Both Prince Rupert Middle School (PRMS) Grade 8 boys’ and girls’ basketball squads took to the court one more time this season at the Pitt Meadows Secondary Grade 8 Boys’ and Girls’ Invitational Championships last Thursday to Saturday.
For the girls, it was the first time the team had attended provincials since 2003, and the squad finished with a very respectable 2-2 record going up against the province’s best, finishing in 10th place.
“It was the first real competition that the girls had come up against [this season] so there was a bit of a learning curve,” said head coach Denise Wilson.
In Game One, Abbotsford’s William A. Fraser defeated PRMS 53-44, while in Game Two, the Storm won a tight 51-49 game over Summerland just hours later on Thursday.
The girls played tremendously in a 47-36 win against Vernon in Game Three, but fell to North Vancouver’s St. Thomas Aquinas in Game Four by a lot of points.
“They handled themselves well. We got a lot of compliments from other coaches saying how well the girls played and how good shooters they were,” said Wilson.
Payton Henry received a third-team all star nomination and Kristy Innes also played well at the guard position. Both received player of the game awards in the team’s wins.
For the boys’ Storm team, the squad beat an extremely tough Sir Winston Churchill team from Vancouver 55-39, lost to Surrey’s Holy Cross 82-38, fell to Vancouver’s St. George’s School 59-47 and faced off against Surrey’s Tamanawis Secondary in Game Four. Results were unavailable as of press time.
The boys finished in eighth spot overall in the tourney, led by head coach Cary Dalton, who is returning to the tournament after winning zones with the Storm last year.