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Burnaby Central wins consolation side of 4A girls basketball provincials

The Wildcats, after losing their first match, rallied back to win three in a row and claim ninth. St. Thomas More finished fourth in the 2A tournament.
Kyle Balzer
Kyle Balzer
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Burnaby Central Secondary finished ninth at the 2024 B.C. AAAA girls basketball provincial championships.Burnaby Central Athletics/Instagram

It's not the result Burnaby Central had hoped for, but the Wildcats were able to close out the 2023-24 season on a strong note.

Fifth-ranked Central lost its first match at the 2024 B.C. AAAA girls basketball provincials in a 77-75 decision to 12th-seeded Lord Tweedsmuir (Surrey) last Wednesday, Feb. 28.

However, the Cats rallied back to win their remaining games — by large margins — and come out on top of the consolation side of the tournament bracket with a 3-1 record.

Burnaby Central defeated Oak Bay (Victoria) on Saturday, March 2, by a score of 70-37 to claim ninth at the 16-team event in Langley.

The other victories included:

  • 65-38 win over Sir Winston Churchill (March 1)
  • 90-62 win over Walnut Grove (Feb. 29)

Ankita Chopra, committed to playing for University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) in the fall, led the Wildcats with a combined 118 points at provincials, including 42 in the second match against Walnut Grove.

Central won the Burnaby-New Westminster city banner in a 78-31 victory over St. Thomas More Collegiate, but lost to Riverside (Port Coquitlam) in the Fraser North regional championship.

The STM Knights, meanwhile, just missed the podium on the AA side of provincials.

The red and white fell in the bronze medal match 60-50 to Holy Cross (Surrey) on Saturday to finish fourth — one spot higher than their initial fifth-place ranking.

STM won its first two games to reach the semifinals. They beat 12-seeded Kalamalka (Coldstream) to open provincials, 53-34, and edged out fourth-ranked Notre Dame (Vancouver) in the quarters, 52-49.

Top-seeded Mulgrave (West Vancouver) then relegated the Knights to the third-place game by a score of 70-44.

Demicah Arnaldo led STM on the scoresheet with 63 points in four games, including 25 in the tournament opener, followed by Mia Beliveau with 55 points.

Arnaldo's efforts earned her a first-team AA all-star selection, while Beliveau was named a second-team all-star.

Prior to provincials, STM won the Fraser North AA regional senior girls basketball title in an 89-32 rout over Archbishop Carney (Port Coquitlam).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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