The senior girls' basketball team played three tough games in three days last week in a quest to earn a berth to the BC Championships. It was always going to be a difficult task to win one of the five berths since the depth of the new Vancouver Sea To Sky zone in AA basketball is truly remarkable. This task became all but impossible when two of the starting five were unable to make Friday's game. Despite this setback, the Cavs played inspired basketball and battled to the bitter end. Here is Coach McLaughlin's tournament report:
Last week the senior girls' basketball team finished off their season with the inaugural Vancouver-Sea-to-Sky Provincial Qualifying Tournament. With 5 potential berths to the Provincial Tournament, the Cavs had a really great shot at earning one of the spots.
Opening the tournament against the #3 ranked York House was a tough game for the Cavs. Having faced them earlier in the year at the ISA tournament, Collingwood knew that they were in for a battle. The opening frame saw York House take advantage of their size as their post players dominated the scoring, Collingwood saw good offence from Dorreh's drives and Stella's ability to get to the free-throw line.
Having established a 23-11 lead, York House needed to be shut down, and with some defensive adjustments, Collingwood managed to slow the Tigers' scoring pace and managed to win the second quarter to head into the halftime only down 9.
Unfortunately, the depth of York House's bench and their length at all positions came into full effect in the second half as they pressed the Cavs and managed to take a significant lead into the final frame. Despite valiant efforts, the Cavs lost the matchup, which put them into a do-or-die situation the following game.
Rachael Chete lead the Cavs scoring with 13 and Sara Fraser followed closely behind with 12. Cudos is given to Rio D for stepping into a difficult defensive role, playing against York House's very talented point guard.
The second game saw the Cavs matching up against Mulgrave for the 5th time this season. Going into this game with a series record of 4-0, the Cavs knew that the Titans would be out for revenge. Though Collingwood managed to find the hoop early and often on drives, Mulgrave once again showed resilience and shooting prowess knocking down four 3-pointers to keep them in the game.
Going into the second quarter, the game continued to be a battle as Collingwood struggled to connect on outside shots and not converting their free throw opportunities, Mulgrave pulled ahead to take a 32-31 lead into half-time.
Coming out of the half-time talk, the Cavs exploded to take an 18 to 6 run through the 3rd quarter lead by Stella G connecting for 8 points. Heading into the fourth, up 49-40, the Cavs continued to score points in the paint, while Mulgrave kept themselves in the game with three different players contributing timely 3's. Despite their great outside shooting, Collingwood managed to extend the lead to 13 points, winning the game 66-53. Rachael C lead all players with 19 points, followed by Stella G contributing 17 and Sara F with 14.
The final game of the tournament for the Cavs was another 'survive and advance' game, with the winner heading to provincials. The matchup pitted Collingwood against a familiar opponent, Seycove. The Cavs knew they'd be in tough having lost twice already to the Seyhawks, and this time they were missing two key players.
However, Nina W and Kiana S, both in Grade 9, stepped up to the challenge and helped the Cavs out in the game. The Cavs did their best to keep things close in the first half, getting to the hoop on drives and hitting some clutch outside shots, however the size of Seycove's post players was too much for the much-undersized Cavaliers. Stella, Ivy, May, and Nina all worked very hard to contain the inside game of Seycove's bigs, but they found themselves in foul trouble and the Seyhawks were able to have their way inside and on the glass.
Despite this, Collingwood found themselves only down by 9 at the half. Unfortunately, some untimely turnovers and the foul trouble caught up with Collingwood as Seycove exploded for a 22 point quarter. Heading into the fourth, down by 20, the Cavs rallied to win the fourth led by the sharpshooting of Sara F and Dorreh A, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough to capture the win, and with that, the Cavs' season was over. Dorreh lead the Cavs in scoring with 15 and Sara followed closely behind with 13 (nailing three 3's in the process). Nina and Kiana were significant contributors, Kiana hitting a timely 3 and playing tenacious d against the Seycove guards, and Nina contributing 5 points and pulling in some important rebounds.
At the end of the tournament, Dorreh A was honoured as a first-team tournament all-star for her outstanding leadership and consistent contributions.
While the Cavs will lose three seniors, the future continues to look bright with the return of the Grade 11's and several members of the Junior team joining the Senior squad next year.
Dorreh will always be remembered for her powerful drives to the basket. She was never scared of contact or the opposition. This attitude led to her selection as a Vancouver Sea To Sky Zone All-Star.