Hoops women to play for bronze after heart-breaking loss to Manitoba

The British Columbia women’s basketball team will play for bronze after suffering a heart-breaking loss, 51-46, to Manitoba in the first semifinal of the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games. A 16-point performance from Ashlyn Day (Kelowna) wasn’t enough despite BC leading throughout most of the opening three quarters. 

“Yesterday I think we hit some big shots at the end to counter what our opponents were doing and we just didn’t hit those shots today,” said Team BC women’s basketball head coach Cheryl Jean-Paul (Langley). “We had a lot of opportunities that we just didn’t finish today. We shot 30 per cent so we have to shoot a lot of shots at the end of the game to be able to get back.”

Manitoba was led in scoring by guard Kiara Rongavilla who finished the game with 19 points, while six-foot-five Dana Inglis was pivotal in the paint collecting rebounds. 

It was a slow opening quarter that saw Team BC women held off the board for nearly five minutes. Manitoba got off to a 6-0 run thanks to the scoring hands of Rongavilla. Overcoming a stretch of Team BC turnovers, some quality transition play allowed BC’s Madison Legault (North Vancouver) four points, while a jumper in the paint from Day gave BC the lead at 10-8. Rongavilla put in another quick layup to tie the game 10-10 after the opening quarter.

In the second quarter BC found a new rhythm, capitalizing on Manitoba turnovers. Azalya Forstbauer (Cawston) put up seven points in the quarter, while Day continued to distribute the ball well. For Manitoba Rongavilla was again the leading threat putting in seven points to bring her first-half total to 13. The team’s traded buckets in the early minutes but an and-one from Day put BC up by three, 16-13, while Rongavilla responded with a long bomb to lift Manitoba minutes later, up 22-21. A nice 6-0 run sparked by Forstbauer got BC up 27-22 entering half time.

Manitoba stormed back in the third out-scoring BC 20-11 including six late points from Rongavilla. Five-foot-four Manitoba guard Bartlett got hot in the early minutes and showed her strength from beyond the arc. BC went cold to start the third frame but finally found the basket on a three from Day. Gritty defensive rebounding from six-foot-one Imogen White (Victoria) and five-foot-ten Lindsey Bott (Burnaby) led to quick counter-attacks including a nice jumper from Legault to make the game 34-32 in favour of BC. Rongavilla’s crafty movements through the paint got Manitoba up 42-38 entering the fourth, as the five-foot five guard totaled 19 points after three quarters.

Manitoba came out of the gate with a quick offensive push in the final quarter and that momentum carried out through the final 10 minutes. BC struggled to get on the board putting up just eight points, while six points from Bartlett powered Manitoba to victory. BC had a few opportunities on their last three possessions but were unable to capitalize sending Manitoba through to the final after a 51-46 semifinal win. 
“These are valuable lessons for young athletes to understand the value of the little things,” adds Jean-Paul. “We can talk about the last minute and a half of the game or the last three shots but when it comes down to it, it’s a 40 minute game.”

Up next BC will play for bronze against the loser of the other semifinal, Alberta against Saskatchewan. The bronze medal game will be played at 9:00 a.m. on Aug. 11 at Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre. 

“It’s important for us to maintain our value of team and it’s not one person’s fault when you lose, it’s not one person’s responsibility when you win,” noted Jean-Paul about the team’s quick turn-around for tomorrow’s match. “It’s about a process and we need to understand that everything you go through can help you prepare for what comes next.”

SCORING SUMMARY
BC: 10-17-11-8 : 46
MAN: 10-12-20-9 : 51

SCORING LEADERS
BC: Ashlyn Day (16 pts), Azalya Forstbauer (7 pts), Imogen White (6 pts)
MAN: Kiara Rongavilla (19 pts), Deidre Bartlett (13 pts)