The Okanagan Mission (OKM) Huskies senior girls basketball team are provincial bronze medalists.
The team emerged victorious, 71-69 over the Yale Lions in the bronze medal match of the annual B.C. High School Provincial 4A Championships, hosted at the Langley Events Centre.
The Huskies won on two clutch free throws from star senior guard Presley Hopf, who knocked them down with just 4.6 seconds left in a previously tied game.
Both teams battled all night, and OKM had a perfect defensive stop after the free throws to win the bronze.
Shae Sandhu led the way with 21 points, while Faith Hunter chipped in with 17.
The Huskies, who won the Okanagan Zone Tournament over the KSS Owls, were the fourth ranked squad heading into the four-day, 16-team provincial championships.
OKM dispatched the 13th ranked Walnut Grove Gators 74-55 on day one, then beat 12th ranked Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers in the quarterfinals, 86-78.
That set up a mammoth semifinal against the top ranked Riverside Rapids out of Coquitlam on Friday. The Rapids jumped out to a 29-18 first quarter lead and held that double digit lead throughout game, as Riverside’s Avery Sussex poured in 35 points. The Rapids won, 81-65.
In the bronze medal match, the Yale Lions were up by 10 at halftime, but the Huskies chewed into that deficit with back-to-back 20 point quarters and held the Lions to just 29 second half points.
In the championship game, the Rapids were upset by third seed Seaquam Seahawks as the hawks rang up 31 points in the fourth quarter to fend off Riverside, who was up 10 heading into the final frame.
The Huskies were also named the Most Sportsmanlike Team of the tournament.
The men’s senior provincial tournament will begin on Wednesday, March 6 from the Langley Events Centre. More information can be found at bchighschoolbasketballchampionships.com
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