Senior Girls Basketball
The Senior Girls Basketball team resumed both league and tournament action this past week.
On Tuesday, the Blue Jags hosted Oak Bay in the first of three potential matchups this month. Down point guard Avery Geddes due to illness, SMUS relied heavily on Grade 11 back-up Mya Beare. The Oak Bay pressure caused many turnovers, keeping the Blue Jags on the back foot for much of the game. A nine-point deficit at the half would be as close the Jags would get, as Oak Bay stretched its lead enroute to a 63-39 win. Beare improved steadily at the point throughout the game and knocked in some timely three-pointers to finish with nine points. Charlie Anderson added 14 points and Olivia Pickering had 10.
On Thursday, the team travelled to GW Graham in Chilliwack for the Top 10 tournament. In the opening round, SMUS tipped off against Kelowna. Looking to avenge an early-season loss, the Blue Jags would need to do it without Geddes, who did not travel due to illness. It was a low scoring affair, with the Senior Jags playing solid defence but struggling at times offensively. Trailing by three points heading into the fourth quarter, SMUS relied heavily on Anderson to shoulder the scoring load – and she did. Anderson led the Jags to a 43-40 victory with a 30-point effort along with 15 rebounds. Isabela Herrera Orduna added four points and 10 rebounds.
The win set up a Friday quarter-final matchup against AAAA No. 1-ranked Seaquam. Undeterred by their opponent in the first half, the Blue Jags played aggressively on offence and maintained their tough halfcourt defence to lead 34-24 at the break. Herrera Orduna was a force, shooting 50 per cent from three and finishing many tough baskets. She finished the game with 19 points. However, the Seahawks would regroup at the half with just too much firepower for the Blue Jags to contain, as SMUS saw its 10-point lead fade away. Leila Mostachfi, Caitlyn Chen, Cate Pontefract, Indigo Edgington and Beare got valuable court time playing as a unit in the fourth quarter against the top team in the province. Chen and Pontefract tallied points thanks to some nifty post play, while Edgington and Beare added buckets with their outside shooting and free throws. The score would finish 71-51 in favour of the Seahawks.
With just a two-game rest, the Senior Jags needed to get ready to face local rival Claremont in their second game of the day. Both teams were a bit tired from their earlier games and therefore struggled at the offensive end. Deadlocked 17-17 at the half, the Senior Jags amped up their defensive pressure thanks to efforts from Joss Olcen and Anderson – both players generating steals that resulted in easy buckets in the third quarter to give the Blue Jags a seven-point cushion. However, the Spartans competed until the bitter end, cutting the SMUS lead to two points with 11 seconds to play. A Claremont foul sent Olcen to the line, where she would hit one of two free throws to give the Blue Jags a three-point lead. Unfortunately, the Senior Jags subsequently gave up a three-point basket to Claremont, tying the game 38-38 with six seconds to play. Off the side out of bounds, the Blue Jags would get two good looks for the win. Pickering, crashing the offensive boards, got the rebound and the put-back at the buzzer to give SMUS a dramatic 40-38 victory.
In their final game of the tournament against the host school, GW Graham, the Blue Jags got off to a slow start offensively with their outside shooting woes continuing. A solid second half and a late-game push in the fourth quarter saw the Senior Jags close the margin to 10 before finishing on the losing end of a 57-48 score. Herrera Orduna led all scorers with 21 points, while Anderson added 17. Pickering had another solid effort with eight points and 13 rebounds.
Herrera Orduna was recognized for her terrific play all weekend with a second team tournament all-star award.
The Senior Girls hope to be at full strength this week for their league game at Belmont on Tuesday night before playing host to the Victoria City Police Tournament. They will open Police Tournament action at 5:30 pm on Thursday, January 16 against Mark Isfeld of Courtenay.
Junior Girls Basketball
The SMUS Junior Girls were also on the Lower Mainland for a weekend tournament, finishing second at the Riverside Rapids Invitational in Port Coquitlam.
The Junior Jags won two straight games to advance to the final of the tournament before falling 45-41 to Argyle of North Vancouver on Saturday evening. Elspeth Rodger was the Blue Jags’ player of the game with 18 points and seven steals in the final.
SMUS reached the championship game with a 32-30 win over GW Graham in a semifinal played earlier Saturday. Linn Kuepper was the team’s player of the game in that contest while Clara Pressello contributed outstanding defence to help power the Blue Jags.
In their tournament opener on Friday night, the Junior Jags beat host Riverside 40-33. Mikaela Dubé was named player of the game for SMUS in that win.
Last Wednesday, the Junior Girls rolled to a 70-14 Lower Island league victory at Claremont. Kuepper had 30 points in the win while Dubé added 16 and Rodger 13.
SMUS will play two Lower Island league games this week – hosting Royal Bay on Tuesday at 4:15 pm and travelling to Belmont for a 5:45 pm game on Wednesday.
Senior Boys Basketball
After dropping their first game of the Rich Goulet Memorial Chancellor tournament last week in Burnaby, the SMUS Senior Boys then ran the table with three straight wins to finish the prestigious 16-team event.
The Blue Jags fell behind early and couldn’t recover in an 86-75 loss to Surrey’s Fleetwood Park on Wednesday. Senior guard Davis Hardy, who was named a second-team all-star for the tournament, scored 30 points to lead SMUS in that game while Wil Woods added 18.
Davis poured in 26 points and Woods had 13 as the Senior Jags bounced back with an 81-44 win over McMath in their second game on Thursday. Brothers Dani and Zaki Pelyhe added 11 points apiece in the victory. In its third game, SMUS defeated North Delta 80-48 behind the 16-point performance of forward Elliot Mairet. Guard Jack Driscoll added 14 points and Hardy had 13 in the victory.
In their final game of the tournament, the Blue Jags beat Sir Charles Tupper of Vancouver 76-57. Hardy again led the way with 25 points in a well-balanced SMUS attack that included 15 points from Mairet, 12 from Woods, 11 from Dani Pelyhe and nine from Zaki Pelyhe.
The Senior Boys will play two league games this week, hosting St. Andrew’s in a 7:15 pm start on Monday and then travelling to Glenlyon Norfolk School for a 7:30 pm tip-off on Tuesday. They will also host the eight-team boys draw in the Victoria City Police Tournament, beginning Thursday. The Blue Jags will face GP Vanier of Courtenay in their tournament opener at 1:30 pm Thursday in the Single Gym.
Junior Boys Basketball
The SMUS Junior Boys Basketball team split its four games last week in a busy return to the court after a holiday break, highlighted by a third-place finish in the Royal Bay Ravens Invitational tournament.
The Junior Jags defeated host Royal Bay 82-57 in the third-place game on Saturday afternoon, led by 16-point performances from Alex MacKay, Carter Muise and William Low, who earned player of the game honours. The Blue Jags benefited from the heady point guard play of Manav Kang, who contributed 12 points as he steered the offence, and forward Matthew Nacey, who scored eight points and led an effective team performance on the boards. The win demonstrated the growth of the young Blue Jags, who lost by two points to the same team in their first game of the season at Royal Bay.
Things didn’t go nearly as well for SMUS in their Saturday morning semifinal, however. The Junior Jags came out flat and were dominated in all phases of the game by the eventual tournament champion Edward Milne Wolverines who prevailed 72-40. MacKay led the Blue Jags with 15 points to earn player of the game honours in the loss.
SMUS opened the tournament with a dominant 72-25 win over Belmont ‘B’ on Friday afternoon. Forward Henry Lake scored 18 points and helped the Blue Jags control the boards to earn player of the game honours for SMUS. Mackay and Adam Zilber each added 10 points to a well-balanced Blue Jags attack.
In its only Lower Island Division 1 league game last week, SMUS fell 59-41 on the road to a physical Spectrum team, as the Thunder controlled the boards at both ends and played rugged defence to earn the victory. MacKay had 12 points and Zilber added nine as the Junior Jags’ league record fell to 2-3.
It will be another busy week for the Junior Boys, who play host to Oak Bay in a 5:45 pm game on Tuesday before travelling to Lambrick Park for a 7:15 pm tip-off on Wednesday. The Blue Jags will travel to Courtenay early on Friday to play in the Mark Isfeld Spirit Bear Tournament, opening with a noon matchup against Timberline of Campbell River.
Junior ‘B’ Boys Basketball
The SMUS Junior ‘B’ Boys Basketball team put forth a spirited effort against the visiting Claremont Grade 9 team before dropping a 40-30 Lower Island Division 2 league decision last Thursday.
Andy Pan, Bek Farish, Liam Whiteside and Jack Triconi each had five points in what was a low scoring, hard-fought contest.
The Junior ‘B’ Boys will play two league games this week – hosting Stelly’s ‘B’ at 5:45 pm on Monday and travelling to Parkland on Thursday for a 4:15 pm tip-off.
