LANGLEY — Welcome to Day 1 of the girls 2025 TBI Select 16 tournament.
Keep checking back throughout the day as we do our best to update you, our loyal Varsity Letters readers, with game reports from all eight contests.
Note that games are not arranged by tip-off time, but by their placing in each of the four quadrants.
Please scroll down to insure you have read games that may have begun prior to the ones listed here at the top.
Enjoy.
— Howard Tsumura
GIRLS SELECT 16
QUAD A
7:45 p.m. — ARGYLE GOLD (VSS) VS. VALLEYVIEW (TOK)
during Tsumura Basketball Invitational Select 16 opening-round action Dec. 10, 2025 at the Langley Event Centre’s South Court. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2025. All Rights Reserved)
HERITAGE WOODS 48 R.A. MCMATH 44
By GARY AHUJA
(Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — The Heritage Woods Kodiaks shook off a slow start to grind out a 48–44 victory over the R.A. McMath Wildcats on Wednesday morning on Day 1 of the Select 16 bracket at the Tsumura Basketball Invitational Girls Tournament at Langley Events Centre.
The Kodiaks managed just four points in a shaky opening quarter, struggling with rushed passes, turnovers, and the Wildcats’ pressure. But the game flipped in the second, where Heritage Woods outscored McMath 20–8 by finally establishing their inside game and leaning on their size advantage.
Heritage Woods led by as many as 15 points early in the second half with the Wildcats cutting the deficit down to four points before running out of time.
Addison Nielsen powered the comeback with 16 points, while Milana Zuzolo added 15 as the Kodiaks consistently found success in the paint. Head coach Alex Devlin said the early troubles came down to nerves.
“We were too excited at the start — bad passes, turnovers, and we didn’t handle the pressure very well,” Devlin said. “Once we settled in, we were finally able to establish our inside game and use our height.
Assistant coach Kelly Powell echoed the sentiment, praising the team’s resilience.
“They played hard and battled hard,” Powell said. “I’m proud of the girls — they all chipped in and did their different roles. There’s lots to learn still, but it was a good effort. We’re definitely a younger team after losing some players, but very athletic, and we’re excited to see what we can do.”
Powell added that early nerves were expected. “We were playing a little excited with all the energy the other team was bringing, but once we absorbed the pressure, we settled in and got into our natural flow.”
For McMath, Katie Kennedy scored 15 and Natalie Crasto added 10.
QUAD B
3 p.m. — EARL MARRIOTT (SF) VS. FERNIE (KOOT)
SIR CHARLES TUPPER 40 R.E. MOUNTAIN 38
By HOWARD TSUMURA
LANGLEY — The Sir Charles Tupper Tigers have kept on improving their fortunes over the past two seasons.
On Wednesday, in their first-ever appearance at the Langley Events Centre, a lot of that quality showed when it mattered most as the East Vancouver team rallied from an early 11-3 deficit to hang on for a 40-38 win over the hometown R.E. Mountain Eagles as the Tsumura Basketball Invitational’s Select 16 pool opened its eight-game slate.
“You can see how quiet they were to start,” said Tupper co-coach Terry Loo. “And throughout the game, you could see them grow and mature. They started supporting each other out there and started doing the little things, which made a big difference.”
Trailing 17-9 after the first quarter, the Tigers opened the second quarter on an 11-0 run to lead 20-17, and the game was a tooth-and-claw battle the rest of the way.
Guard Zion Nicholson led the winners with 10 of her team-high 14 points in the second half.
Star forward Denira Dundas, who brought next-level vision on a number of occasions with excellent passes into the paint, added nine points while Taya Henrickson scored all six of her points in the second quarter,
A Mountain team making the transition to the senior varsity level with a largely Grade 11 team, one which last year excelled at the B.C. junior championships, was led by the 14 points of compact guard Katrina Fang.
Fellow guard Clara Shin added 11 points in the low-scoring affair while forward Leah Robinson added nine more.
The 6-foot-1 Dundas, a clear U SPORTS talent, played the pass-score pivot role to good effect, and Koo appreciated the presence she brought to the roster.
“That’s the thing with her,” he said. “You know, she settles us quite often. She keeps the energy up because she knows what it takes to be at that level. But, the biggest thing right now is that we play as a team. And I think that’s one thing that she likes to foster.”
The Tigers supplemented their roster with call-ups from its JV program giving them a deeper and more dangerous rotation throughout.
Tupper now advances to Thursday’s quarterfinal round where it will face the winner of today’s 3 p.m. game between Fernie and Earl Marriott.
BOTTOM HALF DRAW
QUAD C
CENTENNIAL 46 MT. BAKER 38
By IAN FRENCH (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — It’s not just understandable, it’s expected that a duel between a bear and a mythical centaur would lead to an explosive, physical battle, and that’s exactly how this one turned out between the Centennial Centaurs and the Mount Baker Wild at the Langley Event Centre on Wednesday.
In opening-round action of the Tsumura Basketball Invitational’s Select 16 bracket, saying these two teams fought hard feels like an understatement. All game, no matter who had the ball, they had a defender on them ready to pounce. No space was given, only earned. The Wild came out strong, taking a double-digit lead early. But as the saying goes: “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish”, and the Centaurs took that to heart, pulling off a 46-38 comeback victory.
“We weren’t really on in the first half, but we managed to find a way to stay close,” said Centennial head coach Darcy Grant. “We missed shots but played good defence, and we were able to do the little things to keep us in the game.”
Physicality took centre stage throughout the opening frame, leading to both sides picking up plenty of fouls and slowing the game down in the process. This led to the final play of the first, where the Wild looked to put an exclamation point on their early advantage. Starting from their own baseline with only a few seconds remaining, the ball quickly made its way up the court and through multiple players before finding a spot down low and finishing to beat the buzzer, extending the lead to nine (15-6) in favour of Mount Baker.
The war in the paint continued in the second, with both teams creating second chances from offensive rebounds, only for the opposition to stifle them on the other end of the court. The scoring woes continued as tough defence would prevail. The majority of possessions ended in a block or steal, regardless of the opposition. Then, things started to click for the Centaurs. They went on an 8-0 run to bring the deficit to three in the final minutes before the break. New life. But the Wild weren’t going to roll over. They responded with six straight of their own to reestablish a nine-point lead (25-16) and regain momentum ahead of the second half.
The clash carried over into the third, especially for the Wild, playing as if they were the ones trailing. Yet, the Centaurs were having none of it, shutting down their offensive opportunities in a similar fashion to the first half, while also slowly chipping away at the lead to make it a two-point game. A few possessions later, Centaurs forward Kendra Perry fought for positioning in the paint and was found quickly by Amalie Griffiths, who dished out the game-tying assist, all evened up at 27 apiece. Shortly after, Eden Kolins followed suit with a bucket of her own to hand her squad their first lead since opening tipoff. Mount Baker didn’t take too kindly to this run, going on one of their own to close out the third tied at 32-32, teeing up a dramatic finish.
As the final buzzer neared, the physicality intensified. After countless steals, blocks and fouls, the buckets started to flow around the midway point of the fourth. Amidst the game-long fight, Centaurs’ Perry was clearly trying to fend off pain but still established a dominant presence in the paint down the stretch, which directly contributed to a 10-2 run in the final minutes. The Centaurs would keep the Wild at bay before eventually solidifying a 46-38 win.
Centennial’s Amalie Griffiths and Eden Kolins each tallied 13 points, while Kendra Perry chipped in with eight. While on Mount Baker’s side, Sarah Johnson posted a team-high 11 points with Dyllan Beal adding eight as well.
“The second half, it was great. We just kind of bonded and came out together as a team, and we were able to gut it out,” reflected Centaur head coach Grant. “I know that if tomorrow we want a similar result, we have to be sharper, and we have to be better, and we’re up for the challenge.”
The victory sends Centennial into a 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal Thursday against the Brookswood vs. Terry Fox winner.
4:30 p.m. — BROOKSWOOD (EV) VS. TERRY FOX (FN)
QUAD D
6:15 p.m. — NOTRE DAME (VSS) VS. PACIFIC CHRISTIAN (VI)
PITT MEADOWS 52 PACIFIC ACADEMY 49
By IAN FRENCH (Special for Varsity Letters)
LANGLEY — The second game to open the Women’s Select 16 of the Tsumura Basketball Invitational felt like a late-round playoff bout. The 3A Pitt Meadows Marauders squared off against the underdog, 2A Pacific Academy Breakers, and it dramatically came down to the wire.
Shortly after the opening tipoff, the Marauders’ game plan appeared fairly straightforward: play through the scorching hot Jocelyn Boyes. On the other side of the coin, Pacific Academy came out as a well-oiled machine with everybody getting touches due to quick ball movement. Out of these two game plans, the latter controlled the majority of the first half. The Breakers held an early lead and held it deep into the third quarter. It seemed as though Pacific Academy could do no wrong. They were all over both ends of the boards, while creating and knocking down timely opportunities on the other end.
Boyes fought diligently to keep her team afloat, not letting the Breakers run away with anything. Coming out of halftime, Pacific Academy clearly made changes to its game plan. Boyce was smothered in the third, but that didn’t deter her in the fourth. She battled for space and put the team on her back in the dying minutes, sealing a narrow 52-49 win.
“[The Breakers] played really hard. They were out battling us to a lot of loose balls so there were some basic principles of basketball that needed to be reinforced,” reflected Pitt Meadows head coach Jason Boyes. “Then offensively, we’ve got Jocelyn.”
The opening frame felt less like basketball and more like watching a tennis match, the way heads kept turning back and forth. Both sides sprinted out of the gates — reminiscent of a Steve Nash offence — efficiently trading baskets with no hesitation.
The frenzied pace wasn’t out of panic; it was controlled. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The Breakers were a dominant force in transition but continuously managed to slow the game down while on offence. They started fast with a corner three, but just a few moments later, the Marauders responded with a three of their own, foreshadowing how the remainder of the game would play out.
Pitt Meadows continued to match Pacific Academy’s intensity through their engine, Jocelyn Boyes, who never wavered. It didn’t stop at just knocking down shots for the remainder of the game, but she continuously made the right play and set up her teammates for open looks in key moments.
Coming out of halftime, Pacific Academy managed to contain Boyes’ opportunities. But that flipped in the fourth as the senior guard took over down the stretch. The game was tied at 48 apiece with just over a minute to go. Boyes brought the ball up the court,
drove wide left towards the baseline, before swiftly switching direction towards the hooP and dropping in the bucket for a two-point lead. She would follow up by knocking down two free throws to extend her side’s lead to three.
Pacific Academy just needed a deep ball to tie with 10 seconds remaining, plenty of time for a good look. Pitt Meadows thought otherwise. They collectively put on the clamps, forcing Pacific Academy to have nothing more than a deep contested three-
pointer to beat the buzzer. This is where Boyes put an exclamation point on the win, seemingly coming out of nowhere to rise up and swat away the opportunity to seal the win.
Boyes finished with a game-high 27 points for Pitt Meadows, while Amelie Baril and Eden Hansen led the offensive charge for Pacific Academy, finishing with 17 and 14 points respectively.
“We just lost in the final at Vancouver Island on Saturday, and we made some mistakes in the last possession. Then we had a chance to tie it at the buzzer, and we missed but that’s learning, right? And we’re here now. Hopefully, we’ll stitch this all together once we get to provincials and see what happens,” said head coach Boyes.
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