The Royal Bay Ravens continue to climb the basketball ladder in junior girls play this season.
The Ravens entered this week ranked number 3 in the province, following their victory at the Island championships in Nanaimo last weekend.
Sitting with a stellar 35-2 record for the season, the Ravens next face the best in B.C. at the 24-team provincial championships, March 1-4 at the Langley Events Centre. Royal Bay, along with the other top-eight seeds, gets a first-round bye. That means whichever team the Ravens play in their opener will have already played a game that day.
Saturday’s 37-33 win in the Island final over tournament host Nanaimo secondary saw the Ravens have a bit of a scare put into them, by a team that lost three previous games to Royal Bay, each time by 20 points or more.
With the gym noisy and supporters split almost evenly between the two teams, the Ravens built a 31-19 lead in the third quarter. But Nanaimo put the pressure on and clawed their way back to within three points with a minute to go in the fourth quarter.
“I think it was a good thing,” Ravens coach Dave Awalt said of the test, which saw his team win by the smallest margin in quite a few weeks. “Some of the girls needed this close game to realize they they have to step on the floor every time and come to play. It was a good gut check for them before we head to provincials.”
Awalt said it was likely a bit of nerves for his players, knowing that a second straight Island title was in their grasp. He said the Ravens didn’t panic, however, and got some clutch free throws from Hannah Cormode in the dying moments of the game to put the game away.
Rachel Schmidt earned player of the game honours for Royal Bay in the final.
The Ravens’ Lauren Awalt was named the tournament’s most valuable player for a second straight year, while Cormode was named to the all-star team for a second time.
Royal Bay opened with a 72-23 win over Nanaimo’s Wellington secondary, with Lauren Awalt named player of the game. A 51-31 win over Claremont followed in the semifinals, with Cormode earning the nod.
Nanaimo and third-place finisher Vanier from Courtenay also qualified for the provincial tournament.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com