The W.J. Mouat Hawks hung with the heavily favoured Brookswood Bobcats for long stretches of Friday's semifinal at the B.C. AAA high school girls basketball championship, but the Bobcats pulled away thanks to a huge performance from Aislinn Konig.
Konig, the Bobcats' phenomenal Grade 10 point guard, racked up 39 points to lead her team to an 89-58 victory at the Langley Events Centre.
Brookswood moves on to face the Oak Bay Breakers in Saturday's final (8:30 p.m., LEC), while Mouat takes on the Holy Cross Crusaders in the bronze medal game (6:45 p.m.).
The Hawks, coming off a quarter-final win over the Riverside Rapids, were within six points late in the second quarter, but Brookswood reeled off a 6-0 run in the last 40 seconds of the frame to take a 12-point lead – and all the momentum – into the locker room at halftime.
The Bobcats continued their offensive assault in the third quarter, expanding the lead to 20, capped by Konig swishing a buzzer-beating heave from halfcourt.
The Hawks did a terrific job limiting Brookswood's leading scorer Jessie Brown – the province's most dangerous three-point shooter had just one point in the first half, and finished with six for the game. But Konig's production, combined with 23 points from Tayla Jackson, more than made up for that.
"They kind of couldn't miss, and we kind of couldn't hit," Mouat coach Paula Thompson summarized. "That's what happens sometimes – it's basketball.
"To be honest, (the Hawks players) did everything we asked them to do for the most part, except we fell apart a little bit on Aislinn."
The Roufosse twins led Mouat offensively – Cierra scored 17 points, while Alicia had 12.
While a championship wasn't in the cards for the Hawks this season, advancing to the Final Four is simply remarkable considering 11 of their 12 roster players are in Grade 11. This team really won't peak until next season.
In other provincial action on Friday, the MEI Eagles beat the Riverside Rapids of Coquitlam 83-76, earning a spot in the AAA fifth-place game on Saturday (8:30 a.m.).
In the consolation side of the AA draw, the Rick Hansen Hurricanes were victorious, beating the Britannia Bruins 78-70, while the Abby Christian Knights struggled against the Mark Isfeld Ice, losing 74-47.
The two local teams switch opponents on Saturday to wrap up the tourney – Hansen plays Isfeld, while Abby Christian takes on Britannia. Both games go at 8:30 a.m. at the LEC.