Lions golden at Best in the West tourney
Terrific team defence powered the Yale Lions senior girls basketball squad to the title at the Best of the West tournament in Kelowna last weekend.
The Lions knocked off South Delta and the host Kelowna Owls en route to the final, where they blasted Vernon 92-45. The result propelled the Yale girls back into the B.C. AAA rankings, at No. 10.
Yale point guard Kendra Arnold picked up tournament MVP honours, while Sara Kurath and Hailey Kendall were named first team all-stars.
"We played great defence," Lions coach Euan Roberts enthused. "We really went after the ball. We got in some foul trouble, but that's just because we were being aggressive."
The Lions rode the momentum from the tourney title to a pair of league victories this week over Terry Fox of Port Coquitlam and Fleetwood Park of Surrey.
The Fraser Valley's AAA girls hoops scene has been reorganized into two tiers this year. Abbotsford schools Yale and W.J. Mouat are in Tier 1, squaring off against highly ranked teams from around the region on a weekly basis. The Lions sit at 4-3, including narrow losses to No. 1-ranked Brookswood of Langley and No. 2 Riverside of Coquitlam.
"We're coming along well," Roberts said. "It's excellent basketball (in Tier 1), in that you don't get any blowout games like you used to have in the past. You have to be ready to play every game."
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