The future of high school girls basketball on the West Shore is looking bright, if last weekend’s results are any indication.
The Royal Bay Ravens junior girls captured their third straight trophy, the 12-team Comox Valley ICE tournament hosted by Mark Isfeld secondary. The clincher was a 62-41 victory over Nanaimo District, with Mya Bains named player of the game. It was the second week in a row Royal Bay faced Nanaimo, with a similar result.
The Ravens dominated their three previous opponents on the weekend, opening with a 70-24 win over Alberni District (Hannah Cormode player of game) then piling up the points in a 98-24 win over École au Coeur de L’île (Lauren Awalt, POG). Jordan Scoville got the nod as player of the game in a 62-19 semifinal romp over Shawnigan Lake.
“Playing three teams we had not seen or played before is great for the girls, as they have to quickly figure out what they must do on defence and offence in order to be successful,” Ravens coach Dave Awalt said. “Once again our defence was our strength, which allowed us to transition quickly into our offence.”
He points to the experience the majority of his players have gained playing outside school with the Westshore Warriors girls program as a big reason for Royal Bay’s success over the past couple of seasons.
The Ravens were slated to play two league games this week and have next week off for exams, in advance of the provincial qualifying tournament Jan. 27 and 28 at Cowichan secondary in Duncan. The city junior girls championships go Feb. 6 to 9.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com