2020 BC Senior Girls Provincials: Championship Saturday
The tournament committee's got the seeding right in all three tiers this year — all three finals pitted the number one seed against the number two seeds. Here's the lowdown on what happened in a lit day of championship games.
2A Final - Langley Christian vs Britannia
This was a battle of two of the top teams in the entire province regardless of tier, as both teams finished in the top four of the Tsumura Basketball Invitational back in November.
At the half, it was 41-37 for the Bruins, led by a combined 30 points from the duo of Suprise Munie and Shemaiah Abatayo. The Bruins didn't attempt many three's but they hit them when they did — they went two for four from distance in the first half.
The Lightning wouldn't go down easy, however. They went on a 17-2 run to start the third quarter to take an eight-point lead. The Bruins would eventually battle back to take the lead 63-62 which set up a tense final few minutes. Clutch buckets from Abatayo gave Britannia the win and the provincial championship.
"It's unbelievable," said Abatayo after her team won. "Since I was in the Philippines I was always with my dad, just carrying the ball.
I never thought I was going to be here, I never thought I was going to be able to play basketball. In the Philippines, until I left, no one really started playing basketball as a girl. [. . .] It's crazy."
Abatayo finished with 25 points and eight rebounds and seven assists. Munie had 30 points and 12 rebounds.
3A Final - Abby Senior vs OKM
OKM was the top dog in 3A before the Abbotsford Senior Panthers knocked them off in the Timberwolves Final.
Since then it felt like Abby's title to lose, and they delivered with an 85-77 win in the 3A championship game.
"Going into this game we knew it wouldn't be easy," said Malia Lenz, who finished with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. "But we encouraged each other, and we went at it with our best effort."
The game went back and forth before Marin Lenz seemingly decided to put the game in her hands. She willed Abby to victory with end to end buckets and timely steals.
Lenz won tournament MVP and had 44 points in the game, a tournament record for the final. OKM's Lilly Pink had 22 points and 14 boards.
4A Final - Semiahmoo vs Walnut Grove
Semiahmoo's run in the top tier of girls basketball may never be seen again — until perhaps they return and break it next year.
The Totems — with their second straight top-tiered provincial championship and winning it in the fashion that they did — are redefining what dynasties past and present will be compared to. There's just no other way to put it.
"I mean the first one was pretty special but the second time around is just as awesome," said Deja Lee afterwards. "Not everyone gets to experience something this amazing."
Semiahmoo's dominance started on the glass. They outrebounded their opponents Terry Fox 65 to 22 and scored 26 points off those rebounds. They scored 66 of their 114 points in the first half and shot just over 40% from three in the game.
Tara Wallack won tournament MVP and had 29 points and 23 boards in her team's win. Although still basking in their win, the Totems couldn't help looking towards the next goal. Perhaps that's been one of the keys to this amazing run.
"I think it starts with pushing each other in practice," said Lee on the next step. "But also the mental component. Our coach always says 'the game of basketball is a track meet first, then a chess game'. Improving our mental aspect and the x's and o's is the next step."
If they manage to do that, then they will truly cement themselves as an untouchable team.
Written by: Nick Bondi