Two Langley teams racked up wins during the first full day of action at the 2019 Girls Tsumura Basketball Invitational Thursday at Langley Events Centre.
Walnut Grove Gators 76, Heritage Woods Kodiaks 66
A strong third quarter proved to be the difference as the Gators turned a three-point game into a 12- point lead they would not relinquish during a battle of two of the top four Quad-A schools.
Balance was key for No. 3 Walnut Grove with five players scoring in double figures, led by Juliana Jacobs’ 17. Sophia Wisotzki was next in line with 14, while Kiera Pemberton had 13 and Fania Taylor and Anneke Cairnie scored a dozen apiece. The No. 4 Kodiaks’ Jenna Griffin led all scorers with 29 points.
St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights 64, Brookswood Bobcats 48
The Brookswood Bobcats cut the deficit to four points early in the fourth quarter, but the Knights responded with a 12-2 run on their way to a 64-48 victory.
Gigi Gaspar had 25 points for STMC while Jamie Retting’s 13 led the Bobcats.
Okanagan Mission Huskies 70, Argyle Pipers 52
Matching 17-point efforts from Melaina Corrado and Lily Pink powered the Huskies to the 70-52 win over Argyle. The big difference in the game turned out to be the second quarter which saw OKM outscore the Pipers 22-7 over those 10 minutes. Gabbie Francis was tops for Argyle with 16 points.
Langley Christian Lightning 73, Terry Fox Ravens 31
The top-ranked Double-A Lightning shocked the No. 2 Quad-A Ravens 73-31 with LCS’ Makenna Gardner hitting five three-pointers as part of a 30-point effort. The game turned in the second quarter when the Lightning held a 16-2 advantage in the period. Emily Sussex led the Ravens with nine points.
Yale Lions 92, Valleyview Vikings 65
Kyleigh Boldt scored 27 points to lead Yale past Valleyview 92-65. Boldt was one of four Lions in double figures as Marissa Rodde chipped in 17, Neelam Rai had 15 and Karishma Rai finished with 11. Jessica Orr (20 points) and Jaya Saroya (15 points) led the Vikings.
R.A. McMath Wildcats 74, G.W. Graham Grizzlies 46
The Wildcats raced out to a 22-9 lead after one quarter and never looked back in their 74-46 win over the Grizzlies. Liz Kennedy hit four three-pointers to finish with 21 points and Caitlin Kippan had 17 to lead McMath. Madison Zillwood had a dozen points for the Grizzlies.
Britannia Bruins 86, Riverside Rapids 81
The closest game of the night saw Britannia lead by as many as 18 points in the first half before they saw the Riverside Rapids come racing back to tie the game at 72. But the Bruins responded with 14 of the final 23 points to win 86-81.
Surprise Munie had 38 points and Shemaiah Abatayo finished with 26 for the Bruins. Riverside was led by 29 points from Sammy Shields.
Kelowna Owls 76, Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers 66
A back-and-forth game which saw 15 lead changes and seven other times the score tied, ended with the Kelowna Owls winning 76-66 over Lord Tweedsmuir. The score was a three-point game early in the fourth quarter before the Owls pulled away for good.
Shiah Holmes had 21 points and Kassidy Day chipped in 14 for Kelowna. The Owls’ Rylee Semeniuk also scored a dozen, all from beyond the arc. The Panthers’ India Aikins led all scorers with 37.
On the consolation side of the draw, Burnaby South defeated Earl Marriott 61-45 while Panorama Ridge topped Fleetwood Park 72-67.
Friday games
The Okanagan Mission Huskies – the top Triple-A team in the province – were set to face Quad-A #3 Walnut Grove in the first quarter-final on Friday while the Double-A No. 1 Langley Christian Lightning battle another Double-A powerhouse, the No. 4 St. Thomas More Collegiate Knights, in the second quarter-final for the bottom half of the draw.
The top half of the draw features the Kelowna Owls (Quad-A #8) against the R.A. McMath Wildcats (Triple-A #3) at 12:15 p.m. and the Yale Lions (Quad-A #7) versus the Britannia Bruins (Double-A #3) at 1:45 p.m.
Friday’s action will also see the final four teams compete in the semifinals (6:45 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.) with a spot in Saturday’s championship final on the line.