The Abbotsford Panthers were the big local story at this weekend’s girls basketball provincial championships, but a number of other programs had great showings.
The MEI Eagles took home bronze in the junior girls tournament, defeating the Argyle Pipers 60-43 in the third place game on Saturday (March 4).
MEI suffered only one loss in the tournament, which was to the eventual champion Brookswood Bobcats – a 52-33 loss on Friday (March 3). The Eagles opened with a 58-38 win over Crofton House on March 1 and had wins over Duchess Park (55-51 on March 1) and the Yale Lions (41-40 on March 2).
MEI’s Lola Reimer was named a tournament first team all-star, while Olivia Sidhu of the Eagles was a second team all-star. Yale finished fifth in the tournament after a 42-32 win over Okanagan Mission on Saturday.
MEI also captured second place in the Grade 8 girls provincial event, which occurred in Surrey.
BC FINAL!!!💥 I’ll be there! Are you coming?! Let’s go Eagles!! 2:30pm, Saturday, at Fleetwood Park Secondary in Surrey. #wearemei 🏀🦅 pic.twitter.com/7gnWK4RSL5
— Vijay Manuel (@headofschools) March 4, 2023
The Yale Lions senior girls team had a strong showing in the 4A tournament, placing fourth in the province. They opened with a 75-49 win over Dr. Charles Best on March 1 and beat Seaquam 77-67 on March 2. The Lions then lost to the Walnut Grove Gators 68-55 in the semi-final on Friday and also fell 68-63 to Burnaby Central on Saturday in the third place game.
Yale’s Jay Hildebrand was named a first team all-star and Lions player Samaraa Mason was named the most outstanding defensive player of the tournament.
The Abbotsford Traditional Titans had the school’s best finish ever in the 2A tournament, placing sixth overall. Titans player Janeesh Sran was named a second team all-star.
The 3A tournament also saw MEI place sixth and the Robert Bateman Timberwolves place 11th. Bateman also won the most sportsmanlike team award.
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