Sir Alexander Mackenzie Grizzlies girls basketball team are heading into the North Central Zones ranked number one.
The zones take place in Fort St. James Feb. 15 to 17.
Coach Ryan Parr said the team has almost all the same girls as it did last year but the team has bumped up from junior to senior.
“Last year we were a junior team playing in divisions that were single A, double A, triple A and quad A,” he told superfastbody. “We decided because a couple of our players had aged out we would go up to a single A team.”
Parr said he has had a heck of time getting the team into tournaments in the North Central zone this year.
They were supposed to play in Williams Lake mid-January in a tournament hosted by Lake City Secondary School, but when the temperature dipped down to -30 C and the schools were closed in Bella Coola the Grizzlies were advised not to travel.
Undaunted, Parr looked south and found the Big Bear Classic in Abbotsford hosted by St. John Brebeuf High School, Feb. 1-3.
“I found out the number one and number two team from last year at provincials were going to there and I thought what a great tournament to be a part of and see where we measure up.”
In the Grizzlies’ game against the Unity Christian Flames from Chilliwack the Grizzlies lost by five points.
“We led by as many as 10 points late in the third quarter,” Parr said. “We ended up placing third in that tournament behind Unity Christian and Credo Christian schools which are always ranked number one and two and always blow out every team in the division.”
That placing rated the Bella Coola Valley team fifth in the province in Single-A, which Parr said he believes is the first time for the SAMSS senior girls team.
“We are right up there with all the top teams,” Parr said. “We won against St. Patrick’s and we won against the hosting school St. John Brebeuf.”
In Abbotsford, the Grizzlies’ performance got other coaches talking and asking where the team came from?
“On our way back we found out by just attending this tournament, placing third, playing those top teams gave us number one seed heading into zones next week. We are very hopeful to do good things this year as a team.”
Fort St. James Secondary School athletic director James Waddell said there are eight teams attending the zones including his school, SAMSS, Acwsalcta School from Bella Coola and teams from Chetwynd, Hudson Hope, Dawson Creek, Cedars in Prince George and Vanderhoof.
Waddell said these zones are for smaller schools with less than 80 students in grades 11 and 12.
Fort St. James is seeded in the pre-tournament ratings as number three and Chetwynd is number two, he confirmed.
The Grizzlies are slated to depart from Bella Coola on Wednesday, Feb. 14 by school bus and return home on Feb. 18.
Parr noted the team has received great support from the school and the community.
“As a coach I’m a little bit nervous because the Prince Rupert All-Native tournament is running that same week,” Parr said, adding his twins, who play on the SAMSS team, and another of the players are going to the tournament to watch.
Parr’s son Kayden Parr is playing for the Nuxalk Braves, coached by Kelly Milton, in the intermediate men’s division and Kayden’s sisters are going to cheer him on.
“He’s also attending zones the week after ours in Prince George,” Parr said of Kayden.
READ MORE: SAMSS junior girls basketball team net successful season competing at zones, provincials
Don’t miss out on reading the latest local, provincial and national news offered at superfastbody. Sign up for our free newsletter right to your email here.
