The McMath Wildcats will head into this week's B.C. Junior Girls Basketball Championships as the team to beat after a dominating performance to capture Lower Mainland honours last week.
The Wildcats produced three straight wins on home floor, including a 48-32 triumph over Seycove in Saturday afternoon's championship game.
The result assured the province's top ranked team the number one seed for the B.C. tourney which tips off today at the Langley Events Centre. McMath is slated to play Charles Hays in its opening game at 3 p.m. The 16-team tournament continues until the final at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Coached by Anne Gillrie-Carre and Nathan Kishi, the Wildcats roster features: Julia Wilson, Denise Su, Jessica Jones, Justine McCaskill, Montana Leonard, Abby Zawada, Jessica Zawada, Ellie Reid, Carmen Milne, Lyric Custodio, Bonnie Leung and Hannah Partridge.
Meanwhile, McMath's junior boys team also booked their ticket to Langley for the provincial tournament by capturing the Vancouver and District title.
The Wildcats completed the run with a 65-53 upset win over host RC Palmer in the championship game. The teams had met a week earlier with the Griffins prevailing in
the Richmond final.
McMath opened the tournament with a 69-38 win over New West, then defeated North Shore champions West Vancouver 55-46. Palmer's path to the final included wins over Burnaby South (65-44) and Argyle (60-42).
The Wildcats face Surrey's Fleetwood Park in their provincial opener at 2:30 p.m. today, while Palmer also secured a spot in the tournament and have a morning date with Abbotsford's Yale Lions.
At the Grade 9 Girls Provincial Championships at Britannia secondary, Richmond will be represented by the Steveston-London Sharks and Cambie Crusaders.
The No. 9 Sharks open play Thursday against No. 8 Heritage Woods of Port Moody, while No. 13 Cambie takes on No. 4 Vedder Middle.
Richmond will be well-represented at the B.C. Grade 9 Boys Basketball Championships after dominating the Vancouver and District Championships.
The Richmond Colts rolled to a 69-52 victory over city champion Steveston-London Sharks in the title game, while the MacNeill Ravens secured third place honours by routing the Sentinel Spartans 82-57.
The Colts opened the tournament with a 68-40 win over Handsworth, before defeating the Ravens 61-49. The Sharks squeaked past Sentinel 43-42 in their semi-final game after a 52-32 win against Burnaby Mountain.
MacNeill worked their way into championship contention with victories over West Vancouver (68-48) and New West (69-50).
