It took overtime for the Junior Golds to defeat Pleasant Valley 35-31 on Thursday, Dec. 13 in league action. Jordan Hislop hit two clutch-free throws at the end of regulation, and finished with 11 points to lead Salmon Arm.
The Golds faced Kelowna in their opening game at the Fulton Classic on Friday, and fell 43-34 to the Owls. Lenny DePatie was a force on offence as he scored 17.
Salmon Arm continued to play well defensively, but struggled to score as they lost 24-33 to the South Kamloops Titans in game two. Braiden Koprowsky and DePatie had six each.
Ten players hit the scoresheet for the Golds in their final game, as they cruised past Penticton 51-30. Koprowsky and DePatie had 14 points each.
The team will play in Armstrong on the weekend in a round-robin tournament before the Christmas break.
Senior Jewels shine
The Salmon Arm Secondary Senior Jewels are now three games into league play and have won two and lost one. The Jewels played the number-one ranked South Kamloops Titans on Tuesday, Dec. 11. Although the girls battled hard throughout the game, the Titans were just too strong, beating the Jewels 95-48. The high scorers were Brooke Rempel with 10 points and Alyson Bannister with nine.
The following night, the Jewels travelled to play the Rutland Secondary Voodoos. Every dressed player on the bench contributed to the 60-37 win by scoring at least one basket. The Jewels top scorer was Trice Tuaiti with 11 points. The Jewels travel today to New Westminster to play in a tournament, returning home Friday for the annual Homecoming tournament Saturday, Dec. 22 and Sunday, Dec. 23 that brings Salmon Arm Jewels and Golds Alumni back to play the current teams.
The Jewels got off to a good start prior to league play, coming first in the NorKam Big Kahuna tournament in Kamloops, winning three straight. The girls played their first tournament like a well-oiled machine, playing league rivals the Rutland Voodoos winning 50-39. Haylie Gibb had an 11-point game with Zahyna Lewis helping out with eight points. They then took on the host team NorKam Saints, playing a posed game in a very loud gym. Brooke Rempel played a heads-up game getting 15 points and Sam Bergman played a gritty game under the net achieving 11 points. The team played an exciting final game against Duchess Park Secondary from Prince George, beating them 48-41. The girls took the lead in each game and held off all attempts to overtake, only falling behind by one basket in the Duchess Park game. Tournament MVP was Brooke Rempel and Zahyna Lewis was named to the all-star round.