Present and future to clash at BC Girls All-Star game
Although the Provincial Championships are all done and dusted, there is still one more premier event left on the high school basketball calendar. The annual BC Girls All-Star Game tips off tonight, and will feature the top talent from both the AAA and AA levels in the 2017-18 season in two different games.
“We started the Lower Mainland vs. Fraser Valley all-star game last year, [after] we had previously done a province wide one” said Argyle head coach Anthony Beyrouti, who will be one of the coaches at the event. “Paul Langford came up with the idea and in year one it was a big success.”
The first game at 5:30 pm is the Futures Game, with the top non-senior players from both the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley zones square up. The Fraser Valley future roster is loaded with top players from the AAA tournament, as they will also have the Most Outstanding Defensive Player in Sophia Wisotzki and six players from both the First Team and Second Team All-Stars. Meanwhile, the Lower Mainland team will be able to call upon some of the top players from the AA tournament, as Most Outstanding Defensive Player Surprise Munie from Britannia First Team All-Star Jessica Clarke, and Gemma Cutler from Saint Thomas Aquinas will both play for them.
“Their commitment to the game has really set the bar high at their high school” saint Saint Thomas Aquinas head coach John Prescott on his two standout player. “The results of their dedicated hours are evident in both their improvement and their recognition at local and provincial championship tournament.”
The Grade 12 All-Star game will be played after the Futures Game at 7:15 pm. For the Lower Mainland, they will have at their disposal the likes of Sarah Forgie from New Westminster, and Second Team All-Star Lucy Guan of Britannia. For the Fraser Valley, they will have one of the top rebounds and First Team-All Star in Natalie Rathler as well as Abby Zawada, who are both going to the University of Fraser Valley next season. Fraser Valley will also have Sienna Lenz and Emma Kramer, who will both take the floor together for the first time before they head off to SFU next fall.
For the participants, it gives them a chance to go against players they have only played against over the course of the season.
“I think playing with different kids from different teams and clubs that they never really get to play with” said Beyrouti on what makes this game unique. “Maybe someone a player has thought was pretty good is now on their team and just seeing how they approach the game is cool for them.”
Both games will be played at Saint Thomas More on Tuesday, April 3rd. Last year’s games both went down to the wire, and had a crowd of over 500 people. A similar amount is expected this time which should make the atmosphere amazing.
Future’s Roster
Lower Mainland
Camie Ward - Argyle, Grade 11
Emma Stewart-Barnett - Saint Thomas More, Grade 11
Gemma Cutler - Saint Thomas Aquinas, Grade 10
Jalynne Huynh - Burnaby Central, Grade 11
Janel Tantengco - Killarney
Jenna Tobias - Whistler, Grade 11
Jessica Clarke - Saint Thomas Aquinas, Grade 11
Julia Strigl - Handsworth, Grade 11
Kanon Iwachi - New West, Grade 11
Kara Moscovitz - Hugh Boyd, Grade 11
Liz Kennedy - McMath, Grade 10
Pietra Kamstra - Whistler, Grade 11
Surprise Munie - Britannia, Grade 10
Yvonna Acimovic - Lord Byng
Fraser Valley
Nikki Cabuco - Charles Best, Grade 11
Jayden Gill - Robert Bateman, Grade 11
Makenna Gardner - Langley Christian Secondary, Grade 10
Kyla Smith - MEI
Jessica Parker - Riverside, Grade 11
Sammy Shields - Riverside, Grade 9
Jessica Wisotzki - Walnut Grove, Grade 11
Tavia Rowell - Walnut Grove, Grade 11
Marin Lenz - Abbotsford Senior, Grade 10
Faith Dut - Semiahmoo, Grade 11
Izzy Forsyth - Semiahmoo, Grade 9
Grace Killins - Centennial, Grade 11
Tana Pankratz - Yale, Grade 11
Emily Instant - Heritage Woods, Grade 11
Deanna Tuchscherer - G.W. Graham, Grade 11
Aliza Dueck - G.W. Graham, Grade 11
Jenna Dick - Brookswood, Grade 11
Sophia Kramer - Sullivan Heights, Grade 10
Grade 12 Roster
Lower Mainland
Abby Zawada - McMath, committed to University of Fraser Valley
Alex Walker - Carson Graham
Chloe Walton - Argyle
Devin Strome - New Westminster
Jenelle McComb - Handsworth
Kristin Abo - McNair
Laura Holt - Argyle
Lucy Guan - Britannia
Malena Mokhovikova - Britannia
Martha Melaku - McMath
Rachel Feenan - Little Flower Academy
Sarah Forgie - New Westminster
Skyler MacDonald - Lord Byng
Tanis Metcalfe - Carson Graham, committed to University of British Columbia
Fraser Valley
Natalie Rathler - Walnut Grove, committed to University of Fraser Valley
Sienna Lenz - Abbotsford Senior, committed to Simon Fraser University
Sydney Fetterly - Abbotsford Senior
Sophia Klassen - Sardis
Hailey Counsell - Heritage Woods, committed to University of British Columbia
Madison Draayers - Yale, committed to University of Fraser Valley
Shaelynn Tolerton - Holy Cross, committed to Douglas College
Brooklyn Golt - Brookswood, committed to Thomson Rivers University
Emma Kramer - Sullivan Heights, committed to Simon Fraser University
Amanda Pearson - Fraser Heights
Shelvin Grewal - Lord Tweedsmuir, committed to Eastern Arizona College
Harneet Sidhu - Lord Tweedsmuir
Sapna Deo - Yale
Nicole Peters - MEI
Jaya Bannerman - G.W. Graham, committed to Trinity Western University
Miss any commitments? Let us know in the comments!
Written by: Nick Bondi