The VSS Panthers have reached today’s 4:45 p.m. final of the B.C. Senior AA Girls Basketball Championships at the Langley Events Centre.
The Cats, who were ranked No. 3 going into the Sweet 16, meet the top-rated Seycove Seyhawks of North Vancouver in the gold-medal game.
“We have a few nerves, but we’re ready to bring our game,” said veteran Brianna Falk, 17, who will play for the UBC O Heat next season. “This is so exciting. This is my fourth time going to provincials and to be in the final is kind of surreal.”
VSS stopped the No. 2 Langley Christian Lightning 73-66, while Seycove brushed back No. 4 South Kam Titans 67-60 in Friday semifinals.
“We watched them (Seycove) today right after our game and they definitely have a tall post in the paint and they live and die with the three (ball) so if they catch fire, they can go on a run.”
The Panthers were going to re-watch video of the Seycove-South Kam tilt before lunch Saturday.
Falk, who said she carries the nickname “Swiss Army Knife” because of her versatality, pocketed 21 points and 13 rebounds versus Langley. Kelsey Falk canned 19 points, while Megan Rouault recorded 18 points and seven boards. Mackenzie Horst drained 16 points and had nine rebounds.
“We had a slow start, going down by six early,” said VSS head coach Lonny Mazurak, assisted by Dave Tetreault. “We might have been a bit nervous but once we settled down, the girls did a great job running the floor to get transition baskets.
“In the second quarter we tried to post up the Falk sisters (Kelsey and Brianna) as one of them was being guarded by a smaller guard each possession in the second quarter. It carried us into the half with a six-point lead. They came out in a zone to handle the mismatch we were exploiting and it took us some time to adjust. Mack picked up her third foul in the third quarter but our bench gave us some valuable minutes to keep us close. The Falks kept us in the game in the third qaurter, scoring all our points.
“We were down four early in the fourth when our second wind kicked in. Mack made some big shots in our 23-7 run which clinched the win. Rou went 5-for-6 from the line in the last minute to ice the game.
“On to the final against Seycove….not many teams are bigger than us but they are so it’s going to be a formidable challenge led by their junior national teamer Sage Sobbert.”
VSS lost Maddie Smith for the tournament after she and teammate Emilia Durfield collided in warm-up Friday. The Cats took an eight-player roster to the B.C.s.
“Maddie had to have one tooth pulled and have two root canals,” said Brianna Falk. “Emilia had scar tissue and teeth marks on top of her head and blood dripping all over. We were asking her where the blood was coming from at the bench.”
VSS grounded the Windsor Dukes of North Vancouver 72-52, while Seycove bounced the Ballenas Whalers of Parksville 72-52 in Thursday action. South Kam iced Immaculata Mustangs of Kelowna 89-57, while Langley Christian toppled Britannia Bruins of Vancouver 67-59.
The Oak Bay Bays, who faced the Kelowna Owls for third place Saturday in the senior AAA girls bracket, are high on both VSS and Seycove.
“Seycove is an example that the size of the school (about 500 students) has nothing to do with the skill level,” Oak Bay Bays coach Rob Kinnear told Vancouver high school hoops blogger Howard Tsumara. “As a team, they and Vernon are as good as we’ve played all year. They’re Tier 2 schools, but only in size (enrolment).”
