It may have seemed more like a game of chess than basketball, but both the St. Thomas More Knights and Burnaby South Rebels will take last week’s encounter as something to build onto.
The two junior girls hoop squads met in the Lower Mainland championship final on Saturday, with STM pulling out a 23-20 victory.
While not a lot of points were put up, a lot of stellar defence went down as the two Burnaby teams made the most of their first encounter of the year.
“It was a great win against a very good opponent. … We hadn’t played them at all this year so the girls were really excited,” remarked STM coach Cassie Lauang. “It was not a pretty game by any means, but we knew their tendencies and they knew ours. It seems we couldn’t finish a layup. … Through scouting and the players’ experiences we knew who were their best shooters and we closed out on them.”
Although they don’t play in the same league – STM belongs to the Lower Mainland Independent circuit, where they were a perfect 7-0 – a handful of Knights players are teammates with many of the Burnaby South girls through the Burnaby Eagles club program.
That familiarity added another level to the game, which had provincial seeding on the line. Both teams had qualified earlier for the provincials with wins at qualifying tournaments.
“Our goal was to win districts and qualify for provincials, so this was purely for seeding at B.C.s,” South co-coach Steve Glover said. “I told the team that there wasn’t one shot that lost us that game, but they have to take the fact they held (STM) to 23 points as a big step.”
Tied 8-8 at halftime, the contest saw a few more offensive chances converted in the second half. The Knights’ top shooters – twins Bella and Gigi Gaspar and Kate Stewart-Barnett – had strong efforts on the boards, while Tatiana Yau worked tirelessly on defence.
“(Yau) was a rock for us,” said Lauang. “She didn’t let anything offensively get past her.”
The Rebels, who went 6-0 in Burnaby-New West league play, did take a 13-12 lead on the last shot of the third quarter, when Zyre Aspiras cashed in a layup, but the Knights answered back.
With under two minutes left in the game, Burnaby South got one good scoring opportunity off a turnover and with one of their top offensive players, Laini Glover, outside the arc. With two players covering her, the Grade 10 faked a shot then fired off the possible game-tying basket only to bounce off the rim.
“It was a tough position but (STM’s) defence was right on her,” said the Rebels coach. “It was anybody’s game.”
In the semifinal, STM defeated Windsor 38-23, while Burnaby South topped Argyle 50-36.
The Knights enter the provincials next Wednesday as the third seed, facing the winner of Charles Hayes and North Surrey. For the sixth-seeded Rebels, the next game is against either Valleyview or Windsor.
Both coaches are eager to see their players embrace another challenge.
“(The Lower Mainlands) got them use to playing against tough defences,” said Glover. “You have to live through those games to experience that level, you can’t simulate it in practice.”
“I feel where we’ve grown the most is our composure,” Lauang noted. “If we stay composed there’s an opportunity for us. We’re really excited to go in and see the top teams in the province.”
The provincials are at the Langley Events Centre, running Feb. 28 to March 3.
