The Claremont Spartans beat the Spectrum Thunder 100-34 to win the 2011 Vancouver Island senior girls’ AAA high school basketball championships.
Spartans’ buzzsaw guard Shaylyn Crisp was the game’s top scorer with 35 points and took player of the game honours.
Her teammate Shalie Dheensaw was the team’s second leading scorer with 22 points.
Dheenshaw earned the tournament's most valuable player award with a blend of ball handling, passing, shooting and defense packaged in her mantis-like 6'3" frame.
Spectrum’s Marine Low and Emma Cunningham led Thunder scorers with 11 points and 8 points respectively.
The Thunder was named the tournament’s most sportsmanlike team.
Claremont beat GP Vanier and Stelly’s to advance to the final, while Spectrum beat Dover Bay and Oak Bay to get there.
Spectrum was game but they were no match for the Spartan juggernaut.
Claremont took a commanding 55-26 lead at the half and didn’t look back.
Their air-tight defense smothered the Thunder, who only scored four points in the second half.
The Spartans’ offense broke press defenses and dodged different defensive schemes allowing them to score 55 points and 45 points respectively in the first and second halves.
In the third-fourth place match-up the Oak Bay Breakers beat the Dover Bay Dolphins 78-44.
Breakers’ guard Linden Turner scored 22 points and was named player of the game.
Cassandra Knievel chipped in 19 points for the Dolphins.
Oak Bay beat Ballenas earlier in the day to get to the semi-final, while Dover beat Stelly’s.
The Spartans’ Crisp and Jordis Wachter were named to the tournament’s first all star team.
Their teammate Melissa Van Dyk was named to the second all star team.
Thunder post player Lauren Yearwood earned first all star team honours.
Her teammates Low and Cunningham were named to the second all star team.
Other first team all stars included Dover’s Knievel and Stelly’s Rhea Ashmead.
Oak Bay’s Jill Cooper and Linden Turner meanwhile rounded out the second all star team.
Claremont, Spectrum and Oak Bay advance to the AAA provincial championships in March.
Final placing are: first - Claremont; second – Spectrum; third – Oak Bay; fourth – Dover bay; fifth – Ballenas; sixth – Stelly’s; seventh – Alberni; eighth – GP Vanier.
reporter@albernivalleynews.com