The Duncan Christian School Chargers made it within a game of representing Vancouver Island at the 2018 B.C. senior girls single-A basketball championships.
The Chargers reached the final of the Island tournament at Glenlyon Norfolk School last weekend, where they faced a tough St. Andrew’s team that they had lost to earlier in the season. The Chargers played a strong game, and altered their game to better match the Sabres, but ended up falling 70-44.
“We knew we had our work cut out for us,” DCS head coach Michelle Nederlof said. “As usual, the girls were able to adjust their defence, but it was no match for St. A’s outside shooting. We were able to shut down their fast break, slow their game down and close the quick lead they incurred. At half we were down by about 10 and were not about to close the door on this game. The girls talked on defence, fought on offence and put themselves on the line for their teammates, but unfortunately, it was not enough to win the game.”
Jaymie Brandsma paced the Chargers with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Meaghan Russell added 14 points and six assists. Morgan Nederlof earned Player of the Game honours for her excellent work on defence.
To reach the final, the Chargers first had to get past École au Coeur de l’Île in a semifinal battle between the second- and third-ranked teams. The schools’ previous meeting had gone to overtime, and this game was similarly close, with DCS prevailing 61-51.
“This would be an important game for two reasons,” Nederlof said. “One, to prove that we were fairly ranked above them, and two, to send us to the finals.”
Jenna Bakker had a team-high 16 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks against École au Coeur de l’Île, while Russell was named Player of the Game for putting up 12 points, nine steals and six assists. Ebonie Elliott added 11 points, Kristine Williams scored 10 and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Brandsma had six points and nine boards.
Russell was named a tournament all-star, and Bakker and Elliott were honourable mentions.
“The girls on our DCS team handle their wins and losses with such great respect of their opponents,” Nederlof said. “We are always quite impressed with how they interact with other teams on the court. As each of our girls enters the gym, they become one, which was our theme this year. We are a family. It is hard to explain how close people become when week in and week out we go through personal and group challenges and work to overcome them.”
Eight of the 12 players on this year’s roster are Grade 12s, and will be missed after they graduate.
“The leadership that came so naturally to many of them has been passed down to the younger group who now carries the torch and will step up, because that’s what we do,” Nederlof said.
