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Despite a rash of injuries, the Okanagan Mission Huskies won three of four games at their own AA senior girls basketball tournament on the weekend.
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Included in the victories was a 49-41 upset over provincially No. 2-ranked G.W. Graham Grizzlies of Chilliwack in their opening encounter of the 13-team event co-hosted by Immaculata High School.
Jordan Robb led the No. 7-seed Huskies with 13 points and a solid defensive effort that included several timely steals. Hannah Walline and Sarah Howald contributed nine points apiece in the game that saw eight of the nine OKM players score at least one point.
With Jenna Robinson (broken leg) and Emma Parmar (injured knee) out of the lineup; Malley Richardson going down with a rolled ankle in the second quarter; and Kiara Gaspari in foul trouble early on; the Huskies fell 64-54 to the surprising unranked College Heights Cougars of Prince George in their second game.
The Huskies, looking nervous playing in front of their home-school crowd Friday afternoon, fell behind by as much as 15 points. And while they battled hard in the fourth quarter and got to within two points, they couldn’t complete the comeback.
Walline finished with 16 points to lead the OKM offence, with Howald adding 13 in a losing cause.
Up against the No. 4 Duchess Park Condors of Prince George in their third encounter, the Huskies hit 21 of 30 free throws en route to a 49-41 win. Howald continued her steady play and stepped up in the absence of Richardson and Parmar to lead the hosts with 15 points. Walline netted 13 points and Robb added eight.
The Huskies cruised to a 71-26 triumph in their final game against the NorKam Saints. Walline (19), Howald (14) and Gaspari (12) all hit double figures, with Jordan Pink adding nine to the lopsided affair.
Up next for the Huskies is a tournament in Kamloops this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Immaculata Mustangs won two of three games in the tournament on home court.
Led by provincial-team players Kate Johnson (38 points) and Ashlyn Day (23 points, the No. 9-ranked Mustangs, playing without Grade 12 Wallace Teaghan for most of the second half due to a wrist injury, defeated No. 4 Duchess Park 70-61
Day netted38 points and Johnson added 33 in Immaculata’s 80-63 victory over the honourable-mention Westsyde Whundas of Kamloops in their second game. Gabby Cocar contributed nine points in the game that saw three Mustangs, including Johnson, foul out in the fourth quarter.
A third game saw Immaculata fall 83-81 to No. 5 Vernon Panthers despite a gutsy performance by Wallace, who played despite her injured wrist. Day scored 45 points in a losing cause that saw Johnson (22 points) foul out with seven minutes remaining in the game.
The Mustangs will travel to Surrey on Wednesday for the start of the B.C. Catholic schools provincial tournament at Holy Cross Secondary School.
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Okanagan Rockets primed for Kelowna elite tournament
Following a winless week in Calgary, the Okanagan Rockets have gotten back on the winning track in preparation for the 38th annual BDO Kelowna International Elite Midget Tournament.
A pair of convincing B.C. Major Midget Hockey League wins against the Vancouver Northwest Giants on the weekend were just what the Kelowna-based Rockets were looking for after a 0-3-1 record at the prestigious Mac’s Tournament.
The second-place Rockets improved to 19-5-0-2 in the 11-team BCMMHL loop by defeating the seventh-place Giants 5-2 and 7-1 in Squamish.
Led by Coleton Bilodeau, the league’s player-of-the-month, the Rockets jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening game, and after trading a pair of goals in the second, shut out the Giants the rest of the way.
Leading the league in scoring with 48 points in 26 games, Bilodeau notched his 18th and 19th goals of the season and assisted on Max Kryski’s 18th of the campaign to help the Rockets take control of the game and remain seven points back of the front-running Cariboo Cougars. Dylan Prpich and Rayman Bassi added Okanagan goals in the middle frame while Owen Partrick earned the win in goal.
On Sunday, the Rockets got off to another strong start, taking a 3-1 lead in the first period, adding a goal in the second and finishing with a three-goal flare in the third.
Jordan Robinson of West Kelowna and Kelowna’s Jeremy Hite both scored twice and assisted on a goal to pace the Rocket’s offence, while single markers came from Kryski, Wyatt Head and Mitchell Gove.
The Rockets will open the 12-team BDO International on Wednesday when they take on the Burnaby Winter Club beginning at 7 p.m. at the Rutland West Arena.
Meanwhile, the host Kelowna Fripp Warehousing Rockets begin play at 4 p.m. at the Rutland East Arena against the Delta Hockey Academy U18 team.
Lady Owls finish third in Abbotsford tournament
The Kelowna Owls won two of three games to finish third among eight teams at the annual MEI senior AAA girls basketball tournament in Abbotsford.
Ranked No. 10 going into the weekend, the Owls opened with a 71-55 win over the Sardis Falcons while dropping a 98-62 decision to the No. 3 provincially-ranked Brookswood Bobcats of Langley in semifinal play. The Kelowna Secondary School representatives came back to defeat the South Kamloops Titans 61-34 in the bronze-medal game while Brookswood downed honourable-mention Walnut Grove Gators of Langley 85-79 in the final.
Rachel Hare scored 19 points, had four steals and grabbed two rebounds to lead the Owls against Sardis and earn player-of-the-game status. Alley Corrado and Kennedy Dickie both scored 13 points while Madison Dickie and Dez Day chipped in with nine points apiece.
Kennedy Dickie’s 19 points and eight rebounds contributed to the Grade 10 forward being named the player of the game in the loss to Brookswood. Hare added 12 points and five boards to go along with 10 points, five rebounds and six steals by Corrado.
Eight points, five rebounds and four steals earned Corrado the player-of-game against South Kam. Hare led the team in points with 14 while adding three rebounds and three thefts. Kennedy Dickie had 10 points and Kasey Patchell chipped in with nine.
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