The North Shore senior girls AAA basketball playoffs are about to explode, with semifinals on Monday and what is shaping up to be a monster final on Wednesday at Argyle secondary.
The action begins tomorrow with the first-place Argyle Pipers hosting the fourth-ranked Sentinel Spartans, and the second-seeded Carson Graham Eagles welcoming the third-place Handsworth Royals. Both Argyle and Carson, who finished regular season play with identical 5-2 records, will be heavily favoured in their Monday matchups having both racked up comfortable wins over Sentinel and Handsworth in league play. If form holds in the semifinals, it’ll set up a matchup between two teams that both feel like they’ve got the firepower to claim the North Shore title.
The Pipers are currently ranked No. 6 in the province while the Eagles are in the honourable mention section just outside of the top 10. The Pipers hold the edge in head-to-head games, having beaten the Eagles twice this season, but the matchup has been razor thin with Argyle eking out a 62-60 win during their only regular season meeting in December.
Playoff predictions are risky business, but one thing seems certain – the Argyle gym will be rocking for Wednesday night’s final.
“Argyle’s got a huge following, it’s going to be a tough game,” said Carson Graham head coach Cameron Nelson. “On their home turf, Argyle plays well.”
If the final does end up as another chapter in the Argyle vs. Carson Graham saga, Argyle head coach Anthony Beyrouti is expecting an epic contest.
“Both the fan bases, the parents, the kids, cousins, relatives, uncles – everybody gets excited for these games. When we play Carson it’s like a real rivalry,” he said. “It’s got me all riled up. I’m kind of excited about it. They’re a very good team, they bring out the best in us. We definitely bring out the best in them. It’s nice to see two teams playing at a really high level, and when we play each other that’s usually what happens.”
The Pipers come into the playoffs on a high following a 70-44 win over Handsworth on Tuesday.
“We had our best game of the year on seniors night against Handsworth, the home crowd really took it to the next level and the girls responded by performing at the highest they’ve performed all year,” said Beyrouti. “It was great to watch.”
The coach said he set up a treacherous exhibition schedule for his team to show his young Pipers what it takes to succeed.
“We wanted to challenge them early and often so that they could kind of understand the level which you need to play at the senior level,” he said. “We’ve gone all over the place to play the best teams and it’s really prepared our team to be in the right mindset towards the end of the season and down the stretch here. … We’re learning, we’re young. We’ve got to figure out how to play the game at this level. But we’ve had some positive signs the last little bit.”
Leading the way for the Pipers are Grade 11 Georgia Swant, who made a name for herself by dropping 44 points in the provincial junior final last season, and Grade 12 sharpshooter Sierra Schefer.
“Georgia and Sierra have really taken a lot of our scoring on their shoulders,” said Beyrouti. “They kind of lead the pack.”
The Eagles, meanwhile, are paced by the trio of Georgia Nelson, Alex Walker and Tanis Metcalfe. The key for the Eagles is their height and defence, said Nelson, adding that Metcalfe, who stands six-foot-two, is the leader in that department.
“We’re going to hopefully dominate the boards with height,” Nelson said about how his team stacks up against Argyle, adding that shutting down the dynamic duo of Swant and Schefer will be their No. 1 objective. “We need to make sure we take those two out, and we’ll be on top. Our goal is to make sure our outside shooters are on par. Unfortunately our kids are very up and down in their shooting – we can be on fire one game and fall apart the next. But against Argyle, it’s got to be all defensive – make sure we get those stops, create some turnovers and we’ll end up on top.”
Though his Eagles have lost to the Pipers twice this season, Nelson is counting on Carson to come through when the stakes are at their highest.
“I think the home court advantage will probably play in their favour, but I think we’re going to end up third-time lucky. We’ve had very close games. We’ve got to play strong from minute one to minute 40, and we’ll end up on top. I just have this feeling this time we’ll end up on top.”
The Lower Mainland Crehan Cup championships will follow the North Shore playoffs and Nelson is hoping his team can push their way to the provincial tournament. The top two teams at Lower Mainlands get automatic berths into provincials.
“That Crehan Cup tournament will not be easy, there’s about five top teams in there,” said Nelson, adding that he believes his Eagles can still soar above the crowd. “This year, I’ve got the team. We’re mentally prepared, we’re physically prepared, the girls all want it this year. The end goal is to get to the B.C.s, and they’re all ready for it, they’re all practicing for hard. … We believe we’ve got what it takes to get to that tournament, and after that it’s OK wherever we stand.”
As for Argyle, they’re excited to play host to high-stakes hoops for the next week or so – on top of the North Shore final, the first three days of the Lower Mainland Championships will also take place at the home of the Pipers.
“Argyle hasn’t hosted the North Shore playoffs in over 10 years,” said Beyrouti. “This is a cool experience for the kids to get to host the playoffs at their own place. Hopefully we can take care of business. … We’re trying to peak at the right time and the kids are working really hard, which is the key to the whole thing. They’re really putting in the time and really staying focused. These kids have worked really hard. It’s nice to see them achieve some of their goals.”
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The AAA playoffs begin Monday with Argyle hosting Sentinel at 7 p.m. and Carson Graham hosting Handsworth at 7:30 p.m. The North Shore final is scheduled for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Argyle.
At the AA level playoff action starts with a Monday double header at Seycove secondary with Bodwell playing Windsor at 6 p.m. followed by Seycove taking on Collingwood at 7:30 p.m. The North Shore AA final is scheduled for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Seycove.
