Brentwood College School’s senior girls basketball team will head to provincials next month after finishing second at the 2A Island championships hosted by St. Michaels University School last weekend.
Brentwood led at halftime of the tournament final on Saturday, but SMUS surged ahead in the second half to take the Island title. Both teams will compete at the provincial championships in Langley on March 2-5.
Brentwood opened with an 83-31 win over Shawnigan Lake School on Thursday, then defeated Lambrick Park 55-50 in the semifinals on Friday before facing SMUS in the final. Shawnigan got by Kwalikum 57-54 in the second round on Friday, then lost to Parklands 60-32 on Saturday.
The Cowichan Secondary Thunderbirds competed at the Island 4A championships in Nanaimo last weekend, finishing fifth overall.
The T-Birds opened with a hard-fought 58-44 loss to Belmont, led by Player of the Game Zoe Johnson, who scored 19 points, including four three pointers and 5-for-6 shooting on free throws, and Martina Casamajo, who added 15 points.
Cowichan bounced back from that with a 50-47 win over Royal Bay. Johnson had another 19 points and Casamajo added 11, while Rachel Buck earned Player of the Game honours for grabbing 21 rebounds.
The T-Birds trailed Oak Bay by double digits for most of their last game, coming alive in the final three minutes to cut the final score to 51-50. Erica Kissinger helped the cause with a pair of steals in the final minutes, while Johnson had 17 points and Casamajo added 14. Mya Smith scored six points and was named Player of the Game.
“After two years of not being able to play, the T-Birds showed incredible growth each day of the season and came together as a team for some amazing results,” said Wendy Charles, who coached the team with Erik Johnson. “Thankful to be back in the gym, their coaches could not be more proud of the T-Birds for their amazing dedication and teamwork.”