By: Korie Marshall
The North Central Zone Championship for senior girl’s basketball held in Valemount this past weekend, Feb. 18th to 21st, brought great local crowds out for some exciting basketball.
Nine teams joined Valemount from as far away as Bella Coola, Dawson Creek, Vanderhoof, Burns Lake and Chetwynd. Coach Tim Nusse calculates the total distance traveled round trip by the teams (not including side trips to Subway, Tim Hortons and Starbucks) was 10644 kilometers, or 6388 miles!
After the first four games on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, game time slots were set but when each team played depended on if they’d won or lost the last game. Valemount hosted a banquet for all the players in the school’s entryway on Thursday evening.
The top three teams won berths at this year’s provincials – Burns Lake, Cedars Christian (Prince George) and Fort Saint James. Valemount finished 5th, with two players, Kairlyn Jensen and Brittney Kerik, named to the tournament’s Second All-Star Team.
Burns Lake also won Most Sportsmanlike Team, Most Valuable Player (Ashley Peters), Best Defence (Katie Watts), Sixth Player Award (Kaylie McLean), and Most Inspirational Player, as selected by ballots cast by all players – Katie Watts. Jenna van Delft of Cedars Christian won Best Offence.
