When it comes to senior girls basketball in the Victoria area, most opponents tend to buckle when they come up against the Big 2 teams 鈥� Oak Bay and Claremont.
But coach Kate Carlson looks forward to tonight鈥檚 challenge as her Spectrum Thunder hope to make some noise against the Claremont Spartans in a semifinal of the Lower Vancouver Island Triple-A playoffs. The Thunder earned its way with a resounding 69-26 victory over Belmont on Thursday night.
鈥淣o one is going to touch Oak Bay, but I think Claremont is beatable, absolutely,鈥� said Carlson.
鈥淚f we play the way we can and at our hardest, I really think we can win.鈥�
The Thunder had plenty of confidence on Thursday, led by Oympia Ruffalo鈥檚 23聽points. Taleha Penner added 14 for the victors, who also received a strong game out of point guard Emma Cunningham.
鈥淚 think it should be a close game and I鈥檓 more than confident that we are capable, if we play to our potential, of giving them a competitive game and winning,鈥� Carlson added of facing Claremont tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Stelly鈥檚.
Stelly鈥檚 鈥� 52-29 winners over Mount Douglas on Thursday 鈥� will face Oak Bay at 8:15 p.m., on home court. Sophie Blandford had 13 for Stelly鈥檚 while Julia Gallant had 13 for Mount Doug.
In Double-A boy鈥檚 play, the host Blue Jags defeated Shawnigan 62-50 to open up the South Island tournament at St. Michael鈥檚 University School on Thursday afternoon. 鈥淪hawnigan is capable, always well prepared and physical,鈥� said SMUS coach Ian Hyde-Lay, whose team was down 20-16 in the second quarter before coming back. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the playoffs and you have to be happy to get a win.
鈥淚t gets very tough from here. To win this tournament we鈥檒l probably have to beat Brentwood and Lambrick. But having said that, we can be a tough out, and for one of those two teams to win they have to get through us or each other.鈥�
In the latest provincial rankings, Brentwood is No.聽2, SMUS is No. 3 and Lambrick is No. 7, although they were all very recently in the top four.
鈥淚t鈥檚 shaping up to be a very good tournament. It鈥檚 very unusual to find three of the top four teams in the province, not even in a zone tournament, but a sub-zone tournament,鈥� said Hyde-Lay. 鈥淪o there should be some good basketball this weekend.鈥�
Brentwood defeated Esquimalt, Lambrick dumped Edward Milne 91-49 and Gulf Islands beat Pacific Christian 74-52 on Thursday. In semifinals today, SMUS faces Brentwood at 5:30 followed by Lambrick vs. Gulf Islands.
