With the Cowichan Secondary School Thunderbirds wrapping up their season and the Duncan Christian School Chargers gearing up to host the Island championships, anything could have happened when the teams met for an exhibition game on Tuesday night.
The T-Birds ended up going out on a winning note, taking the lead in the first quarter and carrying it to a 62-44 victory. "It was an exciting game for our players and the fans as DCS would never quit and played hard right until the end," T-Birds coach Jim Nugent said. "It was rewarding for our girls and the coaching staff to see some of the things we have been working on all year finally work."
Ashton Aumen led the way for Cowichan with 17 points, followed by Robin Thomas with 16 in her best game of the year, and Crystal Brandt with 11.
Danielle Groenendijk was DCS's top scorer with 13 points, while Becky Bazinet added nine.
Last Friday, Cowichan missed out on a berth in the North Island AAAA tournament after a 61-39 loss to Carihi Secondary in Campbell River. The T-Birds went in missing two players, and couldn't make up for their absence.
"We just were not able to get any sustained attack going," Nugent said. "It was certainly not from lack of effort but due somewhat to nerves, inexperience and Carihi playing better. It was a disappointing end to our league play but the girls made huge strides and stuck together through the struggles."
The Chargers will host the single A Island championships this Friday. St. Andrews and Glenlyon Norfolk will play at 10 a.m., followed by DCS and Queen Margaret's at 11:45. The losing teams will meet at 3:15 p.m., and the final is at 5 p.m.