The future is bright for the girls basketball program at McMath secondary.
The Wildcats Grade 9 team wrapped up an outstanding season with a seventh place finish at the B.C. Junior Girls Championships at the Langley Events Centre.
The Steveston school entered the 16-team tournament as the 10th seed and more than held its own against opponents with a mix of Grade 9 and 10 players.
McMath opened the championships with a 40-32 win over No. 7 Mt Baker of Cranbrook and then battle hard in a 58-34 loss to eventual champion and No. 1 ranked WJ Mouat Hawks of Abborsford.
Following a close 40-36 defeat to No. 6 Kelowna, the girls closed on the tournament with a dominating 41-17 victory against No. 5 Claremont of Victoria.
Jessica Jones was named to the second all-star team. It was a good reflection of McMath coach Anne Gillrie-Carre's 41-year involvement in high school basketball as she coached Jones' mother - Teresa DeBou - back in 1984 with the Steveston Packers senior girls team.
The Wildcats roster also features: Justine McCaskill, Bonnie Leung, Claire Reynolds, Claire Siqueira, Kyra Loat, Mikayla Weissler, Jessica Zawada, Hannah Partridge, Ellie Reid, Carmen Milne, Montana Leonard, Ali Burns, Julia Wilson, Denise Su and Jessica Folk. The coaching staff also includes Nathan Kishi and Brandon Brock, while the team is managed by Gillian Partridge.
The team looks forward to continuing their progress and look to be well-positioned to earn McMath its first-ever provincial tournament berth at the "AAA" level.
