SINGLE A
NO. 1 PACIFIC CHRISTIAN 70 NO. 2 SIR ALEXANDER MACKENZIE 63
(BY GARY KINGSTON, SPECIAL FOR VARSITY LETTERS)
LANGLEY – The Cinderella story ended in agonizing fashion Saturday afternoon, but there was still a celebratory marriage of sorts in the Single A final of the B.C. senior girls basketball championships.
The Pacific Christian Pacers, bridesmaids in 2023 in the 2A level and in 2024 in the 1A final, overcame a spirited group from a tiny school in the Bella Coola Valley to earn their first title since 2001 with a 70-63 victory over the Sir Alexander Mackenzie Grizzlies.
“Yeah, we’re the bridegroom now,” said a beaming John Stewart, the longtime Pacers head coach after his squad withstood a gutsy, undersized and undermanned all-native team from Hagensborg, where the secondary school has just 85 students in Grades 8 through 12.
Four made free throws in the final 35 seconds from ice-in-her-veins Grade 11 guard Kealayna Tupas-Singh touched off a wild centre court mash-up of players, coaches and students crashing in from the baseline.
“Every group is super special, but it was great to be able to be jumping with the girls,” added Stewart. “I’ve been with the last two teams where the other team was at centre court celebrating a victory. And to be able to see how this group gelled and actually believed in each other.”
Seeded No. 1, the Victoria-area school advanced relatively easily to the final where they faced the No. 2 Grizzlies, who did finish third last season, but who came to Langley having barely played any senior girls squads this season given the remoteness of their location on a remote inlet on the central B.C. coast.
But SAMS, fueled in large part by the dominance of Grade 11 twin sisters Annika and Ayanna Parr, kept punching back every time the Pacers, whose mantra is to play like mad dog logs, looked like they’d taken a big bite out of the Grizzlies legs.
In the end, though, it was the Pacers size, speed and deadly outside shooting that prevailed.
“This feels so good, very exciting,” said Grade 12 guard Eden Greene,who was a perfect three-for-three from beyond the arc in the first half en route to a 14-point outing. “We put so much time in, so much practice, outside practice, too, on our own time.”
And they have the ability to respond with tenacity when their game slips a bit.
“We go after it,” said Greene. “Angry dogs. That’s a big thing for us.”
Tupas-Singh, a speedster with the ball and absolutely dynamic when she drives to the basket, finished with a game-high 29 points to go along with 10 rebounds and eight dimes.
Pacific Christian got out to a quick 7-0 lead and maintained that advantage pretty much the entire half, building the advantage up to 12 midway through the second quarter.
Then the Parr sisters went to work putting their all-round games on display.
Annika, who kept her team in the fight with two-late first quarter threes, keyed a 10-2 run to pull the Grizzlies to within two at 34-32. She dropped another deep trey in that run and followed a missed corner three by stealing the ball under the basket and converting an easy score. Another low-post score and a three-pointer from Ayanna followed.
But the Pacers held their poise, getting five points from Grade 11 Emily Coe in the final 90 seconds to take a 41-34 lead into the halftime break.
From there, it was a second half of mini runs. The Grizzlies opened the third quarter on a 12-1 surge to take their first lead, only to have Pacific Christian respond with a 12-0 run.
SAMS did get to within three points at 66-63 with with 55 seconds remaining on a three-pointer by Annika Parr, but 5-foot-2 Grade 10 Alaina Legault, forced into the game when Skylene Andy fouled out six minutes earlier was called for a ticky-tack foul on Tupas-Singh with 34 seconds remaining. And when the two free throws were made, there went any hopes of a wild upset.
Andy, a bruising inside presence at just 5-foot-5 and the Grizzlies third-leading scorer, fouled out with 6:37 remaining, 30 seconds after Ayanna Parr was whistled for a flop, disqualifying her for a fifth foul.
Ayanna finished with 15 points, while Annika tallied 28 points, 18 of them coming off clutch – and sometimes deep – three pointers.
Andy and Ayanna Parr fouling out was a big momentum changer for Pacific Christian, a fact acknowledged by Stewart.
“Huge deal. Phenomenally skilled players. And that makes a big difference when your best players are out.”
Grizzlies head coach Ryan Parr said to lose two of his best players in the fourth quarter was “very deflating for sure. It was inevitable when we got into foul trouble early.”
Still, Parr said, to go back home off the best finish ever for a school from the Bella Coola area, was a reason for his girls to hold their heads high.
“I’m super proud of them. Resilience in the face of adversity, they never gave up, kept their head in the game. Battled right to the end.
“We’re going to come back next year and win it.”
And this season isn’t done. They head to Kelowna later in March for a shot at a third consecutive B.C. All-Native championship.
The Single A final was the first ever senior girls game to be played at provincials in the 6,000-seat Arena Bowl at Langley Events Centre. The 2A, 3A and 4A finals followed later in the day.
“This is where (the girls’ finals) need to be and where they need to stay,” said Jen Stewart, the Pacers’ co-head coach. “How these girls completed today is testament to what it means if you put it in a place like this.
“Exciting basketball, it’ll be excellent basketball and, really, this is where we deserve to be. We set a standard . . . and we’ll go beyond.”
That was echoed by Tupas-Singh after she participated in the celebratory cutting of the net.
“Putting us on a big stage, it was really fun to be part of. It means a lot for women’s sports.”
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