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Kitamaat wins women’s division final

Kitamaat defeated the Prince Rupert Rain to win the 2018 championship
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Judy Carlick-Pearson fights for a rebound during the women’s final of the 2018 All Native Tournament. The Prince Rupert Rain lost to Kitamaat 69-58. (Matthew Allen / The Northern View)

Crowned new champions in the women’s division, Kitamaat beat Prince Rupert Rain 69-58 on Feb. 17 at the All Native Basketball Tournament.

“It’s satisfying,” Kitamaat coach Mike Ridsdale said. “After a long year of prepping for this basketball tournament, it’s nice to see our hard work finally pay off.”

READ MORE: Thrilling finish to 59th All Native Tournament

Prince Rupert arrived in the finals after knocking out the defending champion Hazelton Mystics in the loser’s bracket semi-finals. The Rain held off the defending champions 46-43 in that game, proving they deserved their place in the finals after coming from behind to beat the Mystics earlier in the tournament.

Kitamaat arrived in the finals after going unbeaten throughout the tournament, including an earlier victory against the Rain in the winner’s bracket semi-finals.

The first quarter started out evenly with both teams trading baskets. Kitamaat was able to pull ahead of the Rain, utilizing aggressive full court pressure which forced turnovers and led to easy fast-break baskets.

“We have a good mix of speed and experience,” said Risdale. “Aggressive defence is something that we work on in preparation for all our games.”

Kitamaat took a 35-20 lead into the half, and outscored the Rain 21-8 to take a 56-28 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Rain were not finished, however, narrowing the margin to 12 points with a few minutes left in the game. Rain coach Denise Wilson said her team picked up their energy level, which is what allowed them to close the gap late.

“We were a little bit timid in the third there, and were waiting too much,” she said. “In the fourth quarter, we attacked and everyone put the onus on themselves to attack and shoot when open.

“We just started a little too late.”

Kitamaat held its poise and held off Prince Rupert’s rally to close out the game. Jennifer Nyce led the way down the stretch, scoring six points in both the third and fourth quarters to help put the game out of reach. Risdale said he told his team not to worry about the Rain and focus on making plays to win the game.

“We just wanted to play our game,” he said. “It wasn’t so much what they were doing, it’s how we wanted to play.”

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Prince Rupert Rain top scorers - Natalie Harris (12), Kristi Reece (10), Kanisha Stephens (8)

Kitamaat top scorers - Jennifer Nyce (14), Adelia Paul (12), Kierra Stevens (9)

MVP - Jennifer Nyce



matthew.allen@thenorthernview.com

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