The Argyle Pipers Grade 9 girls basketball team capped a perfect season with a provincial championship win last weekend Port Moody.
The top-ranked Pipers defeated the second-seeded G.W. Graham Grizzlies from Chilliwack in the provincial final held Saturday at Heritage Woods Secondary. The golden win finished off a season that saw the Pipers go undefeated against Grade 9 competition.
The Pipers were powered to victory by their defence, said head coach Steve White, holding the Grizzlies to just three points in the fourth quarter of the final.
Argyle’s Alanna Scheiman was named the tournament’s MVP, averaging 22 points per game through four wins at provincials. Teammate Sara Tancon earned the tournament’s best defensive player award, while Argyle’s Aly Lake earned a spot on the tournament’s all-star team.
Two other North Shore teams cracked the top 10 at the tournament, with ninth-seeded Handsworth bumping up to sixth place after losing to Argyle in the quarterfinals, and 14th-seeded Sentinel jumping up to ninth place by winning their final three games following an opening-round loss.
Handsworth’s Claire McJannet was also named to the tournament’s all-star team.
“It was great to see the girls and coaches from the three North Shore schools being more of a co-operative friendly group than rivals even when competing against each other,” said White. “[There was] so much mutual respect and camaraderie.”
