The SRT Titans senior girls basketball squad capped their regular season last night with an exciting 60-57 over St.John Brebeuf from Abbotsford.
The win secured third place in the tough Fraser Valley East League. The Titans finished behind provincially ranked G.W Graham, and Langley Christian and will now host the first round of Fraser Valley Regional play on Friday, Feb. 8 at SRT.
The provincials will be held starting Feb. 27 at the Langley Events Centre.
Before the guys take over, the Girls get their shot at Basketball glory! The BC Secondary School Girls Basketball Championships are February 27-March 2, join us for all the action! pic.twitter.com/JmMc3BOqfx
— Langley Events Centre (@LangleyEvents) February 1, 2019
The Titans came out flying against Brebeuf, posting a 24-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, and 34-25 by half time.
The second half was a different story. By the end of the third quarter Brebeuf had taken the lead 43-42. The Titans trailed for the entire fourth quarter, until the two minute mark. Some clutch foul shooting by Grade 11 guard Mackenzie Boldt helped draw the Titans even, and eventually put them ahead. Down by three, Brebeuf had one last posession to tie, but the Titan defence held strong. With a final score of 60-57, the comeback was complete.
Tuesday was senior’s night and the Titans Grade 12s led the way. Guard Mika Nagai dropped five quick points early in the first quarter to get the offence rolling. Senior forward Emily Horne controlled the boards and was a defensive force the entire game, coming up with some key steals late in the game. Senior “all purpose” girl Sabrina Jones came up big in the final minutes, making some tough buckets in the paint and banging in some key free throws.
In a game that required a full team effort the Grade 11 contributions were huge. Forward Rylee Dickson poured in 17 first-half points and was outstanding defensively in the second half. In the latter stages of the game, when points were hard to come by, guards Cara Ollmann and Mackenzie Boldt chipped in six and eight points respectively. Boldt was clutch, going six-for-eight from the foul line in the final three minutes. Grade 11 forward Kailin Wood led the Titans in rebounds, while picking up some key steals and hitting a clutch put back. Rounding out the scoring was Grade 10 point guard Emiko Nagai, who added seven points and handled the ball against pressure all game.
“I told the girls before the game that we would need everyone’s best effort tonight, and thankfully they were able to find a way,” said coach Lesley McPherson.
“Senior’s night is always an emotional one. Playing high school basketball for five years is a huge commitment. Our seniors this year aren’t only great players, they are great students and citizens of this school. We wanted them to finish on a win and this one was huge. This is such a great group of girls, I’m proud of how hard they work and how willing they are to do whatever the team needs to be successful. If they are able to keep this level of intensity, they should continue to have success.”
The Titans will now host the North Delta Huskies on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. The winner of that game advances to the AA Fraser Valley “Elite Eight” and will take on the second-place finisher in the West League, Pitt Meadows. The two local teams met recently in a game that saw the Titans lose to Pitt by four.
Read also: Titans grab second straight junior girls league title