The St. Thomas More Knights marched into the B.C. high school AA girls’ basketball championships after a banner-winning effort at the Lower Mainland championships.
Leilani Carney was named the MVP and STM teammates Zion Corrales-Nelson and Nikko Sahagun were both named all-stars following a 56-33 victory over Little Flower Academy in the Mainland championship final at STM on Saturday.
“As a team we really wanted this. It’s something we wanted from the beginning of the season,” said Sahagun, who had 11 points for the Knights in the final game.
From the opening tip-off, STM came out with jump, building a 15-4 first-quarter lead before giving some of that momentum back to the Angels who made some ground with a strong second-quarter rally.
But in the second half, STM showed little quarter, holding the No. 5-ranked Vancouver independent to single-digits in both quarters, while also dominating at the offensive end.
“I know my team has a powerful defence and we used it today. I’m really proud of my team,” said Sahagun.
Corrales-Nelson led all scorers with 14 points, six rebounds and five steals, while Carney chipped in with 11 points and four of the team’s 23 total thefts.
Jessica Hanson had a team-best 11 points for Little Flower.
STM also controlled the backboards in the final, hauling down 41 rebounds, including 19 off the offensive glass.
Nadine Stewart had a game-high eight boards for the Knights.
Xenia Dumont came out in the third quarter with three quick buckets, while Carney and Sahagun nailed back-to-back threes to double the score to 38-19 late in the frame.
The Knights then opened the final quarter with a comeback-killing 11-2 start.
In the semifinal, STM survived a scare from Vancouver rival Notre Dame, coming back from six points down in the final four minutes of play with a game-changing 14-4 run to advance to the championship final with a 63-59 victory. Corrales-Nelson led the Knights with 13 points, 11 of them coming in the second half. Notre Dame's Jolene Robinson led all scorers with 27 points.
The Knights also got past North Shore No. 4 Bodwell College 69-51 in the quarter-fiinals on Carney's 22-point contribution. Sahagun added 14 points, including four treys in the win.
“This is a year I really want to count,” said Sahagun, a Grade 11 guard/forward. “It’s the last year with our seniors and it’s special to me to make it a good year and a big blessing.”
The Knights will enter the B.C. high school AA provincial championships as the No. 1 Lower Mainland seed. Seycove and Notre Dame earned the No. 3 and 4 seeds at the Mainland championships.
The AA provincials will be held at the Langley Events Centre from March 4 to 7.
