The McMath Wildcats will be part of history tonight — knowing already they are heading to the Langley Events Centre at the end of the month for the B.C. Girls 3A Basketball Championships.
The Richmond champions will take on the Argyle Pipers at Lord Byng Secondary (7:30 p.m.) in what will be the final game in the long history of the Crehan Cup Lower Mainland Championships. Teams from Richmond, Vancouver, North Shore, Burnaby and New West will be heading into different directions next season when B.C. School Sports adds more zones to the Greater Vancouver area.
This will be the Wildcats’ third Crehan Cup final in four years. They became the first team from Richmond to win the title in 17 years back in 2016 and also lost in the final a year later to Argyle.
The tournament’s top seed clinched a trip to the LEC with a 72-56 semi-final win over the Burnaby South Rebels on Thursday night. McMath survived a shaky start when standouts Liz Kennedy and Marina Radocaj got into early foul trouble and the Rebels led 21-20 after 10 minutes.
It was all Wildcats in the second quarter — outscoring Burnaby South 22-7 and never looking back. Senior Jayna Wilson led the way with 26 points thanks to seven 3-pointers. Radocaj added 17 and 13 rebounds while Kate Carkner chipped in with 10 points and eight boards.
McMath’s impressive post-season run so includes double-digit wins in all five outings. They are now riding a 20-game win streak.
The Pipers had a much tougher road to the final — outlasting league rival Handsworth 65-64 in the semis after a 78-60 victory against John Oliver.
The Steveston-London Sharks’ B.C. tourney bid ended with a 68-59 loss to Burnaby Mountain in consolation play on Wednesday. Mina Chong and Shir Dayan led the Sharks with 19 and 18 respectively. Sharlene Siy had 16.
The B.C. 3A Championships are slated for Feb. 27 to March 2.
At the buzzer…
It’s only fitting Anne Gillrie-Carre will be part of the final Crehan Cup. The hall-of-famer McMath co-coach has guided teams to seven titles and 19 provincial berths.
