A Fraser Valley banner is nice, but the Credo Christian Kodiaks have their eyes on a much bigger prize.
The senior girls basketball team extinguished the Unity Christian Flames’ title hopes with a 76-69 win on Saturday (Feb. 24) at Abbotsford’s Columbia Bible College.
This was the fifth time the two teams had squared off and Credo now holds a 3-2 advantage.
Assistant coach Kayla Vanderhorst said the team has been working towards this moment all season. And with this out of the way, the focus turns to the ultimate prize, another blue banner.
“Having won the provincial banner last year, these girls have been eager, since the beginning of the season, to make a run for the banner again,” Vanderhorst said.
SEE: Credo Christian Kodiaks claw to 1A provincial girls basketball crown
“Winning the Fraser Valley banner was definitely an initial goal, and making it two wit the provincial banner would be the cherry on top.”
The Kodiaks led for much of the Fraser Valley final, but Vanderhorst admitted it was a nail-biter, with the lead never much more than a point or two in the first half.
Credo Christian created some separation in the third quarter, building their lead to 10 before Unity Christian battled back to cut the lead back to one point with less than two minutes to play.
Esther Allison responded with a clutch basket to up the advantage by three and with the Flames having to resort to fouling. But the plan didn’t work as Kari Stam sunk all four of her free throw attempts for the final 76-69 score.
Stam was named most valuable player while Sam Leenhorst was a first team all-star.
The Kodiaks should get a high seed — if not the top seed — at the upcoming B.C. Single A senior girls basketball championships. They run March 7 to 10 at Unity Christian in Chilliwack.
sports@langleytimes.com
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