McMath Wildcats got a head start on their expected dominance of the Richmond Senior Girls Basketball League.
The Wildcats continued their strong play over the second half of the season by capturing the city championship Thursday afternoon with a 56-44 win over the host MacNeill Ravens.
With an outstanding group of juniors that will be among the favourites at next month’s provincial championships, the Wildcats are expected to dominate Richmond over the next two seasons. However, the current squad, which features a number of outstanding multi-sport athletes, also proved it can more than get the job done with three dominant performances en route to the title.
McMath opened the tournament with a 76-46 win over the Cambie Crusaders, then rolled to 64-44 win over a Hugh Boyd team that went 6-1 in the regular season and handed them a 68-39 defeated back in early December.
The final opened as a tight affair as both teams struggled to find the basket and were tied at 16-16 at the half. The Wildcats then took over the final two quarters as their perimeter game heated up and their full court pressure began to wear down the Ravens who were trying to win the school its first-ever senior basketball city championship.
Coach Bik Chatha now gets the Wildcats ready for next week’s Lower Mainland AAA Tournament.
The defending champion Steveston-London Sharks entered the championships as the team to beat after a perfect regular season but dropped a 52-43 decision to MacNeill in the semi-finals. The Sharks then were edged 61-59 by Cambie in consolation play.
