Brentwood College’s senior girls’ basketball team overcame several hurdles to finish fourth in the school’s own Ogilvie Tournament last weekend.
“To be honest, I thought we played very well, considering,” head coach Jordan Warner said.
To begin with, most schools resumed school a week earlier than Brentwood, and the girls had only held three practices since the Christmas break.
Despite that, they managed to beat West Point Grey Academy 70-43 in the opener last Friday.
After that game, however, Brentwood lost two key players who were attending a national rugby tryout on Saturday.
The semifinal against Dover Bay was tied at halftime, but Brentwood’s top scorer from the opener, Chidinma Ayadiuno, got into foul trouble, and the hosts ended up losing 78-69.
Brentwood then played Parklands for third place, and lost a close one 57-53.
Brentwood started with only seven players, then lost Ayadiuno when she rolled her ankle after scoring two points.
The remaining players fed off the crowd in the Brentwood gym and shot the lights out, going 9-for-29 from three-point range. Although the score was tied with three minutes to go, the Brentwood girls couldn’t keep up the pace any longer.
“They had nothing left in the tank,” Warner said. “They were just KO’ed.”
Brentwood still finished with the best result among Cowichan Valley teams. Duncan Christian School won the consolation side of the tournament, bouncing back after an opening-round loss to G.P. Vanier to win out.
Shawnigan, who will visit Brentwood again next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., were missing some key players, and lost all three of their games at the Ogilvie.