It’s been 14 years between appearances at the B.C. Junior Girls Basketball Championships for the Kalamalka Lakers.
So the Coldstream kids wanted to make sure they announced their presence with authority Wednesday, Feb. 26, on the opening day of the 2020 tournament in Langley.
The Lakers, ranked 22nd in the 24-team field, pulled off a spectacular opening-round upset, stunning the 11th-seeded Seaquam Seahawks of Delta 57-51.
Kal was down 16-6 after the opening quarter but opened the second quarter with a 20-8 run to take a 26-24 lead, and led by one - 33-32 - at the intermission.
With the teams tied 40-40 in the third quarter, Brooklyn Lewis hit one of her four three-point shots in the game to give the Lakers a lead they would never relinquish.
Lewis finished with 26 points while T’jara Nordh added 16 for the Lakers, who then faced the sixth-ranked Heritage Woods Kodiaks of Port Moody. The Lower Mainland squad, who had an opening-round bye, defeated Kal 42-16.
Lewis had five points for the Lakers, her sister, Sydney, added four and Quinn-Taylor Fitzpatrick chipped in three points.
The best Kal can finish is ninth and they play Okanagan rivals Sa-Hali Sabres of Kamloops Thursday, Feb. 27, at 4 p.m.
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SENIOR GIRLS 3A
The Vernon Panthers, seeded 11th, fell 66-51 to the sixth-ranked MEI Eagles of Clearbrook in their opening game at the BC Championships in Langley.
The Eagles never trailed, jumping out to a 25-12 lead after the first quarter, and a 40-26 advantage at halftime.
Ashley Budgen had 22 points to lead VSS, making their 16th consecutive appearance at the provincial finals, while Kelsey Watts added 20. Gracie Corneau led all scorers with 23 points for the Eagles.
Vernon can finish no higher than ninth place. They improved to 1-1 Thursday morning with a49-36 win over the Mark Isfeld Ice of Courtenay (scoring details not yet available).
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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