The Greater Victoria Invitational at CARSA gym, featuring eight NCAA women鈥檚 basketball teams from the U.S., will be punctuated by a quintessentially Canadian moment at halftime of tonight鈥檚 7:30 semifinal game.
That鈥檚 when Olympians Howard Kelsey and Joanne Sargent will be inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Ken and Kathy Shields Court conducted by sa国际传媒 Basketball CEO and president Glen Grunwald.
鈥淚t comes full circle for me because I was a gym rat at UBC War Memorial Gym when Kathy Shields and Joanne Sargent played for UBC and Ken Shields coached the Thunderbirds,鈥� said Kelsey.
Kelsey later became UVic assistant athletic director from 1983 to 1990 under director Shields in an era in which Vikes athletes produced 13 national basketball championships, 63 Olympians over several sports and 16 Olympic medallists.
鈥淰ictoria is my second home and it鈥檚 pure serendipity to be inducted here,鈥� he said.
Kelsey and Sargent are both also in the sa国际传媒 Sports Hall of Fame.
鈥淓ach one is different,鈥� said Kelsey, who played pro in Mexico for many years.
鈥淭he sa国际传媒 Sports Hall is special because it鈥檚 your province and all the sports within it. The Canadian Basketball Hall is special because it鈥檚 for the particular sport I played and love and it鈥檚 in the country that invented basketball.鈥�
Kelsey is a two-time Olympian with the highlight being the fourth-place finish for sa国际传媒 at the 1984 L.A. Summer Games with former UVic stars Eli Pasquale, Gerald Kazanowski and Greg Wiltjer.
鈥淲e matched the Canadian team that finished fourth at the 1976 Montreal Olympics [with Billy Robinson of Chemainus],鈥� said Kelsey.
After the sixth place finish at 1988 in Seoul, the Canadians never got back to the Olympics in men鈥檚 basketball until Sydney 2000 under captain and two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash of Victoria.
鈥淣ow we have high hopes again for Tokyo 2020 with the Olympic qualifier next year right here in Victoria,鈥� said Kelsey, who is a key organizer of this weekend鈥檚 Victoria NCAA Invitational.
鈥淪o, this is such a full circle for me in so many ways.鈥�
Sargent came out of Salmon Arm and played for sa国际传媒 in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, two Pan Am Games and two FIBA world championships and laid the early foundation for sa国际传媒鈥檚 current world top-five ranked women鈥檚 national team.
鈥淲e played at UBC, and on the national team for five years, and travelled the world together,鈥� said UVic coaching legend Kathy Shields.
鈥淛oanne鈥檚 intensity and competitiveness made her special. She was an incredible passer, playmaker and defensive player who never quit.鈥�
ON THE COURT: The women鈥檚 Victoria Invitational opened Thursday at CARSA with the quarter-finals. Green Bay defeated Bowling Green 73-54 and NCAA No. 10-ranked Mississippi State crushed the University of San Francisco 73-36.
No. 18-ranked Syracuse rolled to an 86-63 win over Houston, while No. 3 Stanford got by Cal Baptist 83-78 in the late game Thursday.
The consolation side games today are at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. with the championship semifinals at 5 p.m. and 7:30.
Games go all day Saturday with the championship game at 7:30 p.m.
