The Prince George Polars encountered foul conditions on the basketball court Saturday in Fort St. John and it cost them a chance to take it to the limit against the host North Peace Grizzlies.
Foul trouble proved the Polars’ downfall in the second game of the best-of-three North Central zone quad-A girls championship. The Grizzlies rallied to an 80-77 win to claim the lone berth in the quad-A provincial championship, March 2-5 in Langley.
Having lost the first game to North Peace 72-57, the Polars got off to great start and held the lead for nearly 30 minutes when the wheels started falling off. PGSS starters Kezia Lizotte, one of the Polars’ top scorers, fouled out late in the third quarter and Arianna Brigden drew her fifth foul early in the fourth quarter. Polars post Ashten Rogers had to play from the start of the third quarter four personal fouls hanging over her head and for most of the fourth quarter Kaylin Parish was one away from an early retirement.
“The girls couldn’t play full-out, worrying they may be fouled out as well,” said Polars head coach Jeff Parish.
Having led from the start, the Polars had to lay off on being aggressive to stay in the game and the Grizzlies took advantage in the second half. The teams were tied at 52 heading into the fourth quarter.
North Peace built an 80-71 lead with about a minute left, but the Polars were far from finished. Parish nailed a three and a PGSS steal led to another trey, from Jasmine Burguillos, to make it a one-score game. Another turnover gave Burguillos a chance at tying it with 12 seconds left but her long-range shot missed the mark.
Meghan Stebbe collected a game-high 31 points for North Peace and tournament MVP Sophia De Torres finished with 19. Parish, the Polars’ tournament MVP, led her team with 26 points, while Lizotte shot 15, Rogers had 12 and Burguillos had a nine-point game.
In the first game, De Torres had 21 points, scoring 15 in the third quarter, while Stebbe picked up 14. Parish found the net for 22 points, Burguillos had 13 and Rogers ended up with 11.
Parish, a Grade 12 guard, was picked as the tournament’s top defensive player, an award she won two years ago when the PGSS senior team won the zone title.
The Polars’ season, as curtailed as it was with the pandemic, which forced them to cancel tournament plans, had its share of triumphs, most notably their win over Duchess Park in the City League semifinals, which ended the Condors’ nine-year reign.
“That was a great moment for PGSS since we had never beat Duchess Park in the last five years,” said coach Parish. “We went on to claim second in the city, with a loss to College Heights, and second in the quad-A zones with our loss to North Peace.”
