A bye is a valuable thing in sports.
And home court advantage isn’t something to be taken lightly either.
The Charles Hays Rainmakers junior girls’ team had both on Saturday afternoon to propel them to the Northwest Zones championship, defeating Smithers 48-22 in the semifinals and Caledonia 42-27 in the final match hours later.
“I think [our team] can take it but the girls are going to have to play really smart, really hard and it’s going to come down to who comes to play,” said Ashley before the games kicked off at noon.
The girls must have taken their coach’s words to heart as the team, led by Ruby Mason got off to a dominant 20-point run over Smithers and held off a pressing Terrace in the last quarter of the final. Ruby Mason was named tourney MVP.
“Ruby’s going to make a difference. Suttira has stepped up and she can take that point guard role too so that will make a difference. Brooke Andreesen is going to make a huge difference for us,” said Ashley.
The Prince Rupert Middle School Grade 8 Storm boys captured their zones banner as well, beating Hazelton 69-38.
Langley hosts CHSS and the junior girls provincials March 4 - 7.