The Panago Columneetza Classic junior girls basketball tournament held Feb. 4-5 showed great signs for the future of girls’ basketball at the high school level.
Eight teams took part in the tournament including Columneetza, two Quesnel Junior secondary squads, Correlieu secondary, Nechako Valley ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams, Columneetza Grade 8s and Williams Lake secondary.
Taking first place were the Nechako Valley Vikings, winning 39-29 over the Correlieu Clan from Quesnel.
And in classic lakecity fashion, the two local high schools put their rivalry on display in the battle for third and fourth place.
This time, Williams Lake secondary were the victors, pulling out a 46-29 win over Columneetza.
Locals named to the all-star team include Williams Lake secondary’s Dakota Bailey (second team), Montana Reid (second team) and Latasha Diaz (first team). From Columneetza Erika Weber (second team) and Annie Blois (first team) were named to the all-star team.
Tournament organizer and coach of the Columneetza club Brigette Peel added tournament and regular season sponsors were a huge help in allowing the tournament to be so successful. She said sponsors even helped her club purchase new uniforms this season.
Coming up, the junior girls basketball zone championships will be held at Williams Lake secondary from Feb. 18-19.