The Central Island Selects capped off their hoops season in style last weekend with a silver medal at the provincials.
The Selects are a U14 Girls rep team with players from Nanaimo, Ladysmith and three girls from Oceanside — shooting guard Kate Reynolds, forward Maya Gayton (who was sidelined at the B.C.’s due to injury), and point guard Makayla Hoey.
Their season started after spring break and ran for one month, with practices three times a week and games on weekends, culminating with the B.C.’s played out in Langley featuring 14 of the top rep girls basketball teams from across the province.
The Central Island Selects went 7-2 in exhibition games leading up to the B.C.s.
In Langley, CIS opened the 16-team tourney last Friday with an exhibition game against North Central (north of Prince George), winning 50-32.
The Central Island squad opened tournament play Saturday morning with a 48-37 win over West Van, and followed it up that afternoon with a 45-31 win over North Shore.
Sunday morning they knocked off South Island 49-33, then lost in the final against Fraser Vally 49-23 for silver.
Hoey and teammates Madeline Hart and Kaesha Milne have been invited to try out for Basketball B.C.’s provincial team at their main camp being held at Brookswood Secondary in Langley this weekend.
“We were a small, very good defensive team that worked really hard in their roles, and played as a team,” said CIS head coach Rick Hart, a teacher at Cedar Secondary School.
“I enjoyed working with them a lot,” Hart said of his Oceansiders, adding “they’re awesome girls and they do what they’re asked.”
By all accounts this is the highest a central Island team has ever finished in regional rep basketball.