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In a tuneup for a second Prairie Elite Basketball League tournament, the UBC Okanagan U17 Junior Heat won two of three games at their own Sunshine Classic on the weekend in Kelowna.
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The Heat, heading to Calgary this weekend for a PEBL tournament, edged the Triple Threat of Vancouver 63-60 in their first game on Friday at UBCO while downing the Vancouver Sports Club (VSC) 65-55 before falling to the Junior Heat Alumni 77-53 later in the day.
Kelsey Falk of Vernon scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in leading the Heat to the win over Triple Threat in which the hosts trailed 12-2 early on and 32-30 at the half. Jenna Robinson added 10 points and Naomi Kent chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds to go along with nine points from Jordan Kemper.
The Heat took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter and went ahead by 14 before Triple Threat battled back to make it tight down the stretch.
“I was proud of how the girls showed mental toughness to battle back early and how they stayed together despite the slow start,” said coach Bobby Mitchell.
Against VSC, the Heat got off to a much better start, leading 19-8 in the first quarter, 34-25 at the half and opening up an 18-point lead after three quarters. The UBCO junior gave up 25 points in the fourth quarter to let VSC make a game of it.
Kelowna’s Jaeli Ibbetson’s 17 points and eight rebounds were tops for the winners, with Kassidy Day adding nine points.
“Obviously we feel good about getting the win but we aren't happy about not putting four quarters together,” said Mitchell, also UBCO women’s basketball team’s lead assistant coach. “I have to do a better job getting us ready to play and maintaining a high level for the whole game.”
The U17s had their hands full with the more experienced UBC Junior Alumni, and although they hung around and stayed close for two quarters, they couldn’t keep up down the stretch.
Ibbetson’s 14 points and eight boards led the U17s while Falk added nine points and Katrina Fink contributed eight points.
“Overall, it was a good weekend,” said Mitchell. “We identified gaps we want to approve upon moving forward. We’re excited to be heading to Calgary.”
The Junior Heat program played host to 13 teams in all over the weekend — seven in the U16/17 division and six in the U13/15 division.
A second U17 UBCO Junior Heat team won three of four games on the weekend, their wins coming over the New Heights U17 team of North Vancouver, Vancouver’s Triple Threat U17 team and the Triple Threat U16 squad.
The UBCO U13s won all three of their games while the host U15s finished with a 2-2 record.
“As a program we were very proud as all our teams showed very well and competed at a high level,” said Mitchell.
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