Leilani Carney sparked a second-half comeback to help lead the St. Thomas More Knights to a third-place finish at the B.C. high school AA girls’ basketball championships.
The Grade 11 guard had a 12-point third quarter, including a trio of three-pointers, to lead all Knights in total scoring following an 83-67 victory over the Wellington Wildcats in the bronze-medal match at the Langley Events Centre on Saturday.
“It was a close game. We had to get back into it and come back strong. We couldn’t have won without each other,” said Carney
Carney led her teammates in overall scoring with 60 points over the four-day championship, including a 24-point outing in STM’s 65-57 win over Vernon in the quarter-finals.
A point behind was junior point guard Zion Corrales-Nelson, who finished the consolation final with a game-high 24 points and eight steals.
Corrales-Nelson was later named a championship second team all-star and winner of the defensive player of the tournament, an honour the talented Grade 10 athlete won last year with the runner-up junior Knights.
Senior forward Domunique Booker earned a first team all-star nod for the Knights following a monster double-double in the bronze-medal win.
Booker scored 18 points and added as many rebounds in the final, while fellow senior Meghan Ho played through injury in the second half, scoring 13, while adding five rebounds and three blocked shots.
“All the girls were really playing hard. We really came out playing off each other,” said Booker. “We play off emotion, but we always go in there and battle, and that’s how we’ve had success.”
Ho said, the bronze medal felt “amazing.” “I wasn’t going to miss that game. We had to play with heart, tenacity and fight for the ball. I was really proud of how we played in the second half,” she said.
Trailing by just two points in a tight first half, Carney pulled STM even with back-to-back three-pointers, and then gave the Burnaby independent the lead with a perfect three-for-three at the foul line.
The Knights then pulled away in the final frame, outscoring the Wildcats 27-15, including seven-for-nine from the charity stripe after she was fouled attempting another trey.
First team all-star Ally Keir had a team-high 20 points for Wellington.
STM opened with a 73-54 win over Lambrick Park behind a 20-point effort from Corrales-Nelson.
The Knights were stopped in the semifinals by eventual champion Windsor Dukes 64-50.
STM graduates just two starters off its roster for next season.
