A sweet-shooting guard from Thomas Haney secondary has been chosen to play for the B.C. Under-15 basketball team.
Alexis Toren was on the under-14 team last year, and they had a trip to Washington State. This year, the U-15s are on their way to Las Vegas.
A Grade 10, Toren was ready to contribute with the senior team last year, bus she opted to stay with her peer group on the Thunder junior team. She filled it up all year, averaged better than 30 points per game. Her season high was 47 – an unfathomable number for most junior girls.
She has a sweet shot from range, that has been honed against her dad in games at their backyard basket. Her dad, Matthew, was a baller too, during high school in West Van.
“We out shooting in our basketball hoop a lot,” she said.
Toren also likes to play at the Leisure Centre, mostly against guys, in informal games.
“That has improved my game a lot,” she said.
The skill is definitely there, and she is blessed with also being able to shoot over he check. Toren is five-foot-eight, which makes her half a head taller than most of the girls who play guard at the junior level.
She also has the handles to bring the ball up the floor, and can play point guard with her high school team.
With Team B.C., however, she will slide over to the two-guard position.
Toren gets good grades at Haney, and her goal is to get a basketball scholarship from a U.S. college. Making the provincial team was an important step.
She is looking forward to the experience., facing competition from elite girls her own age, and playing with the best players in the province.
She leaves for Las Vegas in late July.
• Another Thomas Haney girl, Kate Meredith, was picked for Team B.C. The six-foot Meredith was named to the under-14 team. She is fresh off having won a provincial gold medal in track and field, after winning the Grade 8 girls’ shot put.
Two senior centres from the area were also chosen to play for their respective provincial under-17 teams.
Pitt Meadows big man Graham Smith was chosen for the B.C. Under-17 team. He regularly led the marauders in scoring and rebounding as a Grade 11 last year.
Jane Grisley, the Maple Ridge Rambler who also does her finest work in the paint, is again a B.C. Team player.