The Seycove Seyhawks senior girls claimed silver at the AA provincial basketball championships last week at Langley Events Centre, falling just a few points shy of an upset over top-ranked Duchess Park.
The third-ranked Seyhawks knocked off defending champs and second-ranked Immaculata with a strong 78-66 semifinal win to set up a final against Prince George’s Duchess Park, but couldn’t quite top the Condors in the final, losing 80-71 in a well-played slugfest.
“We ran out of time,” said Seycove head coach Darcy Grant. “It was one of those games where we had some of our girls play their best basketball games of the year, but that being said, we couldn’t stop some of their better players. … Full credit has to go to the Duchess girls. There wasn’t really anything that we did poorly. We played a very good game, just Duchess Park played better.”
Forwards Claudia Hart and Sage Stobbart both earned spots on the tournament first all-star team, while the Seyhawks also got standout play from starters Stephanie Laube, Lindsey Bott, Kayla Krug and super sub Ashley Bradshaw. All of those players except for Hart are in Grade 11, giving the Seyhawks hope that they’ll be in contention for a return trip to the final next season.
This year’s team topped their ranking in winning silver, but Grant admitted that they were shooting for more.
“I think from an outsiders perspective looking in, most people would say it was a great success,” he said. “I think after the game sitting in the locker room with our three coaches and 13 players, I think we looked at it as disappointing. We looked back and reflected on our first meeting where we said our goal was to win a provincial championship. And then coming so close, failing by nine points, we were upset, we were disappointed. But I think at the same time we left that dressing room and that game with all of us committed to doing more to be back there again next year. … Knowing the girls and the character of the room, I think they will be very motivated to be doing things over the summer and to come back in September ready to work.”
