The long and winding road has finally lead the Lady Hornets to the doorstep of the sought after Provincial Tournament. This year being held in Kamloops March 6-10.
It has been a long time since the Ian Gibson lead team of ’89 and ’90 squad coached by Roger McKay, that SOSS has sent a girls team to the Provincials. It is an incredibly difficult task and the 2011/2012 team has shown the skill and determination needed to do it.
This past weekend the girls went to the Valley Championships also held in Kamloops , to qualify. They met Fulton secondary from Vernon in the first round and finished the game 58-42.
It was a victory that had cost the Oliver squad a starter late in the game. Emily Jentsch rolled her ankle and would not play in the semi final game against Vernon Secondary the next day nor the back door game against Kalamalka.
Ashley McGinnis, Jessa Kriesel and Navi Mann lead the scoring with 22, 13, and 12 respectively.
The girls came out firing and held defensively strong in the semi – final, holding a 21 pt. lead close the half, but the latter part of the fourth quarter the full benched Panthers passed the embattled Hornets , 66-54. Kriesel and McGinnis lead the team in scoring.
This loss would mean the long way around the tournament to qualify. An already short bench had now play an extra game to stay alive. Not only did they play short handed, the entire team stepped forward and defeated the Lakers from Kalamalka, 70-59. This guaranteed the Hornets at least 4th in the Valley and a berth in the Provincials .
In the 3/4 game later on Saturday the Hornets were pitted against zone rivals Summerland. Having beaten them in the previous 4 meetings, the game ebbed and flowed and with seconds left and trialing by there, Navi Mann scores a 3, to tie the game and force overtime. In an exciting finish, the Rockets won 69-66.
The top 4 Okanagan teams now travel to the BC’s.
Tournament summary is below
Sa-Hali Secondary is hosting the AA Girls Okanagan Championships Feb 23-25
Thursday February 23rd 1:45pm
Game 1 #1 Sa-Hali 82 vs #8 Revelstoke 30 3:30pm
Game 2 #4 Summerland 76 vs #5 Kalamalka 36 5:15pm
Game 3 #2 Oliver 58 vs #7 Fulton 44 7:00pm
Game 4 #3 Vernon 58 vs #6 OKM 50
Friday February 24th 3:00pm
Game 5 Revelstoke 54 vs Kalamalka 66 (Loser Eliminated) 4:45pm
Game 6 Fulton 42 vs OKM 50 (Loser Eliminated) 6:30pm
Game 7 Sa-Hali 50 vs Summerland 34 (Semi-Final) 8:15pm
Game 8 Oliver 54 vs Vernon 66 (Semi-Final)
Saturday February 25th 11:45am
Game 9 Kalamalka 59 vs Oliver70 (Loser Eliminated) 10:00 am
Game 10 OKM 42 vs Summerland 59 (Loser Eliminated) 5:00pm
Game 11 Oliver 66 vs Summerland 69 OT 3rd/4th 6:45pm
Game 12 Sa-Hali 49 vs Vernon 52 1st/2nd
Sa-Hali is the West Zone Champion and has qualified for Provincials as the host berth. The top three teams other than Sa-Hali qualify for Provincials as well.
All scores listed above.
Final standings: 1. Vernon 2. Sa-Hali 3. Summerland 4. Oliver
Allstars: #11 Sage Blundell Vernon #6 Nicole Karstein Sa-Hali #13 Shenise Sigsworth Sa-Hali #13 Shannon Parker Summerland #4 Ashley McGinness Oliver
MVP Vernon #21 Quinsy Leier
Both final games were very exciting. In the 3rd/4th game Oliver hit a late 3 to send the game to overtime. In the final Sa-Hali was down 14 the half. They rallied and brought it to within 1 in the 3rd quarter. Vernon had solid shooting from the line a hung on for the win.
Picture and story submitted by Chris Jentsch