In their own minds, the Nechako Valley Viqueens knew they weren't a No. 4 seed. They went out and proved that fact to everyone else at the zone championship tournament.
The Viqueens went undefeated at the senior girls high school basketball double-A zones, held Thursday through Saturday at D.P. Todd secondary. In the final game, the Vanderhoof-based Viqueens beat the Williams Lake Thunder 55-46. With the tournament victory, the Viqueens grabbed the lone north central berth in provincials, March 7-10 in Kamloops.
The Viqueens' ranking for the six-team zone tournament was knocked down when they lost games late in the season to two of their north central rivals, the D.P. Todd Trojans and College Heights Cougars. In both contests, Nechako Valley was short-staffed because of injuries or illness.
"I was a little upset with the ranking but you can't come into a tournament thinking about the No. 1 seed all the time, you've got to take what you get and play the best you can," said Viqueens coach Andrew Sexton. "The last week-and-a-half or so, we've really turned things around. They really wanted to finish together and play hard together and they put it all together at the right time."
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