Smithers Secondary School hosted the junior girls basketball Northwest Zone Championships last weekend, with a number of close games keeping the end result anything but a foregone conclusion until the end of play on Saturday. Teams from Bulkley Valley Christian School, Smithers Secondary, Prince Rupert Secondary School and Skeena Junior Secondary School in Terrace took part in the ‘double knockout’ format tournament. During play on Friday, Prince Rupert emerged as the only undefeated team, although many of the games were within a few points of being either team’s win by the final buzzer. Saturday morning started out with a matchup between BVCS and Skeena, to determine who would go on to play Prince Rupert in the final, which ended with a Skeena victory. The celebration wouldn’t last all day, however, as Skeena and Prince Rupert battled back and forth for the Zone title, with PRSS taking the title with a 46-40 win.Prince Rupert coach Anna Ashley said the close competition at the tournament was great for her team.
“In the end the girls played the way they should have been playing the whole time,” she said.