The W.J. Mouat Hawks punched their ticket to the B.C. AAA high school girls basketball championship game with a gritty victory over the South Kamloops Titans on Friday evening.
The Titans, seeded fifth at provincials, gave the top-ranked Hawks everything they could handle in the semifinals at Capilano University.
In a physical defensive battle, South Kamloops led by a point at halftime (22-21) and through three quarters (35-34), but the Hawks put together a momentum-shifting run midway through the fourth quarter to claim control.
Jaslyen Singh's three-pointer gave the Hawks a 52-44 lead in the waning minutes, and they cruised to victory from there.
Mouat senior forward Katie Brink scored a game-high 21 points, and spearheaded a stellar defensive effort that saw the Hawks smother Emma Wolfram, South Kam's star 6'5" centre.
"It was a tough battle the whole game," Hawks coach Paula Thompson noted. "Ultimately, defence won us that game.
"Katie Brink just shut (Wolfram) down, and we had great help-side defence."
The Hawks move on to the title game on Saturday, where they face the Claremont Spartans of Victoria. Tip-off is 4 p.m. at Capilano University.
Claremont beat Brookswood of Langley 72-65 in overtime in the late semifinal. The Spartans and Hawks have met once before this season, with Claremont earning a two-point overtime win at A Tournament for Emily at Port Coquitlam's Riverside Secondary in December.