The D.P. Todd Trojans threw their best game at the Nechako Valley Viqueens. The payoff was a zone championship title and a ticket to provincials.
The Trojans -- who had fallen to Nechako Valley in all three previous meetings this senior girls basketball season -- topped the Viqueens 81-62 Saturday in Vanderhoof. The Trojans will now be the top-seeded north central team at the double-A provincial championship tournament, March 9-12 in Kamloops.
Viqueens coach Joel Mueller was highly complimentary of the Trojans' performance, which came in front of a pro-Nechako Valley crowd.
"Joel sent me an e-mail [Monday] and just said, 'I thought our defence was actually pretty good but you guys just played flawlessly,'" said Trojans coach Reid Roberts. "I'd have to agree. I only ever called timeouts just to give the girls a rest. It didn't actually seem like I was doing a lot of coaching. They all played great. It was one of those games where four of the key players were all scoring evenly whenever they had to. It didn't matter what the defence was doing, someone else would score on the next possession or step up. It was pretty hard to defend that."
Danielle Steel, a Grade 12 point guard for the Trojans who got the nod as tournament MVP, was on target for 23 points. Piper Hoekstra, a first-team all-star, scored 19. Also making significant offensive contributions were second-team all-stars Jamie Macfarlane (17 points) and Tenley Pearce (13 points).
Earlier this season, the Viqueens beat the Trojans by 18 points, 11 points and one point, the last victory in overtime.
The Trojans started zones with a 77-63 semifinal win against the College Heights Cougars, the same team they beat for the city championship title on Feb. 16.
"It was a nerve-wracking game," Roberts said of the rematch. "I wasn't sure how it was going to go and the girls just played great and then the next game they just went to a whole new level again."
On Saturday night, the Viqueens stepped past the Cougars for the second berth in provincials.
The rankings for the 16-team B.C. tournament will be released today. Roberts said a No. 6 ranking for the Trojans would be fair.
In another zone result from the weekend, Vancouver's York House -- which had not lost to a double-A opponent all season -- fell 81-71 to Britannia, also from Vancouver, in the championship final of that tournament. York House will now likely be seeded No. 2 for provincials.
