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.
"I think little bit of the crowd and the pressure got to the girls in the first half. It was a tough atmosphere and they made it tough on us by playing very good defensively," said Wildcats coach Bik Chatha. "We had to get it to halftime and change our strategy a little bit. Once we were able to do that we were on the run. We also got some open looks and started to make our shots."
"We went full court pressure for the very first time in the playoffs. We pulled it out against Boyd in semis in order to beat them and pulled it out again. We are very athletic. That's our strength. We are usually more fit than other teams too."
The Wildcats now turn their attention to the Lower Mainland AAA playoffs.
The defending champion Steveston-London Sharks were the team to beat after a perfect regular season but dropped a 52-43 decision to MacNeill in the semi-finals.
