The Terry Fox Ravens will play the sixth-ranked Yale Lions in tonight’s late semifinal at the BC High School AAAA girls basketball championships at the Langley Events Centre.
The Ravens, seeded second in the tournament after the team upset the Riverside Rapids to win the Fraser North zone title, defeated Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers, 76-73, in one of three quarter-final games Thursday that involved teams from the Tri-Cities.
Only Terry Fox emerged with its dreams of a provincial banner still alive. Riverside Rapids were upended by Yale, 74-52, and the Heritage Woods Kodiaks were chopped by the top-ranked Semiahmoo Totems, 87-48.
Walnut Grove Gators defeated the Kelowna Owls in the other quarter-final and will face the Totems in tonight’s early semifinal. The game is a rematch of last year’s AAA finale that was won by Semiahmoo.
The Ravens, comprised mostly of Grade 10 players that won last year’s junior championship, advanced on the strength of a 9-1 run that erased a five-point deficit late in the fourth quarter of a tough, physical game that sometimes resembled hockey more than basketball.
Fox led 22-21 at the end of the first quarter and 36-33 at the half, but trailed 55-52 heading into the final period.
Lauren Clements led all Ravens’ scorers with 19 points and eight rebounds. Emily Sussex netted 15 points and 14 rebounds while Ana-Maria Misic scored 11 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
The third-seeded Rapids were sunk by Yale’s hot shooting as the sixth-ranked Lions were successful on 41.3% of its shots from the floor,
Sammy Shields scored 19 points to lead all Riverside’s scorers.
The Kodiaks, seeded eighth headed into the tournament, were simply overmatched by the defending champions that had a 26-point lead at halftime and a 32-point advantage at the start of the fourth quarter.
