The Cedars Christian Eagles went in ranked sixth and came home from the BC single-A provincial championship as the fifth-place team.
They finished the season on a high note, winning the battle for fifth 70-60 over King’s Christian Thunder of Salmon Arm. It wasn’t a medal but still a satisfying result for the Eagles, especially considering this is only their third season since the girls basketball program at Cedars was rebooted.
“Every tournament I hope to at least hold our rank or place better,” said Eagles head coach Jordan Johnson. “That game was a little bit up and down early but the girls really stepped up in that second half and controlled that game, they really wanted it. The played with a lot of desire and executed down the stretch and it was good to see.”
Eagles small forward Mila Johnson turned in a second team all-star performance throughout the tournament in her final high school test before she moves on to Camosun College.
In their last game together, Colby Konig had 17 points, Paige Kynoch scored 13, Johnson hit for 12 and Jasmine Vigar had a 10-point effort to pace the Cedars’ attack. Johnson was selected a second team all star.
The Eagles led 29-24 at the half.
Mariah Jansen, with 31 points and Leah Funk (21 points) accounted for most of the Thunder scoring.
“We had a bunch of players step up and play hard and make shots and we did it as a group,” said coach Johnson. “What we tried to do all year was have a team concept in sharing the basketball and unselfish play and playing defence as a group, everything together, and in the most important moments of the season they did that. They kind of came together and played strong at the right times.”
The Cedars girls returned to the basketball court in 2022-23 and took their lumps and they’ve come a long way since.
“The first year was an uphill battle and they didn’t make it out of zones, they were second-to-last in zones,” said Johnson. “Last year was the first year I took over and we placed seventh (in provincials) and this year we were fifth. We’re climbing up.”
Cedars won the provincial single-A title in 1999, coached by Al MacDonald. Miranda Kenna, one of the Eagles’ players that year, is Paige Kynoch’s mother. This year marked the 75th anniversary of the first provincial girls basketball championship in BC.
“They had all the previous teams that won and Paige was trying to find her mom’s picture in the room – it was pretty cool,” said Johnson. “She was a forward, just like Paige.”
The North Central zone-champion Sir Alexander Mackenzie Grizzlies of Hagensborg, led by Grade 11 twin sisters Annika and Ayanna Parr, lost 70-63 in the single-A final to the Pacific Christian Pacers of Victoria.
In other single-A results, the Fort St. James Falcons topped the Southpointe Academy Titans of Delta 56-32 to claim 13th place. The Falcons won the Barry Dearing Fair Play Award.
In other local results, the North Central zone double-A-champion Nechako Valley Vikings finished 15th after posting a 62-54 win over the Hazelton Spartans.
In the double-A final, St. Michaels University School Blue Jags of Victoria defeated Holy Cross Crusaders of Surrey 62-54 in Saturday’s final in Langley.
In the quad-A final, the Seaquam Seahawks of North Delta edged Brookswood Bobcats of Langley 68-67.
