The Chatelech Eagles senior girls basketball team kicked off their season in style last weekend, going undefeated as they hosted the Sea to Sea to Sky basketball tournament. After beating Brooks (Powell River) and Whistler in the round robin portion of the tournament Friday night, the senior girls faced the Brooks Thunderbirds in a championship game rematch on Saturday afternoon.
With redemption on their minds, Brooks charged out to an early lead and led 9-4 after the first quarter. The Eagles fought back in the second quarter with great work inside by Georgia Kitt and a number of tough drives by Sam Fehr, but the Thunderbirds rode some hot shooting by Sylena Klassen and expanded their lead to 24-17 at the half.
Brooks hit an early three pointer and continued to attack the basket as they opened up a 30-21 lead early in the third quarter. After a time out to regroup, the Chatelech girls turned up the defensive intensity and started to turn things around. A few big steals and some solid rebounding helped Chatelech weather the storm. Audrey Spithoff was strong inside in the third quarter and scored eight points to give Chatelech a 31-30 lead at the end of three quarters.
Brooks reclaimed their lead early in the fourth quarter, going up 35-31 before the tenacious Eagles defence reclaimed the momentum. Seniors Sam Fehr and Audrey Spithoff kept the offence moving, finishing with 11 and 17 points, respectively, as Chatelech erased the deficit and then expanded their lead. By the time the final buzzer sounded, Chatelech had opened up a 42-37 lead to claim victory and the championship trophy.
Congratulations as well to Taylor Legge from Whistler, who won the free throw shooting contest, and to Hunter Wagman-Baboth, who won the three-point shooting contest.
The team would like to thank all the parents and student volunteers who helped out with the tournament, as well as all the friends and family who came out to cheer them on. A big thank you as well to our generous sponsors at McDonalds, Gibsons IGA, Trail Bay Sports, Starbucks, and Ali Khan at Sunshine Coast Real Estate.
Looking ahead, Chatelech has home games against West Vancouver Secondary at 3:45 p.m. on Dec. 6 and against Windsor Secondary at 3:45 p.m. on Dec. 14. Spectators are welcome, so please join us at the Chatelech gym to cheer on the team.
