Good to go -- the New Westminster Hyacks senior girls basketball team achieved their main goal at last week’s Lower Mainlands en route to finishing second.
The squad clinched a spot at next week’s provincial AAA championship in Langley on the back of a defensive gem in the Lower Mainland semifinal last Thursday.
Although the tournament final wasn’t quite as successful -- resulting in provincially ranked No. 2 R.A. McMath storming to a 93-63 decision on Saturday -- it did give some insight, as well as a final point of reference.
“(McMath) got us off guard as they were ready for the press, we went man-to-man but they were a handful,” remarked New West coach Doug Woodward.
“The good thing was we scored 63 points against them, which is right around our average. But we don’t match-up well against them.”
Although McMath has good height, its strength proved to be on the offensive side.
“They’re great shooters, (McMath) can really shoot the ball from anywhere,” remarked Woodward.
New West got 23 points from Grade 12 guard Justice Steer, including seven treys. Sarah Forgie contributed 14 points, while Madisen Obrovac chipped in 11.
It was a completely different story in the semifinal, where the Hyacks took down Handsworth 55-43, securing a berth to next week’s provincials in Langley.
Unlike their previous meeting, New West was able to build a solid lead and pull away, while putting in a dominating shut-down defensive effort.
“That’s what won it for us, we just dominated on defence,” he said. “We kept the score down.”
Forgie and Obrovac topped the scoring list with 22 points apiece. Steer played through the flu and counted just three points, but it came on a key trey, said Woodward.
“She toughed it out as she threw up several times during the game,” said the coach. “She’d go off, then come back and I’d ask ‘You okay to go?’ and she wanted in.”
Both Forgie and Obrovac were named to the first all-star team.
Now New West faces Abbotsford on March 2 in the provincial opener (time unknown at New Westminster Record deadline) at the Langley Events Centre.
The two teams played previously, with Abbotsford prevailing 58-53.
