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The Okanagan Mission Huskies lived up to their pre-season No. 1 ranking among senior girls’ AAA high school basketball teams in the province with a third-place finish at the UFV Cascades Classic in Abbotsford on the weekend.
Displaying the speed, depth, shooting and teamwork that has coaches and other prognosticators believing they are among the top contenders for a provincial championship this season, the Huskies won three of four games — two of which came against highly ranked Quad-A teams.
But even coach Megan Faust, who has mentored and/or monitored her players for several years, was somewhat surprised how quickly the new team of Huskies broke out of the gate.
“Although these were our first games together, by the end of the tournament it looked like they had been playing together for quite some time,” noted Faust, whose young team consists of only two Grade 12s to go along with five Grade 11s and a trio of Grade 10s.
“The thing I liked most about the girls’ weekend was their unselfish play and their ability to outrun the opposition. Everyone has the ability to score on this team, but the way they were sharing the ball — giving up a good shot for a great shot — was awesome to see.”
The Huskies wasted no time turning heads, breezing past No. 8-ranked (AAA) MEI Eagles of Abbotsford 80-53 in their opening game in which Grade 11 Lily Pink scored 24 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and contributed four steals.
Melaina Corrado, a tournament all-star headed to the UBC Okanagan Heat next season, added 15 points, four assists and three steals while her Grade 10 sister, Elana Corrado, chipped in with 13 points and six boards.
Up against Quad-A’s No. 10-ranked Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers of Surrey in quarter-final play, OKM came away with a 71-52 victory. Pink finished with a team-high 25 points and 16 rebounds while Makenna Jacklin was good for 16 points and eight boards. Both made it look obvious they were coming off a summer-season ball with the UBCO Junior Heat.
The Huskies’ semifinal encounter was predictable as they dropped an 86-52 to the tournament-champion Semiahmoo Totems of Surrey who will likely repeat as provincial Quad-A champions this season after going undefeated in 2018-19 with a roster made up largely of Grade 10 phenoms.
OKM pulled to within 12 points at times in the game and won the second quarter 16-12 but that was the extent of the moral victories. Devon Felt was selected as the Huskies’ player of the game for her 14-point performance.
The bronze-medal encounter saw the Huskies receive a 20-point effort from Grade 10 player-of-the-game, Tatum Wade, who also grabbed five rebounds in the 86-69 triumph over No. 8 (Quad-A) Yale Lions. Pink continued her tournament all-star performance by netting 17 points and collecting 10 rebounds while Stella La Grange chipped with 10 points and the same number of rebounds. Elana Corrado also was good for 10 points.
Heading to the Tsumura Basketball Invitational in Langley this weekend, the OKM representatives are hoping to build on their impressive start by focusing on three areas of their game.
“Blocking out, rebounding and outside shooting will be a focus for sure,” said coach Faust. “We have a ton of good shooters on the team, but as always, we just need more reps.”
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