Princess Margaret Mustangs senior girls basketball team finished their AA season ranked 14th in B.C.
Taking on Vancouver Island’s Lambrick Park, the Mustangs lost 64-46 for 13th place and finished with a 1-3 record in the 2014 BC Secondary Schools Girls AA Basketball Championships in Langley. The Mustangs trailed 38-21 at half-time with six girls in foul trouble. The closest the Mustangs got was within seven points late in the third quarter. Danielle Ruocco rang up 27 points, while Maddie Winter earned player of the game for the Mustangs.
Mustangs co-coach Jeff Goodis said the championship tournament was a great experience for the players.
“We believe that we could have and should have placed higher than we did,” said Goodis, adding that the opening loss was tough to come back from but the players battled. “The province was very competitive this year. There were some excellent teams that didn’t even qualify for provincials.”
The Mustangs opened the championship with a 53-45 loss to Vancouver Island champ and No. 5 seed Wellington Wildcats. The Mustangs were led by Megan Admussen-Blair’s 17 points. Against the Brittania Bruins, the Mustangs lost 59-54. Blair led the Mustangs offence by draining 30 points, while Ruocco added 12.
The Mustangs’ lone win came against Trail’s J.L. Crowe Hawks, 56-36. Mustangs’ player of the game Kaycie McKinnon dropped 11 points and Callan Cooper added 10 as 11 players hit the scoresheet.
The end of the Mustangs season also marks the end of high school careers for Cooper, Winter, McKinnon, Rylee McKinlay and Erin Gabriel. Goodis said the future is bright for the Mustangs with six returnees in Blair, Corrie, Ford, Ruocco, Kenzi Haberstock and Haley Lehr. Three of the Mustangs’ leading scorers will be joined by talented juniors.
The Vernon Secondary Panthers finished sixth, while the Sa-Hali Sabres from Kamloops were eighth.