Morning Star Staff
The VSS Panthers enter the Christmas break knowing they have a powerful offence for league play in 2017.
The Cats went 3-0 to win their annual senior girls PIT Hoop Classic, stuffing the Pen-Hi Lakers 80-64 in their last round-robin tilt Saturday night.
VSS earlier stormed the Westsyde Whundas of Kamloops 67-50.
“Overall, it was a great weekend for the girls as we improved in every facet of the game,” said VSS head coach Lonny Mazurak. “We were very resilient against a gritty, aggressive pressing Pen-Hi team. They threw a lot at us and the girls responded to the adversity.”
Game star Megan Rouault (25 points) and Kesley Falk (20 points) led the charge.
Game star Brianna Falk canned 19 points, while Rouault pocketed 16 versus the Whundas.
“Westsyde’s zone gave us some trouble as we struggled to score consistently making this a competitive game,” said Mazurak. “Our defence in the half court was stellar and allowed us to keep our lead while the offence sputtered.”
In other Saturday action, the NorKam Saints stopped Fulton Maroons 55-45, Pen-Hi iced Sa-Hali Sabres of Kamloops 81-44, Westsydegrounded Fulton 43-20 and NorKam toppled Sa-Hali 56-49.
Fulton finished 1-2 in their home junior boys tournament, won by the Rutland Voodoos.
After a Friday loss to Rutland, the Maroons mauled the Kalamalka Lakers 70-53 with star point guard Alan Bargaso canning 17 points and seven assists.
Center Ravinder Dhanoa also had a strong showing with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Levi Lee and Jacob Friesen each sank 10 points and four boards, while Nathaniel Foster netted eight pointd and four assists.
Fulton lost 69-47 to the Sa-Hali Sabres of Kamloops in their last game Saturday.
The close match turned into a blowout in the third quarter when Fulton’s star center, Ravinder Dhanoa, received his fourth foul and had to sit out for the entire quarter.
After subbing in for the fourth quarter, Ravinder went on a scoring rampage and put up 10 of his 15 points and five rebounds. Alan Bargaso registered a dozen points and six assists, while Jacob Friesen pocketed eight points and four rebounds.
The Seaton Grade 8 girls won three games in their 27th Street Tournamernt.
The Sonics stopped Fulton 47-21, grounded Shuswap Middle 44-19 and iced Kal 44-19 in three high-intensity matches.
Game Stars were Phoenix Taylor with 33 rebounds, Iseult Colclough with 40 points and point guard Abi King who consistently called the play.
Alassa Johnson used her speed to create numerous scoring opportunities and forward Madison Gardner was a rock on defence.
On the boys’ side, the Sonics played a thrilling Friday afternoon game against North Shuswap in front of a packed gym of screaming fans.
Zak Hanley of the Sonics sank a free throw in the dying seconds of overtime to secure a 39-39 tie and Seaton won the next two games over Fulton (44-40) and Vernon Christian School Royals (54-19).
Isaac Thomas rang up 13 points and some strong rebounding, while Steel Quiring added 10 points versus Fulton.
Ty Bartel was a dominant force with 13 points against the Royals, including a gorgeous three-point play after a hard foul.
Gangmin (Tommy) Lee emerged as a defensive stalwart over the course of the weekend, having never played basketball prior to arriving in Vernon in September. He, Cole Owasagara, and Garrett Erho sparked the Sonics’ defence as they led VCS 25-0 at half. Carter Scott chipped in six points with clutch outside shooting.
Seaton went 1-2 in the Summerland Rockets junior girls tournament.
After falling 61-18 to Summerland, the Sonics bounced Dr. Knox of Kelowna 25-20 and lost 50-24 to Pen Hi Lakers.