New Westminster will have to take the long way home at the Crehan Cup girls’ basketball championships.
The Hyacks left too many points under the ring and were sadly outrebounded by the smaller Vancouver city champion Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs following a 64-50 loss at Argyle Secondary on Day 2 of the Lower Mainland AAA girls’ qualifier.
The two teams traded point for point throughout the opening half, but it became evident as the game went on that New West’s missed shots in close and few second-chance opportunities might well become the eventual storyline.
That scenerio played out in the second half as Churchill took advantage in the third quarter, outscoring the No. 4 seeds 19-10 in the quarter, while holding the Hyacks to just nine points in the final frame.
“Usually we’re better. Maybe we had some nerves,” said Madisen Obrovac, who posted a team-high 16 points and led the Hyacks on the boards.
With starting point guard Justice Steer and senior post Hannah DeVos both out with injury, New West will have its hands full on the back side of the draw.
Burnaby Mountain had the best showing among BurWest teams at the Mainlands.
The No. 9 seed threw a scare at its second-seeded hosts before falling 74-71 to Argyle on Monday.
Guard Jacey Bailey scored a game-high 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Mountain Lions.
Teammate Alix Gabriel knocked down 25 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, to keep the Lions within a bucket up to the final ticks of the clock.
“Our coach said, ‘It’s not the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog,’ and that’s what we did,” said Bailey.
Burnaby South also lost, falling 56-49 to No. 3 seed Handsworth. Ana Lukic had 20 points for South, 16 coming in the second half.
