(GIRLS) S.W. Churchill Bulldogs dominate over Carson Graham Eagles in first-round play

Carson Graham vs. S.W. Churchill

Written by the Shier Sisters

Following a late tip-off due to some exciting overtime in the previous match, the game between the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs and the Carson Graham Eagles had a comparably quiet start. After a minute of back-and-forth action, the Bulldogs proved that they were here to make an impact, kicking off a 17–0 run.  Churchill put the pressure on, causing havoc for the Eagles, forcing turnovers, and making their opponents pay for their mistakes.  Carson Graham finally got on the board with back-to-back buckets by #12, Jessica Day, bringing lots of energy from the home crowd.  #10, Louise Dysktra[1] silenced that comeback with a 3 pointer before the buzzer to close out the quarter with a score of 20 – 4. 

Churchill came out strong in the second and never looked back, bringing the score to 44 – 12.  Leading the Bulldogs was Marah Dykstra (#9 Bulldogs), who asserted her dominance on both sides of the court, blocking shots and making quick transitions.  Marah quickly proved she will be a key player in this tournament, and will likely be one to watch for the foreseeable future as last month she signed a Letter of Intent with Montana State University.  The quarter came to an end with lots of cheers from the home crowd who loved the physical play and energy of Sara Kimiaeimehr (#13 Eagles). 

The Bulldogs continued to make life hard for the Eagles in the second half with good team defence and scoring from all over the court. They dominated the offensive rebounds giving themselves extra chances to get on the board.  The crowd cheered the Eagles on, rising to their feet for some offensive action from Alice La Rusic (#19 Eagles).  Unfortunately, all the hype from the crowd couldn’t change the tide for the Eagles, and the Bulldogs closed out the fourth quarter with back to back 3-pointers from #4, Keziah Reimer.

Maybe not as exciting an end to a game as the over-time match prior, but it was great to see the teams in action and it will be fun to see how the Bulldogs fare over the weekend.  

Final score 77 - 22…. Player of the game #9 Marah Dykstra.

[1] Editor’s note: Louise and Marah’s dad and Coach, Simon, coached Scott Leigh, Quinn Keast and future L.A. Laker Rob Sacre on the B.C. under- 16 team in the Western Canada Summer Games in Manitoba in 2005