TUESDAY, 19 JUNE 2012 02:00 DAILY COURIER STAFF
Winning four games in less than 24 hours, the UBC Okanagan Junior Heat girls basketball team earned top spot at an under-13 tournament in Calgary recently.
Made up of Grade 6 and 7 players from throughout the Okanagan, the Heat came from behind to win their opening game and breezed to victory in their next two.
Up against the top-ranked Alberta team in the final, the junior Heat, spurred on by the support of the U-15 and U-17 teams in attendance, cruised to a 16-point win.
The Heat played a solid defensive game throughout the weekend, while Alley Corrado and Ashlyn Day led the team offensively in each match.
In under-17 play, the Heat won two of three games. Down by more than 20 points in the third quarter, the Okanagan representatives put on a late charge, but fell 69-60.
The Heat pulled together in their final two games, winning 81-53 and 60-50.
The under-15 girls placed third. They defeated the regional Basketball Alberta team 50-41 and downed the Saskatoon Slam 69-37 before losing 82-57 to the Elite Calgary Cobras.
Outstanding rebounding came from Brettelle Ellerton, Danielle Maclennan, Jordan Koral and Megan Admussen-Blair, while Alexis Percival and Maggy Corrado contributed stellar efforts with their shooting from the outside and superb defence.
Avery Watson came through with several blocked shots and Kiana Ajamzedeh used her speed to steal the ball on a consistent basis.
Identification camps for the teams were held in February and tryouts in March under the watchful eye of UBCO's Heather and Darren Semeniuk.
The program is intended to have an Okanagan-wide flare and produce the quality and depth that will allow the teams wearing the familiar UBCO blue and gold jerseys to compete with Lower Mainland and Alberta summer teams.
All three girls teams will travel together later this month to compete in the Great Western Shootout in Edmonton on the 10-court fieldhouse on the University of Alberta campus.
