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Wildcats advance to Crehan Cup final four

McMath beats Steveston-London for second time in four days
basketball
A 26-point performance from Grade 8 standout Marina Radocaj led the McMath Wildcats past the Steveston-London Sharks in quarter-final action at the Crehan Cup Lower Mainland AAA Championships.

 

 

The McMath Wildcats are a win away from securing a provincial berth after getting past their city rival once again.

The Wildcats defeated the Steveston-London Sharks 77-63 in quarter-final action at the Crehan Cup Lower Mainland AAA Championships at Argyle Secondary. The teams had met just four days earlier in the Richmond final with McMath prevailing by 19 points.

The leading scorer from that win — Grade 8 standout Caitlin Kippan — missed Monday’s contest with the flu.

Picking up the slack was the team’s other Grade 8 force — Marina Radocaj — with a game-high 26 points on sizzling 11-of-18 shooting. City MVP Liz Kennedy also had a much more prominent scoring role with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Jayna Wilson (13), Kate Carkner (10) and Caitlin Bradley-Tse (10) also hit for double figures. Carkner also grabbed eight boards.

Again, the Wildcats relied on a big opening half to take a 38-21 lead into the break. The lead increased to 25 points in the third quarter before the Sharks mounted a late rally that brought them within 12 with five minutes remaining.

Grade 10s Mina Chong and Sharlene Siy led Steveston-London with 23 and 17 points respectively. Dana Sander added nine.

The win sets up a semi-final date on Thursday at Lord Byng Secondary (8:15 p.m.) with Burnaby/New West League champion Burnaby South. The Rebels advanced with a 70-61 win over Killarney.

The Sharks will look to bounce back Wednesday in consolation play against Burnaby Mountain.

The Crehan Cup concludes on Saturday with the final at 7:30 p.m. The top three finishers advance to the B.C. AAA Championships at the Langley Events Centre.