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York Tigers scratch out competition to win Lower Mainland AAA tourney

Process and outcome. One means preparation, the other means victory and both have so far meant success for the AAA York House Tigers. Provincial AA champions last year, the Tigers pushed themselves this season to compete and win at the AAA level.

Process and outcome. One means preparation, the other means victory and both have so far meant success for the AAA York House Tigers.

Provincial AA champions last year, the Tigers pushed themselves this season to compete and win at the AAA level. Tigers head coach Winston Brown broke down the benefits of their day-to-day preparation.

For the most part, our process goals are more important than our outcome goals. Usually if we achieve our process goals, then the outcomes take care of themselves, he said.

For an outcome goal, were looking at winning the Lower Mainland championship. Thats an outcome, whereas our process is committing to working out three days a week, committing to getting up 500 shots in a practice, committing to learning and knowing all of our plays, all of our sets. Those are the processes we go through in order to achieve whatever outcome we have.

On Saturday the York House Tigers defeated North Vancouvers Handsworth Royals 81-65 to with the Crehan Cup, the trophy handed out to the best senior girls AAA basketball team in the Lower Mainland.

The game score stayed tight until the final frame.

We built a seven-point lead, they brought it back within two. We jumped out to a 10-point lead, they brought it back to within one. It wasnt until partway though the fourth quarter that we really stretched the lead to 10, to 15 and felt comfortable with the win, said Brown.

Our full game plan was to wear them down so that in the fourth quarter they wouldnt have the legs to shoot the way they were shooting in the fourth quarter, so that they wouldnt have the energy to play the defense they were playing in the first half.

Alisha Roberts contributed two key steals in the fourth quarter to give the Tigers a double-digit lead.

There were two possessions in a row where, in our zone, she shot a gap and stole the ball and got a wide-open lay up, said Brown. Were up seven in a tight game, now were up 11 in a tight game, which game us a little bit more room to breathe.

Handsworths head coach Scott Palmer praised Yorks deep bench and first-rate coaching from Brown and assistants Megan Dalziel and Robyn Wilson.

You think you are with them, but they wear you down with that depth as the game goes on, he said. We did not try and do anything special on Alisha, maybe we should have. She is a special talent and really makes them go. She is the key to their success. It will be interesting to see if other teams do something unusual to slow her down in the upcoming provincials.

The 16-team AAA senior girls B.C. championship is set for March 7 to 10 at Capilano University. York House is the only Vancouver team to win one of the zones four berths to provincials.

The Britannia Bruins are expected to earn the No. 1 seed for the AA senior girls basketball championships, held next week in Kamloops. They are the lone Vancouver team to qualify for the tournament.

mstewart@vancourier.com

Twitter: @MHStewart