The Vernon Panthers conjured bronze medal magic and left the Duchess Park Condors with the fourth-place consolation prize at the BC triple-A girls basketball provincial championship Saturday in Langley.
The Panthers took off on a 9-0 run to gain a healthy advantage in the opening quarter then leaned on the scoring talents of Paige Leahy, Chloe Collins and Chloe Bicknell to build a 20-point halftime lead that paved the way to a 68-57 victory.
The Condors ended the game with 11 unanswered points but it was too little too late for Reid Roberts’s senior girls squad.
Leahy collected a game-high 24 points, while Collins contributed 16 for the bronze medalists. As she did throughout the tournament, Zhahra Ngbo led the Condor cause with 13 points, while Devyn Bjorn (12) and Maggie Malfair (10) also hit double figures.
The Condors lost their chance to advance to the championship game with a 56-53 loss to the Sa-Haly Sabres of Kamloops.
Sa-Hali had to settle for silver after a 50-49 loss in the triple-A final Saturday to Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles of Abbotsford.
The College Heights Cougars lost 70-60 to Mark Isfeld Ice of Courtenay in the fifth-place playoff and finished sixth in the 16-team tournament.
Lorenn Caceres scored 32 points in that game for College Heights. Cougar senior Summer Toor had a 10-point game.
Ngabo and Caceres were named to the tournament second all-star team.
Meanwhile, in the single-A tournament, the Cedars Christian Eagles of Prince George finished on a high note, winning the fifth-place game 70-60.
Paige Kynoch scored 13 points, Mila Johnson hit for 12 and Jasmine Vigar had a 10-point effort to pace the Cedars’ attack. Johnson was selected a second team all star.
Mariah Jansen (31) and Leah Funk (21) accounted for most of the Thunder scoring.
The Eagles led 29-24 at the half.
The North Central zone-champion Sir Alexandre Mackenzie Grizzlies of Hagensborg lost 70-63 in the single-A final to the Pacific Christian Pacers of Victoria.
In other single-A results, the Fort St. James Falcons topped the Southpointe Academy Titans of Delta 56-32 to claim 13th place. The Falcons won the Barry Dearing Fair Play Award.
In other local results, the North Central zone double-A-champion Nechako Valley Vikings finished 15th after posting a 62-54 win over the Hazelton Spartans.
In the double-A final, St. Michael's University School Blue Jags of Victoria defeated Holy Cross Crusaders of Surrey 62-54 in Saturday’s final in Langley.
In the quad-A final, the Seaquam Seahawks of North Delta edged Brookswood Bobcats of Langley 68-67.
