Cambie Crusaders senior girls basketball team thrived in the role of spoiler, nearly winning it all at the Bob Carkner Memorial Classic.
The Crusaders proved to be the surprise story of the eight team event, reaching Saturdayt’s championship game before falling 67-54 to Valleyview. Cambie shocked the heavily favoured Kamloops school by jumping out to a 20-5 lead after one quarter. The Crusaders then took a 28-21 advantage into the third quarter when Valleyview finally took control by scoring 29 points.
The Crusaders had opened the tournament with a big 52-32 win over the host Steveston-London Sharks. The girls then came out firing again in their semi-final encounter with John Oliver, racing out to a 19-5 lead after one quarter en route to a 57-34 victory.
Daljit Auja and Aimrit Dhaliwal were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Sharks rebounded from their loss to Cambie with wins over Burnaby South (69-29) and Richmond High (63-43) to finish fourth. Anita Ip and Maggie Campbell were named all-stars.
The Colts defeated Yukon to finish sixth.
