After a steady January diet of the Seycove Seahawks, you would figure the McMath Wildcats have seen enough of the North Vancouver school. However, the sudden rivalry will have one final chapter next month.
The senior girls basketball teams have agreed to play an exhibition game to serve as final preparation for their respective provincial tournaments in early March. The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 2 at the AAA level, while Seycove sits at No. 4 among AA teams.
The Wildcats began the new year by easily winning the Seahawks’ own tournament, including a 71-47 victory over the hosts in the championship game. A week later, they squared off again, this time in the quarter-finals at the Centennial Top 10 Shootout. Seycove blitzed McMath for 30 points in the opening quarter and went on to post an 84-64 upset win. The Wildcats bounced back to capture a pair of consolation games to finish fifth.
This past weekend, the teams met in the semi-finals of the St. Thomas More Tournament. Unlike the previous battles, this one was close from start to finish with the Seahawks coming out on top again in a low scoring affair.
“They are just a good match up for us of what we need to work,” said Wildcats co-coach Paul Jones of the additional game added to the schedule. “The strength of their team is their two ‘bigs’ and we addressed that the first time. But it was their guards that surprised us in that second game. We didn’t expect that and we were playing catch up the rest of the game. When you have a short bench like we do it can be awfully difficult, burning a lot of energy.”
McMath trailed the third meeting 48-44 with three minutes to go but would not score again in what proved to be a tough shooting night.
“It was just one of those days where we were missing a lot of outside shots and unfortunately we do most of our scoring from the perimeter,” continued Jones.
McMath plays its final tournament of the season at their own Wildcat Invitational in what will be a break from seeing elite competition.
The six team round-robin event will feature a steady diet of unranked opponents. McMath plays Crofton House on Friday (3 p.m.), then Killarney on Saturday (9 a.m.). The final is set for 3 p.m. Saturday with McRoberts, GP Vanier and McNair on the other side of the draw.
“We will keep asking the girls to do things they are not accustomed to doing, the same way we approach our league games,” Jones added. “It may be working on press breaks by advancing the ball up the floor quicker than we normally do. The only stats we actual keep track of are turnovers and rebounds.”
One of the Wildcats’ top priorities leading up to next month’s playoffs is getting Hannah Partridge up to full speed.
The Grade 12 forward is back in action after recovering from an ankle injury while playing soccer last spring. She is key player, especially in the paint, at the defensive end of the floor.
