A lot of positives emerged from the New Westminster
senior girls basketball team’s journey at the Centennial Top-10 tournament last week.
Althought they finished 1-3, New West put up strong efforts against four ranked Triple-A teams, and didn’t break.
Finishing 12th overall in a field of 16 — mostly provincially ranked — does a team’s confidence good.
“It was very good for us,” remarked Hyacks head coach Doug Woodward. “Over the four games we played pretty well, and even in the one game where the score wasn’t close, we were leading.”
New West launched the tourney with a deceiving 74-40 loss to No. 5-rated Riverside, where the unranked Hyacks briefly led 18-11 and by three after one quarter.
Riverside started the second quarter with 13 straight points to take control of that contest, but the underdogs got a solid 16-point performance from senior Madisen Obrovac.
In their next match, the Hyacks edged Handsworth 59-53 in another game where the score told only part of the story. New West built up a solid lead over three quarters only to see Handsworth make a game of it, getting within two before the Royal City crew ended it with a couple of buckets.
It was a game where stellar sub Sara Forgie got into the starting rotation, due to an injury suffered by Justice Steer in the first game. Forgie, a 5-foot-8 Grade 10 guard, responded with 29 points against Handsworth, in a win that also gives New West an advantage at the Vancouver Districts playoffs over their North Shore rival.
“That was our biggest game... We played them extremely well but really could have finished it a bit better,” noted Woodward.
In the team’s final two contests, the scores were very similar as No. 8-ranked W.J. Mouat won 65-59, and No. 9 Claremont prevailed 65-58.
“We had the lead in the third quarter in both games,” the coach said. “We have to put it away. We could have won both but didn’t, and we talked about it at practice (Tuesday).
“You can’t miss those four-foot shots. We also have to do a better job on defensive rebounds, because if you give them two, three chances they’re going to put them in.”
Joining Forgie with stellar efforts all weekend were Rhiannon Leidl, Obrovac and Emma Forgie, the guard’s Grade 12 sister.
The focus for the squad now turns to St. Thomas More’s Senior Girls Chancellor tournament, which begins today when the host team takes on Abbotsford at 1:30 p.m., Byrne Creek plays McMath at 3 p.m., and New West goes at 5 p.m. against Top-10 finalist and Double-A ranked Seycove.
That match-up will be a terrific measuring stick as the Hyacks look to refine their game with playoffs a month away.
“They are a good team with two awesome post players,” said Woodward. “They scored 62 points against us and we need to defend the posts better... We didn’t know what to expect the first time we faced them. We have a plan for them this time.”
