locking down the floor at one end, the Titans received contributions up and down their line-up at the other with eight players scoring.
“We played somewhat of a complete game today. Everyone got in, everyone got involved someway on the scoresheet. We finally came through and came close to playing a full game. It was awesome to see,” Robinson said.
They were led by guard/forward Feron Wallace who finished with 25 points, all of which came in the first three quarters. Callie Veller added 13 points.
Wallace was selected Player of the Game.
“She is our workhorse. It is unbelievable what she does for us,” Robinson said of Wallace, adding that her efforts go beyond the court in helping her younger teammates as the South Kamloops roster has four Grade 11s, three Grade 10s and one Grade 9 player.
The Flames – who are the defending 1A provincial champions and open the season ranked No. 1 – were led by Grade 9 guard Evangeline Koot’s 11 points.
VERNON 67 BRITANNIA 58
(BY GARY AHUJA, Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — Fourth quarter deficit with less than half a quarter to play? No problem for the Vernon Panthers.
Trailing 56-53, the Panthers locked down defensively, allowing just a single field goal the rest of the way while their opportunistic offence came through with 14 points for a 67-58 come-from-behind victory over the Britannia Bruins.
And this wasn’t a case of one team padding their lead with trips to the foul line, either, as only one of those 14 points came from the charity stripe.
“I love our senior kids: calm, no panic. Love that they remained composed,” said Vernon coach Dave Tetrault.
“We knew that for them (Britannia), #2 and #10 are just phenomenal players. Unbelievable. The whole game we are just trying to slow them down and stop them.”
The coach was referencing the Bruins’ Grade 11 duo of Ainsley Wong – who led her team with 21 points – and Chenesayi Kagande, who chipped in 11.
“We pressured them the whole game and that helps us: they get tired, and we are rotating nine kids, and it really helps,” Tetrault added. “Sometimes it takes until the fourth quarter until we make something happen.”
With a young and roster – they have just a pair of Grade 12s and four each of Grade 10 and 11 players – the Panthers are still finding their roles early in the season.
Offensively, Vernon was led by Adie Janke (23 points) and Chloe Collins (20) as the Grade 11 duo accounted for 43 of their team’s 67 points. The Panthers were also effective from long distance, hitting nine 3-pointers, four of which came from Collins and another three from Janke.
SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL 48 PACIFIC CHRISTIAN 38
(BY GARY AHUJA, Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — Through three quarters, the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs had no answer for Kealayna Tupas-Singh. The Pacific Christian Pacers Grade 11 guard – a First Team Provincial All-Star in 2023 and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player last March – had torched the Bulldogs for 22 points, including keying a quarter-closing 7-0 run to tie the score at 35.
Churchill coach Simon Dykstra, who admitted the Bulldogs – a 4A squad – knew little about the Victoria school which has played at the 1A and 2A levels the past two seasons and enters the season ranked #2 among 1A schools other than that Tupas-Singh was a high-level player.
The strategy would finally pay off in the fourth as the Pacers went the entire 10 minutes without a field goal, managing just three points, all from the free throw line, while the Bulldogs offence hit a trio of 3-pointers to win 48-38.
“All we were trying to do was get the ball out of her hands,” Dykstra said. “They got a little cold, and we took advantage of that.”
Churchill had mean held to 19 points in the first half, but nearly matched that in the third with 16 in that quarter alone.
“They played zone against us, and we were getting open shots in the second half, and we executed,” Dykstra summed up.
The Bulldogs did so with a balanced attack as well with four players scoring between nine and 13 points. The 13 came courtesy of Player of the Game Joslyn Ly who came up with a pair of big 3-pointers in the fourth.
WALNUT GROVE 57 PITT MEADOWS 54
(BY GARY AHUJA, Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — It was time for the cat to eat.
Trailing by 12 points in the final quarter, the Walnut Grove Gators simplified things.
“We started to feed the person we call the ‘Tabby Cat’, our 6’2 post,” explained coach Mike Miller. “That was the difference maker for us.”
Lyla McKay scored 10 of her game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter, rallying the Gators to a 57-54 comeback win over the Pitt Meadows Marauders.
The Marauders had taken control in the second quarter, turning a 3-point deficit into a 12-point lead at the half as the Gators offence went cold with just three field goals and six points in the period.
But the Gators outside game got on track with both Erin Kim and Elianna Knodel hitting big 3’s to start the fourth and with that threat from beyond the arc, McKay was able to take advantage. She was also 4-for-5 from the free throw line.
Miller also credited the undersized Kim with a great job playing at the bottom of the Walnut Grove zone defence.
The victory is also a nice confidence boost for a Gators squad which has struggled results-wise out of the gate. But regardless of the outcome – or what happens over the next three days – it is all about the process.
“We are hoping to play our best basketball at the end of January, early February,” he said.
Jocelyn Boyes led the Marauders with 26 points while Vayda Lagrange had 13.
MARK R. ISFELD 66 HERITAGE WOODS 39
(BY GARY AHUJA, Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — With the weariness of a long travel day – a long bus trip combined with the ferry ride – out of their systems, the Mark R. Isfeld Ice were able to shake off a slow start.
The team from Courtenay trailed 22-16 early in the second quarter, but by the time the teams went into the locker room, the Ice had taken the lead for good. And once the second half hit, it was all Ice as they pulled away for the 66-39 victory over the Heritage Woods Kodiaks.
“Took us a while to get the travel legs out of our system after spending most of the day in the bus. But no excuses; we made a few defensive adjustments and started to play our style of basketball,” said Ice coach Colin Cunningham.
With their bodies adjusted from their travel, the Ice put an emphasis on keeping the ball out of the hands of the Kodiaks’ Anita Tavaszi, who torched them for 10 first-quarter points.
She would only score two points the rest of the way.
With the defensive side of the floor locked down, the Ice were able to play their style: up-tempo with pressure on the ball hoping to create turnovers and then converting those into transition points. The Ice also cleaned up their box-out assignments as well as making better decisions in transition, the coach added.
Another factor in the game was Katie Hartig – one of only three Grade 12s on the roster – who came off the bench and finished with a game-high 13 points, earning Player of the Game honours in the process.
“She came in and set the tone in the low block with defence and rebounding and then some nice buckets. She did what we asked her to do,” Cunningham said.
Altogether, nine Isfeld players found the scoresheet with Phoebe Cunningham chipping in nine while Rylan Boccabella had eight, including a pair of big 3-pointers.
The Kodiaks were led by Tavaszi’s 12 points and nine from Annika Turpin.
DUCHESS PARK 72 JOHNSTON HEIGHTS 51
(BY GARY AHUJA, Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — Forty minutes of defence and grit: that is the M.O. for the Duchess Park Condors.
“We just kept playing our style: pressure defence, push the ball up the floor, and maybe they ran out of gas,” said Duchess Park coach Reid Roberts, following his team’s 72-51 victory over the Johnston Heights Eagles.
For the first 20 minutes, the Eagles hung tight with the Condors, trailing by just three at 29-26, but Duchess Park found another gear in the third quarter, dropping 25 points and their opponent could not recover.
The offensive outburst was a result of their defensive pressure translating into easy baskets the other end of the floor.
“We won every single quarter, which you don’t usually do. That was not a 20-point win by any means; it was much closer than that,” Roberts said.
The Condors are in the fortunate position where they roll 10-deep (although they were missing their starting point guard for Wednesday’s opener).
“That is one of our strengths, I can play them all and not lose anything,” Roberts said.
All nine Condors found the scoresheet led by 14 points from Mercedes Black with Emily Clarke adding 13 and Naiha Manhas chipping in 12.
For the Eagles – who have no Grade 12s and just one Grade 11 player on the roster – it was a pair of Grade 9s leading the way with Navaek Kong scoring 18 and Puneet Deol adding 13.
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