The Steveston-London Sharks are one win away from becoming the first Richmond team to advance to the provincial "AAA" girls basketball championships in 12 years.
The Sharks moved onto the semi-finals of the Crehan Cup Lower Mainland championships with a 59-53 win over Kitsilano on Monday. The result set-up a final four tilt against No. 3 Handsworth last night. Although a victory over the North Shore powerhouse was improbable, Steveston-London still could have two more chances to land a B.C. berth, including a potential Saturday third place against host Burnaby South.
The Sharks, who have enjoyed honourable mention status throughout the season in the provincial rankings, have already dropped a pair of close games to the Rebels, including the final of their own Bob Carkner Classic back in January. The locals actually led that game until the midway mark of the final quarter.
Now they seemed destined to get one more crack at them and potentially send five-year standout Anmol Mattu to the province's biggest stage to conclude her high school career.
"Back at the start of the season, this was the position we hoped to be in and here we are," said longtime Steveston-London coach Les Hamaguchi. "This is new territory for us as usually we are having to fight our way through the back door to get to this point. We just need to stay healthy, play the way we are capable of and we'll see what happens."
Should the Sharks finish fourth, they still could reach the 16-team provincial tournament in Langley by winning a wild card game slated for Tuesday, likely against a Fraser Valley opponent. It's a scenario Hamaguchi doesn't even want to consider at this point.
"We have known all along a top three finish will get us to where we want to be and that's where are focus always has been," he said.
The Richmond League individual honours included a special Outstanding Legacy Award presented to Mattu for her unprecedented career. The dynamic point guard was a league all-star in her Grade 8 season and then a three-time league MVP.
MacNeill guard Denise De Jesus took home this year's MVP honours. The first team all-stars included: Aliya Prasad (Steveston-London), Hilary Schaap (McMath), Sarah Olson (Boyd) and Kimmy Yuen (Boyd).
The second team features: Charlotte St. Cyr (McMath), Jacqueline Yan (Boyd), Elana Spowage (McRoberts), Gloria Mikaella (Cambie) and Kimmy Aburegeba (MacNeill).
Boyd finished third in the Richmond playoffs with a 72-58 win over MacNeill.
Both teams advanced to the Lower Mainland "AA" Championships.
Boyd opened with a 5754 win over St Pat's before dropping 54-42 decision to Windsor in the quarter-finals. MacNeill's season ended with a 69-39 opening round loss to Collingwood.
