The No. 6-ranked Duncan Christian School Chargers senior girls basketball team got off to a solid start at the B.C. 1A provincial basketball tournament last week, beating Bulkley Valley Christian School by a 61-38 score.
“An encouraging and enthusiastic crowd of DCS students and parents cheered our team on and witnessed history in the making,” said DCS athletic director Tom Veenstra.
Their support buoyed the team, and Sydney Dollman who was selected as player of the game with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
“This provincials tournament was a tough one. Coming out with a win in our first game put us on the championship side of the draw. This meant for tough games at every meeting,” explained head coach Michelle Nederlof. “Although we didn’t come out with another win, each of these intense games saw us a potential winner, trading hoop for hoop with the other teams.”
No. 3-ranked Kelowna Christian School was on the other side of the ball for the Chargers’ second game of the tournament, which was played Thursday afternoon, March 2.
Player of the game Michaela Wall (23 points and 11 rebounds) led a momentous comeback that fell just short in the quarter-final competition.
Down 23-10, the Chargers fought hard to tie the score at 26-26 in the third quarter.
“The fourth quarter saw Kelowna outscore DCS, but our girls never let their intensity fade,” Veenstra said. “We are very, very proud of them.”
The loss bumped DCS out of playoff contention but the Chargers still had two games left. Winning both, the team would have been able to secure fifth overall, bettering their initial tournament seeding.
First up DCS faced their familiar foes in Nanaimo Christian School in what Veenstra described as “a high-energy battle.”
Led by player of the game Nema deVries, ultimately DCS lost 53-47, placing the team into their final game of the tournament, a battle for seventh and eighth place.
The team faced Northside and lost 64-47 leaving DCS to finish eighth overall in the 16-team tournament.
Wall was selected as a provincial second team all star for her efforts. The loss was the last high school basketball game for Wall and four of her teammates as they’re graduating this year.
“We will so miss the presence, leadership and self reflective nature of our Grade 12s: Kaylie Brown, Dara deVries, Nema deVries, Julianna Dunn, Michaela Wall. These young ladies have left an imprint on the hearts of those they are leaving behind and will make an incredible impact on those they will encounter as they move forward with their lives,” Nederlof said. “We can’t speak enough about these girls and know the heart they have poured into this team will be greatly multiplied in the hearts of the players that will come after.”