It will be a Wednesday night feature game when the South Delta Sun Devils make their first provincial tournament appearance in 17 years.
The senior girls basketball team will take on Abbotsford’s Yale Lions at 7 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre in an intriguing match-up of the tournament’s No. 7 and No. 10 seeds respectively.
The Sun Devils had a team pizza party as they watched a telecast of the provincial draw last Wednesday night and it didn’t take head coach Sharon Butler long to begin her preparation work.
The opening game is significant as a win would guarantee no worse than an eighth-place finish in the 16-team championship.
The Lions were No. 7 in the latest provincial rankings, but a zone playoff loss to Abbotsford dropped them in the tournament seeding.
“I was up at 6 a.m. (Thursday) looking for videos and scores of games Yale has played,” said Butler. “I know four of the players on the team and we do match-up well. It should be a very tough and a close game. You always want to get that first win to put your team into the top eight.”
Following their victory at last week’s South Fraser Championships, the Sun Devils will head to Langley with a limited bench.
Guard Alexa Kusel re-injured her ankle in the semi-final win over Seaquam and will not be available. The initial injury had sidelined her for a month and she was expected to be a key contributor in the stretch run.
“I am so sad for her, she has never been to provincials and this is her Grade 12 year,” continued Butler. “She would have played significant and important minutes for us off the bench.”
Grade 11 forward Rachel Rosser (achilles strain) and Grade 12 guard Olivia Barber (ankle) missed the South Fraser playoffs and are not expected to be healthy enough in time for provincials. Meanwhile, 6-foot-3 post player and junior national team rower Sophie Gower has a big regatta in Victoria next weekend and her tournament availability maybe limited to just the opening game.
