Eliciting some subterfuge, New Westminster senior girls basketball coach Doug Woodward is weighing the benefits of laying low.
Unranked, the Hyacks are not listed among the favourites to make next March’s B.C. AAA championships in Langley. Their name has not appeared once among those rated as the main contenders. Being mid-December, that's not necessarily a bad thing, either.
It's getting to the provincials that is the major goal, where the true 'Top-16' is sifted and deciphered. It's that result every team would trade an early-season chart-topper for, and Woodward is glad to have his team keep a low profile until the time is right.
“We’ve done this before; nobody knows about us and that’s a good thing right now,” said Woodward.
The Hyacks hav had a few good tournament challenges, but for the most part are working hard on their game at practice, and making it pay off in exhibition. They stuck to it last weekend, capping a run at the St. Thomas More Knights Chancellor tournament with a 69-52 victory over the hosts in the final.
And it came after a sluggish first half, where New West trailed STM 35-32, and losing their top player early in the fourth quarter.
“(STM) really hustled the first half, and they were out-beating us,” remarked Woodward. “It wasn’t a great game for us – we lost (Sarah Forgie) early in the last quarter when she fouled out, and had to watch her time in the third (quarter).”
New West out-scored the Knights 15-5 in that third frame, and pulled away in the final 10 minutes. A big trey in the final minute of the third quarter set the stage, giving the Hyacks a 48-40 edge in what had, up until then, been a fairly tight contest.
"We didn't play great but we didn't crack," noted the coach.
Devin Strome led all shooters with 20 points, en route to picking up the MVP award, while Forgie counted 16 – 12 of them in the first quarter. Natalie Nastase tallied 11 points, while Ianon Imachi and Mia Obrovac both counted 10 points.
It came after New West stopped Duchess Park 68-50 in the semifinal, where the Hyacks broke open a 12-12 game with a 12-point run. Setting the tone was Strome with 24 points and Forgie with 19, while Obrovac chipped in 11.
They opened the tourney by beating No. 1-ranked single-A Credo Christian 81-63, as Forgie, a Grade 12 guard, cashed in 29 points, including five treys. Strome deposited 22 points, including 12 in the first quarter. Both Forgie and Obrovac were named to the first all-star team.
An encouraging part so far has been the team's bench strength, which gives Woodward the ability to mix things up and rest Forgie or Strome down the stretch. An international student from Japan, Imachi has came aboard and fit well with the team, earning big minutes.
"She can play all the positions, one, two or three-guard, and she's fast," said Woodward. "(Imachi) hustles in the game and at practice, and she's just as quick getting back on defence as going forward."
On Wednesday, the team continued its progression by clipping Little Flower Academy 54-47, getting 15 points from Strome. Forgie scored 10, while Jamie Butts contributed eight points.
While they aren't slated to be in the vaunted Centennial Top-10 Tournament next month, partially due to the format changing from 16 teams to 12, Woodward said they will get some good tests next week when they host their own tournament next week, with games against Burnaby South (Dec. 19), Cambie (Dec. 20) and STM (Dec. 21). The team is also entered into the Heritage Woods Kodiaks mid-January tourney.
