Tsumura Basketball 2022: Tweedy’s MVP Sevene Grewal puts her heart on the three-point line, leads Panthers past Ramblers for Local 8 title!

LORD TWEEDSMUIR 69 MAPLE RIDGE 43

By Howard Tsumura

LANGLEY — In the tradition of all great shooters, Sevene Grewal knew just how to shake off the doldrums of a slow day on the court.

She trusted that shot of hers, and in the end, it rewarded both her and the rest of Surrey’s Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers with the inaugural Tsumura Basketball Invitational Local 8 championship.

Getting stronger as the game went along, the Grade 12 Grewal not only scored one of her baskets on a direct assist from her Grade 9 sister Hannah Grewal, she pulled up in transition and nailed back-to-back triples over the final 3:45, the latter increasing the Panthers’ lead to 23 points in what was ultimately a 69-43 victory over the Maple Ridge Ramblers.

“Shooting… it’s kind of something I am built on and I had a rough go in the first half,” said the elder Grewal who went on to score 29 points and was named the tourney MVP. “I was missing a couple of shots but I just let it fly, and with my confidence it started going in.”

Sammy Ma added 12 points for the winners, while Hannah Grewal added 10 and Pavan Bola a further nine in addition to her savvy defensive play.

And defence was so huge for the Panthers.

Prescribing to the ’40 minutes of hell’ pressure principles of famed Arkansas head coach Nolan Richardson, Lord Tweedsmuir pressured early and often and turned those turnovers into points.

And in the end, Grewal said it helped them get out of any offensive funks.

“Coach Mitro always stresses that if it doesn’t happen on the floor on the offensive end, then make it happen on the defensive end,” said Grewal. “So I told my girls to make it up on the defensive end and the offence will follow through.”

In a low-scoring game, that led to what was a massive 24-point third quarter, just four points fewer than the Panthers had managed in the first half.

And it was Grewal’s time, as she scored 14 of her 29 in that frame.

Extra special to her?

Getting a chance to share her senior season with her younger sister Hannah.

“Getting to play with her in my last year especially, is something I will cherish for a very long time,” she said.

For Sevene Grewal, celebrating success as a team was always what she thought a senior season was supposed to be about.

“I can’t even put it into words,” she began. “High school basketball is my entire life and to come back and have this kind of a tournament means the world to me.”

Kayleigh Mark, Maple Ridge’s über-talented Grade 10 post/forward scored 24 points on a night in which she made 20 trips to the free throw line.

Mark and Tweedsmuir’s defensive specialist Pavan Bola were each chosen their team’s respective Player Of The Game.

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