NPSS Grizzlies Update: Senior girls basketball team makes their mark at provincials

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The North Peace Secondary School (NPSS) Grizzlies senior girls basketball team finished the season with a bang after winning their final game at provincials last month. 

The senior girls travelled to Langley to compete in provincials from February 28th to March 1st, and according to head coach Jaclyn McNicol, the team entered the competition ranked 15th out of 16 teams.

The girls played four games throughout provincials, with their first game against Argyle Secondary School resulting in a 106-24 loss for the Grizzlies. 

“Our first game was an overall tough game, but the girls played quite well with one another,” said McNicol. 

“We were just working on our successes, [we weren’t] so worried about what the score was.”

Up next, the senior girls hit the court against Oak Bay Secondary School in a hard-fought game ending in a 78-48 loss for the Grizzlies. The girls’ third game against Charles Best Secondary School was a loss as well, with a final score of 72-43 for the opposition. 

The girls took on Mount Baker Secondary School for their fourth and final game at provincials, where they celebrated a 60-55 victory, which McNicol says is a huge accomplishment for the team. 

“We don’t know when the last time a [Grizzlies] girls basketball team won a game at provincials. It’s been a long time,” said McNicol, noting that the girls finished 15th overall. 

Kenzi Steiner was named game four’s Player of the Game. 

McNicol says competing at provincials was a “positive experience” for the senior girls. 

“The girls demonstrated mental toughness by never giving up,” said McNicol.

“I think it was eye-opening for the grade eleven players to see the level of competition that they need to get to if they want to continue to compete in the following year. I think it lit a little bit of a fire under them, and I hope that that translates into next season.”

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies senior boys basketball team’s season came to an end during zones, which took place the weekend before provincials, from February 23rd to 24th. 

The boys dropped two games in a best-of-three series at NPSS against Prince George Secondary School (PGSS) for the AAAA zones.

After starting slow and being unable to recover from an over 20-point deficit in game one on Friday, February 23rd, the boys looked to dig deep and came out fighting in the second game the following day. 

However, the consistent offence, which included elite perimeter shooting, from PGSS was hard to match, let alone beat.

The Grizzlies lost the second game by 12 points.

Despite not qualifying for provincials in Vancouver this year, the team, mainly consisting of grade eleven students, showed tons of improvement throughout the season.