SMUS teams returned to competition after the winter break with strong performances across basketball and squash, highlighted by a dramatic Senior Girls Basketball win, busy tournament schedules for several teams, and national and international competition for SMUS squash athletes. Here’s a look at the latest results and what’s ahead in a packed stretch of games and events.
Senior Girls Basketball
The SMUS Senior Girls Basketball team resumed Lower Island Division 1 league action last Tuesday night against local rival Lambrick Park.
A tough, physical opponent, Lambrick got off to a strong start, taking a 19-15 lead after the first quarter. A 2-3 zone adjustment in the second quarter helped the Blue Jags turn the tables. However, that reversal would be short-lived, as the Lions got hot from beyond the arc to reclaim a 10-point lead heading into the fourth.
Not to be counted out, the Blue Jags staged a strong fourth-quarter comeback thanks to some sharp shooting by Grade 11 standout Elspeth Rodger and the continued rim finishing of Grade 12 guard Mya Beare, powering SMUS to a 68-65 win.
Beare finished the night with a career-high 20 points, while Rodger led all scorers with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Mikaela Dubé added 16 points and 15 rebounds.
On Thursday, it was off to Chilliwack for the annual Grizzlies Top10 Invitational, hosted by GW Graham Secondary. The opening round saw the Jags take on Bishop O’Byrne, a travelling team from Calgary. The Blue Jags made quick work of the visitors, winning 78-22. Dubé finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead SMUS while Rodger added 20 points and 11 rebounds. Indigo Edgington had a career night, finishing with 16 points.
MEI, the fourth-ranked AAAA team in BC, was the Blue Jags’ next matchup. The quarterfinal was a back-and-forth affair with SMUS doing a nice job on the defensive end. Unfortunately, the Blue Jags came up just short, losing 48-42. Once again, Rodger had a solid performance with another double-double (19 points and 15 rebounds). Beare added 13 points and Edgington had six points.
The loss meant another crack at BC’s current No.1-ranked AAA team, the Langley Christian Lightning. Trying to avenge an earlier-season loss, the AAA fourth-ranked Blue Jags were hoping to close the gap against the seasoned Lightning squad. Improvements on the defensive end were notable, however SMUS struggled at times to get good scoring looks. The end result was a much more competitive game – a 54-45 loss. Rodger again led the way with 14 points and 22 rebounds, Beare added 12 points, and Dubé scored nine.
Finally, now playing for seventh place, the Blue Jags faced local rival Oak Bay in their last game of the tournament. A second game of the day was a tall order for the Jags, as both mental and physical fatigue were evident throughout the game. However, the level of compete remained high. Down the stretch, the Blue Jags got key stops and rebounded well to close the door on the Breakers and win 45-35. Dubé led the Jags with 14 points, Rodger added 11 points and 14 rebounds, and Beare finished with 10 points.
In an exhibition game played Friday, Jan. 2, the Senior Girls dropped a 65-64 decision to visiting St. Albert Catholic High School of Alberta. In what was a back-and-forth affair, Rodger scored a layup to give the Blue Jags a one-point lead with six seconds left. But St. Albert answered with the final bucket inside off the subsequent side inbounds play to win the game 65-64. Rodger finished the game with 23 points, Dubé added 18, and Edgington 11
The Blue Jags face another busy week ahead, as they travel to Claremont on Tuesday night for a league game (5:45 pm) before hosting the annual Victoria City Police Tournament. SMUS will take on Southridge of Surrey in its first-round matchup on Thursday at 7:30 pm.
Junior Girls Basketball
The SMUS Junior Girls won two of their four games during a busy post-holiday week, including a 56-16 win over visiting Reynolds in Lower Island Division 1 league action last Wednesday in the Single Gym.
Ella Buckley paced the league-leading Blue Jags with 16 points in the victory while teammate Ali Brooks added 12.
The SMUS Juniors then travelled to Port Coquitlam for the Riverside Tournament on Friday and Saturday. Buckley was player of the game for the Junior Jags as they fell 37-29 to BC No. 1-ranked Riverside in their opening game of the event. SMUS gave the host Rapids a tough battle, leading by four points after the third quarter.
Next for the Blue Jags was a matchup against GW Graham of Chilliwack early Saturday morning. Piper Geddes was selected as player of the game with 13 points for SMUS in a 44-31 loss to the Grizzlies.
Brooks scored 20 points to lead the Junior Jags to a 58-36 win over OKM in their final game of the tournament, while Geddes added 18. Natalie DiFelice-Oinonen was outstanding defensively for SMUS in this game. She was tasked with guarding OKM’s key player and was very effective in limiting her touches as well as scoring eight points herself.
In a Jan. 2 exhibition at SMUS, the Junior Girls scored 28 second-half points to beat visiting Vincent J. Maloney Junior High School of St. Albert 55-45. Geddes led the Jags with 14 points in the win over the Alberta team while DiFelice-Oinonen had 11 and Brooks added 10.
The Junior Girls play two home league games this week, taking on Royal Bay at 4:15 pm on Tuesday and hosting Pacific Christian at 5:45 pm on Wednesday.
Junior ‘B’ Girls Basketball
The SMUS Junior ‘B’ Girls fell 47-38 in overtime to visiting Stelly’s in Lower Island Division 2 league action on Thursday in the Single Gym. Yiran Yang scored 18 points to lead the Blue Jags in the loss.
They Junior ‘B’ team travels to St. Andrew’s for a league game this Thursday at 4:15 pm.
Senior Boys Basketball
After an extended break due to the holidays, followed by a full week of practice, the SMUS Senior Boys look forward to getting back to a full slate of game action this week.
The Blue Jags will travel to Parkland for a Lower Island AA game this Tuesday and will visit Glenlyon Norfolk School for another league contest on Wednesday. Both those games tip off at 7 pm.
The Senior Boys will also host the Victoria City Police Tournament this week, meeting Mark Isfeld of Courtenay – currently the No. 9 AAA team in BC – in their opening round game on Thursday at 5:30 pm.
The strong tournament field also features BC AA’s No. 1-ranked King George Dragons of Vancouver, who are on the same side of the draw as SMUS, and the Lambrick Park Lions, ranked fifth among BC AAA teams.
Junior Boys Basketball
The SMUS Junior Boys gave first-place Lambrick Park all it could handle before eventually dropping a 57-56 Lower Island league heartbreaker in overtime last Wednesday.
Alex MacKay scored 28 points, including four three-pointers, to lead the Junior Jags while backcourt mate Manav Kang had 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists. MacKay, who also added seven rebounds, hit two of three free-throws in the dying seconds to send the game into overtime.
The Blue Jags jumped out to an early lead and were up 18-5 after the first quarter. However, three early fouls to forward William Low forced him to the bench and helped Lambrick battle back to grab a two-point lead after three quarters. The final quarter and overtime were neck-and-neck with SMUS having chances at the end of overtime for the win.
First-place Lambrick improved to 6-0 on the season while SMUS sits at 2-2. The Bue Jags will look to bounce back with a pair of home league games this week, taking on Reynolds on Tuesday at 5:45 pm and hosting Edward Milne on Thursday at 7:15 pm.
In what will be an extremely busy week, the Junior Jags will also take on Walnut Grove of Langley in an exhibition game on Thursday at Oak Bay, beginning at 4:30 pm. The Blue Jags will cap their week by playing in the Mark Isfeld Spirit Bear tournament on Friday and Saturday in Courtenay. SMUS will meet Timberline of Campbell River in its first tournament game at 2 pm on Friday.
Grade 9 Boys Basketball
The SMUS Grade 9 Boys beat the visiting Oak Bay 9s 64-54 in a Lower Island Junior Division 2 league showdown on Thursday between two teams that should figure prominently in the Vancouver Island Grade 9 playoffs this year.
The Blue Jags shook off a slow start, which saw them trailing the Bays in the early going, to secure the win and remain undefeated in league play. Seb Divoky scored 26 points to lead the Grade 9 Jags. Kian Harris added 17 in the win.
The Grade 9s also have a busy week ahead. They will play a league game at Reynolds on Monday, beginning at 4:15 pm. The Jags will then prepare for the prestigious Vancouver College Grade 9 Emerald Tournament this Friday and Saturday.
Squash
SMUS Squash team members have competed in a number of national and international events in recent weeks.
Max Arndt lost 3-0 in the first round to a strong American player at December’s U.S. Junior Open in Philadelphia. In the first round of the consolation draw, Arndt faced another American, who was higher rated, and won 3-1. He then played the Canadian No. 1-ranked U17 player and put up a good fight, losing 3-1.
“This puts Max in a good position for April’s Canadian Junior Nationals in Vancouver as he knows he can challenge the top players from this country,” said SMUS Head Coach Grace Thomas.
Anderson Brown of SMUS placed 71st out of 168 players in the British Junior Open, which ran Jan. 2-6 in Birmingham, England. Brown won four of the seven matches he played in the event against top players from a variety of countries.
The U.S. Junior Open and British Junior Open include many of the best players in the world.
This past Saturday, 22 SMUS Squash team members finished among the top three in their respective categories as the school hosted the SMUS Silver Series tournament.
The following SMUS athletes placed in the top three:
Tier 1 –1st Carsten Rodger, 2nd Liam Wilkinson, 3rd Keith Alexander
Tier 2 – 1st Gavin Alexander, 2nd Alex Wessling, 3rd Jimmy Wen
Tier 3 – 1st Tristan Huang, 2nd Jacob Ji, 3rd Princeton Aubertin
Tier 4 – 2nd August Belke
Tier 5 – 1st Sion Hsieh, 2nd Anthony Kavalenka, 3rd Henri Jungkind
Tier 6 – 1st Manu Monroy, 2nd Ismail Laghari, 3rd Max Wang
Tier 7 – 1st Oscar Ross, 2nd Rayna Wu, 3rd Katie Liu
Tier 8 – 1st Benjamin Sowden, 2nd Maddox Price, 3rd Charlie Pullen
SMUS Squash has a busy schedule in the upcoming weeks, including the BC Junior Gold tournament this weekend in Vancouver, the Shawnigan Silver on Jan. 24, the Nanaimo Open Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, and the Pacific Northwest Junior Championships, a national junior circuit event, Feb. 6-8 at Cedar Hill Squash Club, SMUS, and UVic.
