The New Westminster Hyacks missed out on a provincial AAA high school girls’ berth into the provincials.
The Hyacks lost the final wildcard berth 64-51 to Sir Winston Churchill at the Crehan Cup Lower Mainland qualifying tournament at home on Saturday.
New West got the deficit down to eight points with three minutes left in the game, but turnovers on the next three possessions played into Churchill’s favour.
“We have lots of injuries. We knew it was going to be a tough game. We fought to the end,” said senior forward Lauren Denusik, who had six of New West’s eight points down the stretch. “They were hitting their shots and their speed – we couldn’t keep up with them.”
Earlier in the week, Denusik helped keep New West’s hopes alive, scoring 24 points in New West’s comeback 64-59 win over Killarney.
Madisen Obrovac was named to the Crehan Cup all-tournament team.
“We’ll get over it,” Denusik added. “The girls will come back next year, which will be good.”
In the junior girls’ division, New West upset No. 5-ranked Seycove 40-33 to win the Lower Mainland championship title.
Tournament MVP Sarah Forgie led the Jr. Hyacks with 13 points, while all-star Celia Palmer chipped in with nine.
With the win, the New West juniors advanced to the B.C. championships at the Langley Events Centre March 4 to 7.
