If it was a dress rehearsal for next month’s Lower Mainland “AAA” Championships then the McMath Wildcats have plenty to be excited about.
The defending champions rode a blazing start to a dominating 83-45 victory over the Argyle Pipers in Saturday’s senior girls title game at Steveston-London’s Bob Carkner Memorial Classic.
It was the same two teams that squared off in last year’s Crehan Cup Mainland final which saw the North Vancouver school prevail. They both will be among the favourites again, along with Carson Graham, New West and Lord Byng, in just a few weeks from now.
McMath had opened its season with a surprisingly easy win over top ranked Abbotsford. The Steveston school came back down to earth after the stunning result then was eventually dropped from the provincial rankings altogether while standout guard Abby Zawada nursed an ankle injury.
With the team healthy and the playoffs on the horizon, coaches Anne Gillrie-Carre, Chris Kennedy and Steve Flynn challenged their girls to make a statement.
They certainly did.
Sizzling shooting, excellent ball movement and tenacious defence resulted in a 31-9 lead after one quarter. The script continued over the next 10 minutes and the game was essentially over with the Wildcats taking a 56-16 lead into halftime.
“We have been working really hard on our intensity, focus and pursuit of the ball. Rebounding and any loose ball, we have to own it,” said a very pleased Gillrie-Carre. “We have built, built and built on that theme over the last two weeks. That was the best first half I have seen them play.”
Zawada secured her second straight tournament MVP award with 28 points and punctuated the opening quarter blitz with a couple of deep threes. However, McMath’s performance was so much more than their star senior guard.
Janya Wilson and Martha Melaku each had eight in the early going and Liz Kennedy added five. Jessica Porter, Morgan Flynn and Jalen Donaldson all came off the bench and immediately contributed in an opening half that saw McMath shoot over 50 percent. Throw in the tenacious work of Dakota Chan and it was a complete performance.
“Being without Abby for almost a month forced other kids to step up. The bad part was, even though we were competitive, we lost some of those games and it hurt us in the rankings. We can’t get that back and there are only so many left, that’s why tonight was so important,” continued Gillrie-Carre.
“We had four or five kids in double figures and are getting good mileage out of Dakota. Just subtle things that happen. She has elevated her game to a whole different level than ever before.”
The Wildcats have now twice shown what they are capable of when firing on all cylinders. With Zawada and that kind of secondary scoring, they could be ever-so-dangerous at the provincials come March.
“I joked to Chris at the start of the second quarter that we could beat almost anyone playing like this,” laughed Gillrie-Carre. “We just have to make sure we get to the stage for that opportunity.”
Melaku, Kennedy and Wilson were among the tournament all-stars.
At the buzzer…
The Carkner boys final saw Lord Byng stave off a late charge by the host Sharks for a 56-51 win. Parker Shaw, Johnny Fang and Quinn Whyte were named to the tournament’s first all-star team.
Steveston-London escaped with a 57-56 win over Point Grey in its opener, then got past Windermere 78-66 in the semi-finals. They will now turn their attention to trying secure the last “AAA” berth in the upcoming Richmond Championships. A visit to MacNeill next Monday looms large.
On the girls’ side, the Sharks fell 70-49 to Killarney in the opening round before bouncing back with a 66-45 win over South Delta. They ended up sixth after a 67-52 loss to Valleyview of Kamloops.
