Silver was as good as gold.
The Cedars Christian School Eagles played in Saturday's final game of the senior girls basketball single-A provincial championship tournament in Sparwood and fell to the powerhouse Houston Christian Wildcats 75-48. But, for the Eagles, just having the chance to shoot for the B.C. banner was a bonus.
In the semifinal round, the third-ranked Eagles upset the second-seeded Abbotsford Christian Knights 80-76.
"We had a really good run," said Cedars coach Al MacDonald. "We're pretty pleased with the silver medal. It's special. The girls worked hard and the whole team and the community is pretty proud."
The top-ranked Wildcats -- led by six-foot-five Team B.C. player Ruth Hamblin -- were heavy favourites to win the tournament and they proved the prognosticators correct. In the final, the Grade 11 Hamblin burned the Eagles for 28 points in three quarters of playing time. Twenty-three of her points came in the first half.
"We just didn't have a match-up there that could really take care of her," MacDonald said. "We did everything in the book in order to stop her but she's just a special player. Apparently, she has even had some [junior] national team interest."
The Eagles stayed with the Wildcats in the first quarter and were outscored just 22-16. Later, in the third quarter, Cedars was still in the game, down 48-37. But the Wildcats, who have a solid supporting cast for Hamblin, were ultimately too strong.
"Their coaches really worked on making sure they're not just a one-option team," MacDonald said. "If you had to lose to a team, they were the one to lose to."
For the Eagles, Grade 11 forward Karly Goertzen scored 23 points. Kayla Gordon, a Grade 10 forward, hit for 14. Goertzen was later picked as a second-team all-star and Gordon made the first team.
In their other games, the Eagles beat Charles Bloom of Lumby 74-47 and defeated Mulgrave of West Vancouver 71-53.
In the game for bronze, Kelowna Christian edged Abbotsford 63-61.
In MacDonald's view, having two northern-based teams in the final was a positive statement for senior girls basketball in this region.
"The northern 1-2 thing was great," he said. "Houston is close, and they came to town a couple times [for tournaments]. We have to give a little shout out to the Prince George teams that invited us to their tournaments to help us prepare. That was a cordial thing and much appreciated."
The silver for the Eagles represented the school's best finish at the senior girls basketball provincials since 1998-99, when Cedars was golden.
See Tuesday's Citizen for more coverage of high school basketball provincial championship tournaments.
