The Princeton Secondary senior girls basketball team won the Okanagan Valley Championships that were held in Enderby on Feb. 23 and 24.
The first place finish clinched a berth in the provincial championships played in Prince George from March 7 to 10.
“We had set a goal to make it to the provincials and the girls have done it. They have worked so hard to improve all year and to be the best they can be,” said coach Rob Marshall.
“I am really proud of them.”
Princeton played Ashcroft in their opening game and won 78 to 37.
Top scorers were Ciara Bamford with 27 points, Angela Marshall with 16 points and Julia Reichert with 12 points.
A strong game was played by Courtney Hassell, who earned the defensive player of the game.
The Crawford triplets (Hannah, Mia and Kelsey) also played strong games, although Mia received a knee injury which put her on the bench for the rest of the tournament.
In the semi-final, the Rebels defeated Immaculata from Kelowna by a score of 66 to 43.
A tenacious zone defence and a well-rounded offence was led by Julia Reichert’s 22 points, Ciara Bamford’s 14 points and Angela Marshall’s 13 points.
Kirsten Haayer was awarded the defensive player of the game for her outstanding defensive play.
Unfortunately, Hannah Crawford also sustained a leg injury in this game and she had to watch from the sidelines with her sister.
In the championship game the Rebels came out flying against the Kelowna Christian Knights.
The Rebels jumped into an early lead and never looked back and ended up defeating Kelowna by a score of 57 to 26.
Top scorers were Angela Marshall (14), Julia Reichert (12), Ciara Bamford (12), Kirsten Haayer (5), Courtney Hassell (5) and Morgan Reichert (4).
Both Brianna Musgrove and Amy Brewer also rebounded well and played great defence.
The Rebels were awarded the championship trophy which was accepted by the Grade 12 players on the team.
Julia Reichert and Ciara Bamford were named to the tournament all star team and Angela Marshall was named tournament most valuable player.
The win qualified the Rebels to play in the provincial championships and they will enter the tournament as one of the top seeds.
“Princeton should be proud of the Rebels. This team is recognized as one of the top girl’s teams in B.C. and it is a credit to all the people who support the Princeton basketball program,” said assistant coach Colleen Stevens.
You can follow the teams progress at the Provincials by logging on to the tournament website.