LANGLEY — The Riverside Rapids may have forgotten to bring their vaunted three-point shooting game to Tuesday’s second round in the Battle of PoCo.
Yet in the end, the Quad-A No. 1 Rapids simply exchanged an icy time from distance for a white-hot one from the charity stripe en route to a decisive 88-60 win over the visiting, No. 3-ranked, crosstown rival Terry Fox Ravens.
“This might be the best three-point shooting team we’ve ever had… in practice,” mused Riverside’s Paul Langford, who coaches the team with Jeremy Neufeld. “But tonight, we were good from the foul line early, which might have made (Terry Fox) a little tentative because we made our foul shots.”
They most certainly did.
The Rapids were a chilly 4-of-18 from downtown, but went 19-of-27 from the stripe, led by its remarkable Grade 10 guard Avery Sussex, whose game-high 31 points were most distinguished by her 10-of-13 night from the free throw line.
It was that aggressive mindset by the Rapids which helped them keep an edge, while the Ravens themselves finished the game 4-of-10 as a team from the charity stripe.
“We have been getting to the hoop which has been a real key, so getting to the line is really important,” added Langford. “And it’s important because when you can do that, it changes defences.”
Sussex finished her night by complimenting those 31 points with 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Grade 9 guard Jorja Hart had 16 points, senior forward Venica Davignon 15 points, senior guard Brooke Kendal 13 points, and Grade 11 centre Natalie Curley seven points, 12 rebounds and two blocks.
A quintet of Terry Fox seniors led the way for the Ravens.
Ana Misic scored a team-high 14 points, while Taylor Matthews scored all 12 of her points in the opening half. Lauren Clements added 11 points, while Emily Sussex and Julie Robledano each scored seven points.
Riverside beat Terry Fox 90-79 on Dec. 18 in the championship final of the Tsumura Basketball Invitational at the Langley Events Centre.
Chapter three in the pre-playoff hoops trilogy involving the two PoCo teams tips off this Monday (7 p.m.) at Terry Fox.
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