Team British Columbia is finding its stride at home.
B.C. won its fifth consecutive Canadian national open women’s netball title and third straight as host, following a 48-34 victory over Ontario at the Fortius centre in Burnaby on Sunday.
Team B.C. broke open a tightly played first half, outscoring Ontario 15-4 in a pivotal third quarter.
Leading 23-20 at the half time interval, B.C. team veteran goal attack Maralyn Hope scored 12 of her team’s final 14 points in the third quarter en route to the game’s biggest lead at 38-24.
The two teams played the final period even, ensuring B.C. of the win.
“The difference was we stuck to our B.C. game, every little turnaround we capitalized on it,” said 10-year goal defense veteran Shawnette Cockburn, who exemplified the team’s winning effort with a forced turnover at mid-court as the game ended.
While, B.C. has won the last five Canadian titles, its record as hosts of the nationals has been little better than .500.
“Actually, this was one of the better (wins), said Cockburn. “It was goal-for-goal for so long, but we just couldn’t relax. … We were forced to keep up the pace.”
Amonda Francis, who played goal keeper beside Cockburn on Team B.C., enjoyed her fifth consecutive title.
“We’ve had a good string going,” said the former university and college all-star basketball player. “I’ve won every single time I’ve competed at the nationals, but no one here could have done it without Ann (Willcocks). She’s the heart and soul.”
“We’ve broken the back of that jinx of playing at home,” said Willcocks, a Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame inductee and B.C. netball association president.
“We have a good grass roots program. What the players say is they like the positiveness of the program. They like it and they stick with it.”
One of the keys is how the older women mentor the younger players, working at team spirit as much as developing fundamentals, added Willcocks.
“The roots go deep, but we work hard on developing our skills.”
B.C’s under-23 team, including seven women from Burnaby, easily won its divisional national title, winning all three games it played, including a 54-14 victory over runner-up Alberta.
