An early 10-point deficit proved too much to overcome for the Walnut Grove Gators.
鈥淓very time we made a little run, they would respond,鈥� said Walnut Grove coach Darren Rowell. 鈥淲e just weren鈥檛 able to close it.鈥�
The Gators, seeded No. 1, were facing the No. 2 Abbotsford Panthers, in Saturday鈥檚 Fraser Valley senior girls AAA championship game.
It was played at Abbotsford Secondary.
The disappointing thing from Rowell鈥檚 perspective was the fact he felt his team was coming off one of their best games of the year, a 77-47 win over No. 4 Semiahmoo in the Fraser Valley semifinals.
鈥淎nd we felt were ready for the challenge of Abbotsford but we just didn鈥檛 play very well,鈥� Rowell said.
The Panthers played a physical and Walnut Grove wasn鈥檛 able to adapt.
鈥淭hat changed the way we wanted to play and we didn鈥檛 respond very well,鈥� he said.
It was the second time the two teams played this year with the Gators winning in the finals of the Tsumura Basketball Invitational back in December.
In the opening round of the Fraser Valleys, Walnut Grove thumped No. 16 Charles Best 95-38 and beat No. 8 Yale 84-56 in the quarter-finals.
Walnut Grove is 29-2 on the season and just like the team鈥檚 other loss 鈥� a setback in league play to Lord Tweedsmuir 鈥� Rowell is sure the team can use this as a learning experience.
鈥淲e had a loss a few weeks ago that really helped focus us going into the Fraser Valleys and showed us some things we needed to work on. And I think this loss to Abby showed us some other things that we need to focus on prior to B.C.鈥檚,鈥� Rowell said.
Rowell said at the start of the year his team would have been thrilled with a second-place showing at Fraser Valleys.
鈥淎t this point, we see ourselves being able to compete with any team in the province,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o not compete the way you want is always a disappointment but we are looking forward to provincials.鈥�
The Gators are seeded third for next week鈥檚 B.C. provincial championships (Feb. 28 to March 3) at the 黑马磁力 Events Centre and they face the Mount Baker Wild in the opening round.
Tavia Rowell and Natalie Rathler earned first team all-star awards for Walnut Grove while the Gators鈥� Jessica Wisotzki was a second team pick.
The Brookswood Bobcats were also competing at the Fraser Valleys, with the team finishing seventh. The 鈥機ats did win a wild-card qualifying game on Feb. 20, 71-37 over Handsworth to qualify for provincials.
sports@langleytimes.com
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