The Championship started with an opening match against perennial powerhouse Brookswood Bobcats, the reigning Fraser Valley champions. Resiliency sums up our first game. Earlier in the day five of the top eight teams lost their opening game. Would the Angels be the sixth? The game started with both teams trading baskets. LFA was driving and executing on hard fought shots against Brookswood post-up game. Without the same perimeter shooting game that was such a reliable option through the year (due to a key injury), LFA struggled to to open up the lanes and Brookswood grabbed a half time lead. By the start of the fourth quarter, the Bobcats had complete control with an eleven point lead, but a determined LFA team dug deep. Their defence emerged, causing many turnovers, which allowed for a series of fast break baskets. With the momentum shifting and the lead dwindling, Brookswood became visibly frustrated and committed many fouls that the Angels capitalized on. It was a hard-earned, come-from-behind 68-59 win. It also came with a sever cost as we lost another key starter to injury. A season-ending knee injury that would handicap us for the rest of the tournament.

The Angels moved on to the Quarter Finals against Robert Bateman, who were last year’s Grade 9 Provincial Champions. With two starters out of the lineup, who would consistently contribute 20-30 points per game and were key components to their pressure defence transition game, it was always going to be a difficult task. But it was also an opportunity for the younger Angels to rise to the occasion. And they most certainly did. In an extraordinarily evenly-matched game, the Angels were able to inch ahead throughout, building up an eight point lead with two minutes left. Where the Angels found something special against Brookswood, so too did Bateman. Physical throughout the game, the Angels were worn down and Robert Bateman forced overtime. In the overtime Bateman out-scored the Angels, winning the game 58-53 to move on to the semi-finals.

The disappointment was palpable. To our girls’ great credit, the disappointment of not playing in the final four did not overwhelm our Angels. They regrouped, and played a good OKM team, with the winner playing for fifth place. The Angels played well and battled to 41-39 win.

The final day pitted the Angels against the Panorama Ridge Thunder. The Angels applied their pressure defence and worked on getting the ball down low. It was effective in a low-scoring game. They took a 20-15 lead into half time. Panorama Ridge regrouped and the momentum that had shifted so many times through the tournament flipped back to the opposition. The Thunder controlled the second half to win 47-40 to claim fifth place. The Angels worked hard, didn’t give up and showed their mettle as a team this past weekend. It bodes very well for next season.
Over the course provincial tournament and throughout the season, the team received compliments from opposition coaches, basketball league officials and even referees who enjoyed playing against or watching the team. Parents and athletes were heartened to hear from the basketball community that a healthy LFA team could have contented for a chance to be in the provincial final. Special congratulations to Ceili McCabe ’19, who was selected to the second Tournament All Star Team

Overall, it was a successful season. The girls played well as a team and represented the school wonderfully with sportsmanship and competitiveness. They also won 2 major tournaments, including an impressive win over the number one ranked team in the province. They repeated a league champions and, at one point, ranked as high as second in the province. They were ranked sixth going into the Provincials and finishing sixth at the provincials the highest finish for LFA at the Jr Provincials in recent memory. Most importantly for those involved in the team, they had fun. They were cohesive. The groups’ hilarious videos and dance offs will be remembered. Friendships gained across grades were cemented as each girl embraced each other’s idiosyncrasies. Thank you for all the coaches, managers, drivers, cookie bakers, people that brought food and supporters that make this a memorable season.

Go Angels!