It was the McMath Wildcats’ number one off-season priority and it had a leading role in producing their biggest win to date at the senior level of girls basketball.
The Steveston school captured this weekend’s Tsumura Basketball Invitational, completing an impressive three-day run with a 76-61 win over No. 1 ranked and defending provincial champion Brookswood Bobcats on Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre.
Star guard Jessica Jones locked up MVP honours with a 28-point performance. It was another Jessica who provided the backend of the one-two scoring punch.
Jessica Zawada also poured in 28 and, more importantly, showed opponents they can’t just focus on shutting down her teammate and good friend.
It proved to be the theme of the weekend as the Wildcats don’t look as one dimensional as they did a year ago. That is vital if they plan on bringing a B.C. girls basketball champion banner back to Richmond for the first time in over 20 years.
“It was something (co-coach) Anne (Gillrie-Carre) and I talked about a lot,” said Paul Jones. “We know we had to have more balanced scoring. What you are seeing is the experience of four Grade 12 players who have played a lot of basketball over the years. And the other starter (Lyric Custodio) plays with more composure and confidence than probably any Grade 10 I have seen at the senior level.
“Jessica (Zawada) had struggled a little bit of late but we have all the confidence in the world of her ability and she dominated. It was great to see.”
On the strength of Zawada’s 16 points, the teams were tied at 37-37 at the half. The game then took a sudden turn when Bobcats scoring sensation Aislinn Konig was forced to leave with a sprained ankle. It opened the door for the Wildcats to take over and they did just that to produce their first-ever win over the Langley powerhouse.
The win will no doubt bolt the No. 4 ‘Cats up the AAA rankings when they are released again. They might not have to wait long for a Brookswood rematch, with both teams headed to the Centennial Top 10 next month.
“They are the best team in the province with the best player,” added Jones. “But even when she was in the line-up it was a tie game at the half and we still might have still won in the end. We want to play them at their very best and hopefully we will get another opportunity to do that again.”
McMath opened the tournament with an easy 78-33 win over Holy Cross then dumped No. 6 AAA Lord Tweedsmuir 63-53 in a quarter-final match-up that was not as close as the final score would indicate.
The Wildcats began their Saturday school with a 69-60 semi-final victory against No. 2 AA St. Thomas More. The Burnaby school came roaring back to climb within a basket when Custodio drained back-to-back three-pointers. Bobbi-Jo Colburn then added a clutch basketball in the paint to push the lead back up to 10 and McMath never looked back. Jones had a team–high 18.
Justine McAskill chipped in with nine in the win over Tweedsmuir.
