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Abbotsford Panthers fall to Walnut Grove at TBI final

Senior girls team places second at Langley event
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The Abbotsford Panthers placed second at the Tsumura Basketball Invitational over the weekend.

The Abbotsford Panthers senior girls basketball team came up a little short at the Tsumura Basketball Invitational.

Competing against 15 of the best teams in the province, the Panthers advanced all the way to Saturday’s final at the Langley event, but couldn’t stop the Walnut Grove Gators.

Despite 30 points from Marin Lenz, the Panthers fell 75-65 to the Gators in the final. The teams were tied at 57 with five minutes left, but the Gators took over late. Sienna Lenz added 18 points in limited minutes, while Beryl Kithinji added eight and Sydney Fetterly picked up seven.

Abbotsford opened with a 75-66 win over St. Thomas Aquinas in the opening round of the TBI on Thursday. Marin scored a team-high 35 points, with Sienna adding 21 and Fetterly contributing with 12.

The Panthers followed that win up with a 75-62 win over Heritage Woods on Friday. Sienna led the way with 23 points, Fetterly contributed with 17, while Marin added 16 and Kelsey Roufosse scored 10.

Abbotsford then took down Riverside 93-74 in the semifinal on Saturday morning to advance to the game against the Gators. Marin scored 24, Fetterly picked up 23 and Roufosse added 15.

The Panthers, who won the 2016 TBI, are currently ranked fifth in the province in AAA.

Abbotsford Senior was the lone local team to participate in the senior girls tournament.

The previous weekend saw the senior boys featured at the TBI, with the W.J. Mouat Hawks finished third overall.

The Hawks picked up wins over Heritage Woods on Dec. 7 and Burnaby South on Dec. 8, before falling to Holy Cross in the semifinal on Dec. 9.

Mouat then defeated Terry Fox in the third place game later that same day.

Also competing at the event were the Yale Lions, who finished eighth overall in the 16-team event.

Yale opened with a win over Duchess Park on Dec. 7, but then lost to Terry Fox on Dec. 8.

They eventually then lost to Burnaby South on Dec. 9 in the seventh place game.



Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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