Semiahmoo head coach Allison McNeill reflects on her playing and coaching career. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
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VL Podcast 11.25.20: Canadian coaching great Allison McNeill reflects on a hoops life with stops at Oregon, Semiahmoo, Laurentian, SFU and more!

This week, the Varsity Letters podcast welcomes a giant in Canadian basketball circles. Allison McNeill has touched the stars at every level at which she has played or coached, and today we cover some of the facets of her basketball life that don’t get as much attention!   But first, we will talk with Coach […]

In a celebratory mood, Semiahmoo Totems (left to right) Nicole Pajic, Tara Wallack, Raushan Bindra, Izzy Forsyth and Emily Wubs each react to the buzzer-beating 60-foot trey sunk by teammate Deja Lee (fourth from left). (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
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Semiahmoo’s Tara Wallack and Izzy Forsyth lead No. 1 Totems to Top 10 Shoot-Out title with a dominance that harkens back to the early 2000’s

COQUITLAM — Semiahmoo’s Tara Wallack and Izzy Forsyth are setting enough of a standard these days as a high school front-court pair beyond compare that at least one rival coach found himself thinking back to the turn of the century for an apt comparison.“I coached against Kim Smith, Katja Fuess and Julia Wilson, and so […]

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Varsity Letters PODCAST 11.14.19: Allison McNeill on women’s hoops, Chris Cartwright on Subway Bowl football, Ryan Clark on NCAA signing day

We’re one day late due to the Remembrance Day long weekend, so thanks for your patience and your loyalty to Canada’s only podcast dedicated solely to provincial university and high school sports coverage. Joining us on the show today: *Kelowna Owls head coach Chris Cartwright explores all of the great things that happen over the […]

Only a player with a love for the game like Semiahmoo's Faith Dut (top) could turn a battle for a loose ball into a such a joyous experience for all. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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Semiahmoo’s Faith Dut: Growth mindset helps Totems’ senior and ex-ballerina take it step-by-step to the Big Dance and beyond

SURREY — The best place to start any kind of conversation about the seemingly limitless basketball ceiling of Faith Dut is simply to say that while she’s likely done growing in one regard, she’s just getting started in another.

When Semiahmoo's Deja Lee (left) and Walnut Grove's Sophia Wisotzki clashed Saturday in the Top 10 Shoot-Out final, it was a battle of two of B.C.'s best 10th graders. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
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Deja Wow! Youthful Semiahmoo Totems, led by MVP point guard Lee, top Gators to win 2019 Top 10 Shoot-Out

COQUITLAM — It was precisely the kind of late-game stretch that youthful teams are not supposed to survive. Pressure. The yips. The domino effect. You know the drill.

Semiahmoo's Deja Lee (left) helped her No. 1 Totems past Brookswood on Friday in the Top 10 Shoot-Out semifinals, setting up a clash against Jess Wisotzki and the No. 3-ranked Walnut Grove Gators in the title game on Saturday. Here, the talented pair are pictured in action at the 2017 Tsumura Basketball Invitational. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Gonzaga Bulldogs sophomore guard Louise Forsyth sets an example with her relentless work ethic. (Photo by Nick Tomoyasu property of Gonzaga athletics)
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Gonzaga’s indomitable Bulldog: Ex-Brookswood star Louise Forsyth puts tough break behind her for Vancouver Showcase homecoming

SURREY — You can’t pay a player a higher compliment than to immediately realize their most unique and defining strengths, then coin a phrase that so perfectly encapsulates it all.To that end, it didn’t take Gonzaga head coach Lisa Fortier too long to realize last season that the best way to describe her new Canadian […]

Notre Dame head women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw brings her No. 1-ranked, defending national champion Irish to the Vancouver Showcase. (Photo by Matt Cashore, US PRESSWIRE courtesy of bd Global)
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As No. 1, defending NCAA champ Notre Dame preps for Vancouver Showcase, Irish HC Muffet McGraw says “This is a mini-NCAA tournament right here”

VANCOUVER — Our city has to think back an awful long time to remember the last time in which the absolute toast of the NCAA Div. 1 basketball world came here in their prime of their news cycle.