A massive fourth quarter powered the W.J. Mouat Hawks senior girls basketball team past the Riverside Rapids and into the B.C. AAA semifinals.
At the Langley Events Centre on Thursday evening, the Hawks and Coquitlam-based Rapids were tied 40-40 at the end of the third quarter. But Mouat owned the fourth quarter, out-scoring Riverside 22-8 to win 62-48.
The Hawks, seeded third in the AAA draw, move on to face the No. 2 Brookswood Bobcats of Langley in the semis on Friday (6:45 p.m., LEC).
Mouat's twin post players, Alicia and Cierra Roufosse, paced the offence with 15 and 14 points, respectively, and Alicia hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds. Brittany Wertman chipped in with 11 points for the Hawks.
• In other AAA action on Thursday, Brookswood derailed the MEI Eagles' title hopes, winning their quarter-final match-up 88-65.
The Eagles got 26 points and 10 rebounds from Taylor Claggett and 14 points from Tessa Ratzlaff, but the Bobcats wasted little time draining any suspense from the proceedings – they led 33-14 after the first quarter and 50-23 at the half.
MEI faces Riverside at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
• On the AA scene, the Rick Hansen Hurricanes rebounded from a first-round loss in emphatic fashion, crushing the J.L. Crowe Hawks 75-33 in consolation-side action.
The Hurricanes held a modest 18-15 lead after the first quarter, but outscored the Hawks 42-8 in the second and third quarters combined. Sukhi Birk led the offensive explosion with 34 points, while Jasmine Gill racked up 24 points and 16 rebounds.
Hansen plays the Britannia Bruins at 10 a.m. on Friday.
• The Abby Christian Knights have, to this point, been the cardiac kids of the AA girls tourney.
After dropping a heart-breaking 49-48 decision to the Vernon Panthers in their opener on Wednesday, the No. 11-seeded Knights came back with a 68-67 win over the Lambrick Park Lions in their first consolation-side game on Thursday.
Abby Christian employed an incredibly balanced attack, as four players scored in double figures – Amanda de Waal (19 points), Rebecca Huizen (15), Mariah Dykman (14) and Moriah Konynenbelt (14 points, 15 rebounds).
The Knights get an early start on Friday, taking on the Mark Isfeld Ice at 8:30 a.m.