Bballnationals Day 3: Round 1 and Playoffs

9:00am Games

Jabogs vs Edmonton Grads

It’s always humbling to watch two teams play with devotion and heart--and that’s exactly what the Jabogs and Grads did this morning.

The first half teetered in Jabogs’ favour with the team leading 16-12.

In the final 16, the Grads made a run for points and took the lead slightly after a 8-0 run. With both teams clawing on defense, points were hard to come by until the final five minutes of play.

Jabog kicked it up a notch and took the lead just in time to claim their first win of the day with a final score of 53-41.

Coach Elvis Balic had this to say about the comeback:

“We started attacking, forcing them to foul a little bit and started making some shots. We stayed under control when they started pressing us in the second half, and it was good. Nice little early win.”

Winnipeg Wolves vs VK Gardner

VK Gardner hit the board early with points and took a dominant lead over the Winnipeg Wolves for the duration of the first half. They led 42-8 heading into the second.

The second half saw the Gardner squad climb in points, leading by a steady 50 points + for the duration of the game. VK won their first game of Day 3 with a final score of 78-22 over the Wolves.

Coach Danie Gardner was happy with the dominant win, but has her sights on their final game of the day against Jabogs at 1pm.

VK Carkner vs Stormers U15

VK Carkner came out strong in the first half, keeping at least a 5-point lead between their opponents, the Stormers U15.

Despite the Stormers persistence on defense, VK showed off their ball movement skills early on. They went on a 14-0 run and led 38-12 at the end of the first half.

Consistency is key and VK is living proof. The girls continued to play well on D, move the ball well, and find the hoop on most possessions. In the end, VK Carkner defeated the Stormers U15 74-28.

VK’s # 20 Hannah Rao was named Player of the Game, an exciting feat considering it’s her birthday today, too.

“It feels amazing to know that I was playing well. We did a great job passing between players.”

Rao played a vital role in ball movement for her team to kick off Day 3 of the tournament.

LSA U15 vs VK U15

VK blazed out to a 35-18 first half lead. In the second half though, both teams were very close, with LSA putting down the clamps defensively and getting some nice stops. It wasn’t enough to turn the tide however, and the final score was 67-28.

“I think we did a really good job of moving the ball around on offence and taking good shots” said Nadeen Wu of VK. “That set up some good shots.”

Grace Elliot had 21 points for VK.

Edmonton Grads vs Split Second U15

The Suns couldn’t erase a 20 point halftime lead, as they fell to Split Second 44-23. A 12-2 run for Split Second effectively iced this one in the first half.

“A 20 point victory, can’t help but feel good about that” said Split Second’s Makenna Rutledge.

Alexa Kusel had 11 points for Split Second.

Stormhawks vs BC 250 U14

It was 37-13 250 at halftime and it just ballooned from there. 250 played a style of stifling defence that the Stormhawks didn’t have an answer for. The final score was 57-23 for BC 250.

Stella LaGrange and Lily Lee both had 11 points for 250.

10:20am Games

StormHawks vs VK Basketball U16

Not sure what the VK girls had for breakfast, but whatever it was completely fired them up this morning! They began the first half with an astonishing 19-0 before the StormHawks could drop a bucket. Pair that with impeccable defense and VK Basketball U16 led 39-3 after the first half.

After a grueling second half for the StormHawks, who only put up 4 points, the game came to a close with VK absolutely killing it.

The final score: 73-7.

Player of the Game Ayden Kristmanson says she’s hopeful her squad will be in the finals, possibly against the VK U17 group.

“It’d be really fun to compete against them,” she said. “We’re all family, so it’s kind of hard to play against your own family obviously. And it would be the last game we play together.”

Both VK U16 and the StormHawks play again today at 2:20pm.

Edmonton Grads vs SWOOSH

The Edmonton Grads took on SWOOSH for their first game of the day, which saw both teams lay it all out on the court in hopes of taking the W.

Edmonton played with just a bit more grit in the opening half, leading 37-22.

Much of the rest of the game saw defensive play and great ball movement from both sides of the court, but the Grads gave it just a bit more to take the win 69-40.

Both teams play again at 2:20pm.

Calgary Warriors vs Jr Heat

Both these teams had a jump in their step this morning as they played a tight first half with Jr Heat ahead 34-22.

The Heat lit up the court in the second and completely owned the ball, defeating the Calgary Warriors by a whopping 78-31.

Thanks to a dominant defensive presence paired with sniper 3s (4 on the half), the Jr Heat are well-deserving of the huge victory.

Jr Heat plays again at 2:20; the Calgary Warriors have completed their round robin games for the tournament.

SVIBA vs VK U17

VK continues to roll at bballnationals, defeating SVIBA 80-33. A 24-4 run in the first half set them up for another win and good positioning heading into knockout play.

“I think it was good” said VK’s Nikki Cabuco on her team’s performance. “We moved the ball around really well and learned a new zone play, so we’re doing that really well.”

Jessica Wisotski had 25 point, while Grace Killens had three trey’s.

Manitoba Magic vs Calgary Storm

It was close early, as the Storm held just a five point lead. The Storm then went on a slow 9-0 run that took up a good chunk of the game clock the rest of the opening frame. In the second half the Magic made a push, using their size advantage to push their way inside the point.

This one came down to the wire. A single point game with 3 minutes to go, a brilliant diving effort by 1 of the Storm gave them the lead. The Magic’s full court press gave them good time on offence, but couldn’t hit the crucial shot. The Storm went to the line and ran out the clock, as the game finished 48-37.