The Ballenas Whalers senior girls have one more shot to get into the AA Basketball Provincials in Langley March 5–8.
The Whalers were in Comox last weekend at Mark Isfeld Secondary looking to come away with a top two finish in the Island tournament.
Ballenas rolled in their first game with a 77-41 win over Parkland from Victoria. It was a big win for the number one ranked squad out of the North Island as they shut down scoring threat Kristy Gallagher.
Their second game came against the Wellington Wildcats and it was a match that was going to be tough right from the tip off.
Head coach Daryl Britz and his Whaler girls knew this as the Wildcats have been ranked in the top 10 in the province for most of the season.
“It’s funny, winning the North Island tournament actually put us in a tougher position in terms of the draw for the Islands,” Britz said.
“That being said, it’s something that we were excited about because playing those tougher teams really shows you what you’ve got.”
The Whalers came out strong in the first quarter, jumping out to an early lead, as they were able to knock their shots down and build an early buffer. Wellington clawed their way back into the game and the two teams battled back and forth, taking turns with the lead in the first and second quarters.
The second half was all Wellington as Whalers standout Chelsea Hoey was in foul trouble early in the first half and defensive specialist Megan Bell went down with an injury. Ballenas ended up losing to Wellington 63–41.
So it was on to the opposite side of the bracket for the Whalers, as they took on NDSS from Nanaimo in their third game of the tournament. Ballenas managed to regroup and took the game 55–45.
This meant that the Whalers had a shot to end up in a position to challenge for a wild card berth to the provincials if they could come out on top in their fourth and final game against Lambrick Park.
In what was supposed to be a good, competitive match for both teams, Lambrick Park ended up forfeiting the game to Ballenas who were scheduled to play Monday after the press deadline, with another chance to go to the provincials.