The York House Tigers went up against a Titan worthy of the name.
Battling the South Kamloops Titans for the AAA B.C. girls championship Saturday at Capilano College, the Tigers lost a down-to-the-wire, drama-filled game 65-61.
Following back-to-back wins at the AA B.C. championships, the Tigers opted to go AAA in 2011-12 and finished the regular season ranked third in the province.
But their momentous three-year run was ultimately blocked by a South Kamloops six-foot-four Grade 11 centre named the tournaments best defensive player and its MVP. Emma Wolfram, a Titan in every sense, had one of the best games of her high school career. The deciding play of the championship came with 10 seconds on the game clock when she protected a one-point lead by twice denying Yorks stand-out players, Cherub Lum and Alisha Roberts, whose shots were cleanly batted away.
The Tigers and Titans were grid-locked 10 times, the last coming with less than three minutes to play when Mira Donaldson sunk a three-point beauty to tie the game at 59. At the other end of the court, Abby Grinbergs three-point attempt heightened the drama when it rolled in and out, then in and out again to finally drop and give the Titans a lead they would not relinquish.
Laura Baker, who finished with 12 points and four steals, caused a turnover, drove the lane and earned the basket plus a trip to the line for a chance to tie. Her foul shot was short.
Kamloops didnt score and York, with the ball and 22 seconds on the clock to reverse their one-point deficit, looked for a deciding play. It wasnt the Tigers game to decide.
I was just hoping they werent going to call a foul, Wolfram told reporters after the game. It went down to the wire. You never know. It just feels awesome. Its way better than I could have ever imagined.
Wolfram, who travelled with the national team to the PanAm Games in Guadalajara, averaged 16.5 points, 17.8 rebounds and 7.3 blocks. She fell to the floor late in the first half and, following a Christmas Day car accident and concussion, waited on the sidelines before she was cleared to return to the championship game.
Yorks Roberts and Lum were named first and second-team all-stars, respectively.
Laura Baker received an honourable mention and the York House faithful helped bring home the School Spirit Award. A tiger mascot paraded around, adding the colourful punctuation to hand-made signs like Lumsanity, a riff on NBA breakout star Jeremy Lin, and Un-Lisha Beast, a creative play on Robertss name.
Twitter: @MHStewart
