From an overwhelming favourite one week to a somewhat unknown contender the next. That’s the playoff journey for the McMath Wildcats senior girls basketball team.
The Wildcats captured their fourth consecutive Richmond title — capping another unbeaten run with a 69-47 victory over the Cambie Crusaders. They did it with a line-up that features not one returning starter and a whopping 10 players eligible to return next year.
Now, the Steveston school will attempt to defend its Crehan Cup Lower Mainland AAA championship and get back to the provincial tournament for a third straight year. It’s a scenario that seemed improbable back at the start of the season until Grade 11 Abby Zawada established herself as one of the top scoring guards in the province and a supporting cast that has got better with each passing week.
“I think there are six teams that have a legitimate chance at making provincials and we are in that mix,” said McMath co-coach Chris Kennedy. “The thing is we could end up first or we could end up sixth.
“We are really relying on Abby shooting the ball well. When she does that, we are tough to beat. If she is having a bit of an off night then all of a sudden we are in a ball game.”
That’s why other scoring threats are vital as the Wildcats move forward. Martha Melaku, Mahara Gibson-Zeinoun and Liz Kennedy have all shown they are capable.
Zawada poured in 25 points to lead the way Wednesday, then collected her Richmond League MVP award. However, Gibson-Zeinoun chipped in with 19 and Melaku added 12 as McMath erased an early 9-5 deficit with a 22-point run to take control.
“We need that secondary scoring,” continued Kennedy. “If Abby is getting half our points then we are probably not winning those games. We also need other girls scoring so Abby gets better looks too.”
The Wildcats have earned No. 4 seed for the Crehan Cup and were slated to face No. 5 Lord Byng in the quarter-finals last night. North Shore schools Carson Graham and Argyle, along with Churchill and New West also should be in the mix.
“It’s going to be interesting because every game from now on is going to be tough. We are not going to be leading by 25 and rolling five (players) in and out.
“A lot of people will have not seen us before our quarter-final game. Everyone knows Abby is going to shoot the ball but, like we showed tonight, we are a bit more than that,” added Kennedy.
Richmond individual player awards included:
MVP: Abby Zawada (McMath)
First Team All-Stars: Martha Melaku (McMath), Mahara Gibson-Zeinoun (McMath), Ramvir Dhaliwal (Cambie), Kirsten Abo (McNair), Maggie Campbell (Steveston-London).
Second Team All-Stars: Liz Kennedy (McMath), Daljit Aujla (Cambie), Eclipse Malixi (Steveston-London), Colette Mofakham (McNair), Amanda Kuo (Palmer).
Third Team All-Stars: Komalpreet Nahal (Cambie), Sparky Huang (Palmer), Bianca Kozica (MacNeill), Mikaela Cadorette (McRoberts), Sophia De La Torre (Richmond).
