The Abbotsford Panthers senior girls basketball team captured the 3A Eastern Valley Athletic Association title inside the Langley Events Centre on Saturday (Feb. 18).
Abbotsford defeated their cross-town rival MEI Eagles 75-47 and earned the win after jumping out to a 20-point lead in the first quarter.
Malia Lenz scored 31 points and was named the tournament’s most valuable player, while Nyah Vermuelen chipped in with 21 points. Bree Neufeld recorded 23 points to lead the Eagles.
Both the Panthers and Eagles book a spot to the provincials with the win. Also heading to the 3A provincials is the Robert Bateman Timberwolves, who defeated the Brookswood Bobcats 56-35 to clinch a berth in the tournament.
Lenz, Vermuelen, Chelsey Dulku from the Panthers, Neufeld, MEI’s Ava Driedger and Bateman’s Eshnaa Gill were all named tournament all-stars.
A trio of Abbotsford senior girls high school basketball teams are also heading to the 2A provincial tournament.
The Abbotsford Traditional Titans, the Abbotsford Christian Knights and the St. John Brebeuf Bears all qualified for provincials after excellent showings at the 2A EVAA finals.
The Titans advanced to the EVAA tournament final, but fell 92-48 to the Langley Christian Lightning at the LEC on Saturday. Abbotsford fell behind 23-8 after the first quarter and could not get back in the game. Taneesh Sran scored a team-high 20 points for the Titans, with Janeesh Sran adding 15.
The 2A bronze medal game featured the Knights defeating the Bears 62-42. Taneesh Sran, Janeesh Sran and Lauren Van Dyk from Abbotsford Christian were all named 2A EVAA tournament all-stars.
The Yale Lions also advanced to the 4A provincial tournament after earning a silver medal in the 4A EVAA finals. Yale fell to the Walnut Grove Gators in Friday’s (Feb. 17) final in at Walnut Grove. Yale’s Maggy Curtis and Jay Hildenbrandt were both named tournament all-stars.
The senior girls tournaments run from March 1 to 4 at the LEC.
Meanwhile, a number of junior and Grade 8 basketball teams also recently qualified for provincials.
Yale picked up EVAA titles for both the junior girls and Grade 9 boys divisions. Both clubs will head to provincials.
The Rick Hansen Hurricanes took home the EVAA banner in the junior boys division, while the MEI Eagles earned an EVAA title in the Grade 8 girls division.
The junior boys provincials occur at the LEC from Feb. 25 to 28, while the Grade 8 girls event occurs in Surrey.
Continue visiting abbynews.com for more coverage of local teams from all the events.